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RA to WAV converter

Convert RA to WAV in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I want WAV
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Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

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Other ways to convert RA

Convert other formats to WAV

Read more about the RA format and the WAV format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert RA to WAV?

Only when software insists on WAV. It stores the decoded RA perfectly, but the detail the RA discarded is already gone, so the WAV is bigger without sounding better.

WAV also plays in more places: every computer, audio editor and DAW, and most phones.

RA is streaming audio from the dial-up web; WAV is uncompressed, studio-quality audio. Use WAV while editing and for systems that demand it, such as phone systems, samplers and some broadcast tools.

RA and WAV compared
Property RA WAV
Compression Lossy Uncompressed
Typical quality 8–64 kbps 16-bit PCM, 44.1 or 48 kHz
Support A legacy format Opens everywhere
Best for Nothing today; convert old archived broadcasts Editing, mastering and software that insists on WAV
Introduced 1995 1991

How to convert RA to WAV

  1. 01

    Add your RA

    Drop your RA file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to WAV. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the WAV

    Press convert and save the WAV. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when RA becomes WAV

Bigger, not better

WAV can’t restore what RA compression removed. It does make editing easier and stops further loss, which is why editors and some broadcast systems ask for it.

A one-time engine download

RA is decoded by FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, a 31 MB download the first time. After that it is cached, and the conversion never leaves your device.

Expect a much larger file

WAV is far bigger for the same content. Choose it because something needs WAV, not to send or store the file. RA: Very small, sized for modems. WAV: About 10 MB a minute at CD quality.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of RA and WAV, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Recordings are often private: interviews, voice notes, unreleased music. Your browser can decode and encode audio itself, so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the RA. A .ram file is only a text link to a stream, not the audio itself; you need the .ra or .rm file it points to.
  • About the WAV. A WAV made from an MP3 is ten times bigger but sounds exactly like the MP3; the lost detail doesn’t come back.
  • MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus and FLAC are converted by your browser directly. WMA, AMR, APE, AC3 and the other specialist formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does converting RA to WAV lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to WAV, though it can’t restore what the RA already discarded.

Will a WAV play in my car or on my phone?

WAV opens everywhere: every computer, audio editor and DAW, and most phones.

Read more about this

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