Change the container for a receiving app

AIFF and WAV often contain the same kind of uncompressed integer samples in different containers and byte orders. This route is useful when a receiving app specifically needs WAV, without adding a lossy encoding.

Supported representations

The qualified reader covers admitted mono/stereo integer16/24/32 uncompressed AIFF. AIFF-C/AIFC variants are not supported. It checks their actual encoding rather than relying on the .aif or .aiff ending. Compressed or unsupported variants are refused. The resulting WAV retains the admitted rate and integer precision.

A byte-order change need not change sound

A 24-bit sample may be written in a different byte order in AIFF and WAV, so comparing raw file bytes is the wrong fidelity test. Compare the interpreted sample values, count and channels. The converter independently checks the completed WAV before reporting success.

Check the destination's requirements

A correctly preserved 32-bit integer WAV is still unsuitable for software that requires a different representation. Avoid an unnecessary rate or precision change when the recipient can use the source. Read the preservation rules and the format guide.