.WAV

Sample WAV Files

Uncompressed PCM audio at the sample rates and bit depths you meet in real systems, from CD quality to 8 kHz telephony.

.wavaudio/wav6 filesFree · No sign-upUnlimited downloads

Custom size by Technology Channel · Free to use for testing and development, including commercial projects.

5 s · 16-bit · 44.1 kHzPopular

sample-5s.wav

Short CD-quality clip in the most widely supported WAV format.

0:05
16-bit
44.1 kHz
Stereo

862 KB Download

0:00 / 0:05

30 s · 16-bit · 44.1 kHz

sample-30s.wav

Uncompressed CD-quality audio, about 5 MB. Good for upload and conversion tests.

0:30
16-bit
44.1 kHz
Stereo

5.0 MB Download

0:00 / 0:30

24-bit · 48 kHz

sample-24bit-48khz.wav

The studio and video-production standard. Tests high-resolution decoding.

0:10
24-bit
48 kHz
Stereo

2.7 MB Download

0:00 / 0:10

32-bit float

sample-32bit-float.wav

IEEE floating-point samples. Some players and libraries can't read this format.

0:10
32-bit float
44.1 kHz
Stereo

3.4 MB Download

0:00 / 0:10

Mono · 8 kHz

sample-mono-8khz.wav

Telephone-quality audio for voice, IVR and speech-recognition tests.

0:30
16-bit
8 kHz
Mono

469 KB Download

0:00 / 0:30

5 s of silence

sample-silence-5s.wav

Digital silence: every sample is zero. Checks silence detection and empty waveforms.

0:05
16-bit
44.1 kHz
Edge case

862 KB Download

0:00 / 0:05

Exact-size generator

Need a WAV of a different size?

Create a valid WAV file of any exact size, byte for byte, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and you can generate as many as you like.

Perfect for upload limits: 9.99 MB, 10 MB and 10.01 MB in seconds.
Up to 20 copies at once, bundled in one ZIP.
Unique copies get different checksums, for duplicate-detection tests.

Use cases

What you can test

Bit-depth handling: 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float.
Sample-rate conversion between 8 kHz, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz.
Speech and telephony pipelines with the mono 8 kHz file.
Silence detection with the silent file.
Waveform rendering in audio editors and players.
Encoding WAV to MP3, AAC or Opus.

Reference

WAV format facts

Extension	.wav
MIME type	audio/wav
File signature	52 49 46 46 .. .. .. .. 57 41 56 45 (RIFF....WAVE)
Origin	Microsoft and IBM, 1991 · RIFF
Files here	6 · 13.3 MB in total
License	Free for any use, no attribution

About the format

What is a WAV file?

WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) was introduced by Microsoft and IBM in 1991. It is a RIFF container that usually stores uncompressed PCM audio, which makes it large but lossless and simple to process.

Professional audio commonly uses 24-bit or 32-bit float at 48 kHz, while telephony and many speech systems use 8 kHz or 16 kHz mono.

Developers

Read with Python

import wave

with wave.open("files/wav/sample-5s.wav") as w:
    print(w.getnchannels(), w.getsampwidth() * 8,
          w.getframerate(), w.getnframes())

Download with cURL

curl -O https://samplefiles.technologychannel.org/files/wav/sample-5s.wav

FAQ

WAV files: common questions

Why are WAV files so large?

They are usually uncompressed. One minute of 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo audio takes about 10 MB, roughly ten times the size of a typical MP3.

What is the silent file for?

It contains digital silence. Use it to test silence detection, voice activity detection and how your app handles audio with no signal.

Can I use these audio files in commercial projects?

Yes. Every audio file here is free for any use, including commercial testing, demos and tutorials. No attribution is required.

Can I download the same WAV file more than once?

Yes, as many times as you like. There is no sign-up, no daily limit and no waiting timer. Direct links also work in scripts, CI jobs and automated tests.

Keep testing

Related formats

All 20 formats

All WAV sample files