WMA (Windows Media Audio) is Microsoft's proprietary compressed format — built into Windows and still common in corporate archives, old music libraries, and files ripped from Windows Media Player. WAV is universal uncompressed PCM: the format every DAW, audio editor, and video suite accepts without complaint. This converter decodes any WMA file and outputs a clean WAV, entirely in your browser. No upload, no account, no per-file limit.
WMA vs WAV — what's the difference?
WMA uses perceptual audio coding similar to MP3 — it removes frequencies the ear is least sensitive to and compresses the rest. Quality ranges from passable (64 kbps) to near-CD (320 kbps), but it's always lossy. WAV stores raw PCM: every sample, losslessly, at whatever sample rate and bit depth the source used. A one-minute stereo WAV at CD quality (44.1 kHz / 16-bit) weighs about 10 MB; the equivalent WMA is 0.5–2 MB. Convert WMA to WAV when you need to edit the file without any further quality degradation, import it into a DAW, use it in video production, or archive it in a format that's guaranteed readable in 20 years.
How this converter works
FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly runs directly in this browser tab. It reads the WMA container, decodes the compressed audio frames using the WMA decoder, and writes the result as 16-bit signed PCM in a WAV container — preserving the source sample rate. The entire decode-and-encode cycle happens on your device. There is no server, no upload endpoint, and no copy of your file sent anywhere. The same FFmpeg codebase powers professional broadcast tools; the WebAssembly build is functionally identical.
When to use this tool
- Importing legacy WMA files into a DAW or audio editor that doesn't support WMA
- Converting an old Windows music library to an open, universally readable format
- Preparing audio for video editing software that requires WAV input
- Archiving WMA files as WAV before Microsoft phases out the codec
- Sending a file to a collaborator or client who doesn't have Windows Media Player
Frequently asked questions
- Will the WAV sound better than the WMA?
- No. Converting a lossy WMA to WAV does not recover the information the WMA encoder discarded. The WAV will have the same perceptual quality as the WMA source — it will just be in an uncompressed container. The benefit is that you can now edit, re-encode, or mix the file without adding another generation of lossy compression.
- What sample rate and bit depth does the output WAV use?
- The output preserves the source WMA's sample rate (commonly 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) and encodes to 16-bit signed PCM. If you need 24-bit or 32-bit float WAV for professional mastering, decode in a DAW after this conversion.
- Is there a file size limit?
- 200 MB. A typical WMA track at 128 kbps is well under 10 MB, so this covers hours of music per session.
- Does it work on iPhone and Android?
- Yes — any modern Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari with WebAssembly support. Conversion runs on your device's CPU, so large files take longer on mobile, but it works.
Privacy
Your WMA file is never uploaded. The decode and re-encode happen entirely in this browser tab using FFmpeg.wasm. We have no server-side audio pipeline — your file doesn't leave your device at any point in the conversion.