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WavPack (.wv)

WavPack (.wv) is an open lossless audio format that compresses audio with no quality loss and can also store a lossy version plus a small correction file. It plays back identical to the original, but support is limited outside dedicated players, so it is often converted to FLAC or MP3.

Files & formatsGeneral

WavPack (.wv)

Also known as: WavPack, .wv file, wv audio

WavPack (.wv) is an open lossless audio format that compresses audio with no quality loss and can also store a lossy version plus a small correction file. It plays back identical to the original, but support is limited outside dedicated players, so it is often converted to FLAC or MP3.

  • Open, lossless audio format (.wv)
  • Supports a hybrid lossy + correction mode
  • Often converted to FLAC or MP3 for playback

What WavPack is

WavPack uses the .wv extension and is a free, open lossless codec — decoding restores the exact original audio. Its unusual feature is a hybrid mode that splits a track into a small lossy file plus a “correction” file you can add back later to reconstruct the lossless original.

As a lossless format, WavPack files are smaller than the source WAV but larger than lossy MP3 or AAC. It is favored by audio archivists for its open license and flexibility.

Playing and converting WavPack

Phones and Apple Music do not open .wv natively. Desktop players such as VLC and foobar2000 support it. For wider playback, convert WavPack to FLAC to stay lossless, or to MP3/AAC to save space on a phone.

If a track was stored in hybrid mode, keep the correction file alongside the lossy part if you ever want to return to full lossless quality.

Related terms

Keep reading the reference.

Files & formatsFLACFLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is a lossless audio format that compresses music with no loss of quality — the decoded file is bit-for-bit identical to the original. That fidelity comes at a cost: FLAC files are several times larger than MP3 or AAC.GeneralFiles & formatsAPE (Monkey’s Audio)APE (Monkey’s Audio) is a lossless audio format that compresses CD-quality sound with no loss in quality, typically smaller than the original WAV. It plays back identical to the source, but native support is rare outside dedicated audio players, so it is often converted to FLAC or MP3 for everyday use.GeneralFiles & formatsALAC (Apple Lossless)ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) compresses audio with no loss of quality — it reproduces the original recording exactly while taking up less space than uncompressed PCM. Because nothing is discarded, ALAC files are much larger than lossy MP3 or AAC, typically several times the size.GeneralStorage conceptsCompression (lossy vs lossless)Compression shrinks a file by encoding its data more efficiently. Lossless compression rebuilds the original exactly, while lossy compression permanently discards detail the eye or ear is least likely to notice in exchange for much smaller files.General

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Guides and tools for this topic.

Audio to MP3 converter