WAV and MP3 explained
WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio — the raw samples, exactly as captured. A stereo CD-quality minute is roughly 10 MB, which is the price of having no compression whatsoever.
MP3 is the lossy audio format that made digital music portable. Its patents expired in 2017, which is part of why it remains ubiquitous — anyone can implement it freely.
- Where WAV files come from
- Recording sessions, sample libraries and audio editing.
- Where MP3 is used
- Music libraries, podcasts and voice recordings.