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MKV to WAV converter

Convert MKV 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.

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Other ways to convert MKV

Convert other formats to WAV

Read more about the MKV format and the WAV format, or see every video tool and all video conversions.

Should you convert MKV to WAV?

You need uncompressed audio from an MKV for editing, subtitling or transcription.

Yes, when you only need the sound: a song from a music video, the audio of a lecture, or a voice recording to transcribe. The picture is left out and the soundtrack is saved as WAV.

MKV is a flexible container for any codec, with several audio and subtitle tracks; 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.

MKV and WAV compared
Property MKV WAV
What it is A flexible container for any codec, with several audio and subtitle tracks Uncompressed, studio-quality audio
Audio inside H.264 or HEVC video with AAC, AC-3 or Opus audio, often plus subtitles 16-bit PCM, 44.1 or 48 kHz
Plays on VLC, Plex, Kodi and many smart TVs, but not iPhones, most editors or social apps Every computer, audio editor and DAW, and most phones
Best for Films and series with several languages and subtitle tracks Editing, mastering and software that insists on WAV

How to convert MKV to WAV

  1. 01

    Add your MKV

    Drop your MKV video 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 MKV becomes WAV

WAV is lossless, the soundtrack usually isn’t

The audio inside an MKV is almost always compressed already, usually as AAC, AC-3 or Opus. WAV preserves it exactly but makes a much larger file without sounding better. Choose it for editing software; choose MP3 or M4A for listening.

Video files without sound

Screen recordings and some exported clips have no audio track at all. The file is checked as soon as you add it, and you’ll be told before converting if there’s nothing to extract.

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

Why it doesn’t upload

Uploading a whole video to keep only its sound wastes time and data, and hands over the footage too. The audio track is read and saved right here, and the file never leaves your device.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the MKV. Converting an MKV to a single-track format keeps only one audio track and drops soft subtitles unless you pick them.
  • 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.
  • AVI, WMV, FLV and other older formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does extracting WAV from an MKV lose quality?

No. WAV stores the soundtrack exactly as decoded, although it can’t improve on the compression already in the video.

Can I get the audio from only part of the video?

Yes. Set a start and end time before converting, and only that section is saved as WAV.

Read more about this

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