Add your AU file
Drop one or more .au files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
AU to WAV
Re-encoding .au audio as .wav changes how the sound is compressed and which players will accept it. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop AU files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting Sun audio to WAV audio
Re-encoding .au audio as .wav changes how the sound is compressed and which players will accept it. An .au file is the Sun audio format, one of the earliest structured audio files, created for Unix workstations. A minimal header followed by sample data, classically 8 kHz mu-law telephony audio, makes .au about as simple as an audio format can get.
A .wav file is Microsoft's Waveform Audio format, which in practice almost always stores uncompressed PCM samples. Because every bit of the original signal is preserved and no decoding is required, .wav remains the default working format in recording studios and audio editors. For this route the practical draw is bit-perfect with zero generation loss and negligible CPU cost to read or write — balanced against enormous compared with FLAC, which halves the size losslessly, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert AU to WAV?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .au, essentially obsolete outside legacy systems. Switching to .wav buys you bit-perfect with zero generation loss, which is why it is the better fit for capturing and mixing sessions in a DAW. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
AU vs WAV at a glance
| Aspect | Sun audio (.au) | WAV audio (.wav) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly |
| How it stores data | a 24-byte header carries a '.snd' magic number, data offset, encoding type, sample rate, and channel count | a RIFF chunk container whose fmt chunk usually declares linear PCM, though compressed codecs are technically permitted |
| Strongest at | maintaining sound assets in vintage Unix and Java software | capturing and mixing sessions in a DAW |
| Weak spot | essentially obsolete outside legacy systems | enormous compared with FLAC, which halves the size losslessly |
| Metadata | an optional annotation field in the header can hold a short text string; no formal tag structure exists | rIFF INFO chunks hold basic tags, while the Broadcast Wave bext chunk and iXML add description, originator, and timecode for production workflows; some tools also embed ID3 chunks |
Pick WAV as the output
Select .wav in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if WAV is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The transcode runs on an FFmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly, so the audio never leaves your device.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid WAV file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .wav extension.
AU to WAV questions, answered
Will converting AU to WAV lose quality?
Both sides are re-encoded, so expect a small generation loss controlled by the quality setting: au is lossless-oriented and wav is lossless-oriented. For visually or audibly transparent results keep quality high; for smaller files lower it and compare.
Is it private to convert AU files here?
Yes — the .au file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The transcode runs on an FFmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly, so the audio never leaves your device. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the WAV file work?
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and all major browsers play .wav natively. Recordings that exceed 4 GB require the RF64 variant, which some consumer software fails to recognize.
Will the WAV file be bigger or smaller than my AU?
It depends on the content: a RIFF chunk container whose fmt chunk usually declares linear PCM, though compressed codecs are technically permitted. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my AU file?
This converter strips container metadata deliberately (the FFmpeg command runs with metadata mapping disabled) so exported files do not leak recording details. In the source, an optional annotation field in the header can hold a short text string; no formal tag structure exists; none of it is transmitted anywhere because the file never leaves your browser.
Can I convert WAV back to AU?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .au → .wav → .au is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.