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Playing WAV Files on Mac Made Easy

WAV is a popular audio file format that contains lossless audio and is mostly associated with Microsoft. For those who are unfamiliar with this type of file, it might be confusing how to play it on Mac. Here we have gathered the best music players for Mac for you to choose from.

Top choice
Elmedia: universal video player
4.5 Rank based on 11950+ users, Reviews(11950)
Lets find best WAV Files player on Mac

As there is a variety of WAV Player solutions to choose from sometimes it is difficult to make up your mind. Definitely, they have different advantages and disadvantages, however, their common plus is the ability to play multiple formats. For instance, Elmedia Player is an excellent choice that supports WAV, as well as MP3, FLAC, ALAC, OGG, etc.

Elmedia Player: The Go-To WAV Player for Mac

Elmedia: universal video player
4.5 Rank based on 11950 + users Reviews(11950)
Requirements: macOS 10.12+
Version: v8.15(3307), Released 22 Mar, 2023 Release notes
Category: Video

There is no need for additional codecs or plug-ins to be able to enjoy playing lots of formats with this audio/video player for Mac. Elmedia Player offers seamless playback of lossy and lossless formats. The app supports an impressive range of formats, including popular WAV, MP3, FLAC, M4A, WMA, MTS, and multiple others. This WAV Player allows you to play movies, videos, and audio files with enhanced quality. Enjoy the ease of playing WAV files on your Mac computer.

 Elmedia — Universal Mac Media Player

Playing WAV files on Mac using Elmedia Player

1

First of all, download and install the Elmedia player on your Mac.

 You can install the application in a couple of clicks.
2

There are 3 methods to open WAV files to play the audio, namely:

  • Drag and drop the file on the app’s window or the app’s icon in the dock.
  • Find the WAV file on your computer, right-click it and select "Open With" - > Elmedia Player.
  • From the app’s menu, click "File" - > "Open".
 If it doesn't open, the file is most likely corrupted.
3

That’s it!

You can enjoy listening to all WAV files. Besides that, this WAV Player doesn’t stop on supporting one format with its help you can also play MP3, SWF, FLV, WMV, AVI, and way more.

WAV Player Alternatives for macOS

Most computer multimedia programs play music stored in the WAV file format and the default Mac player Quicktime is not an exception, It recognizes WAV files as well as several other file formats. Since the format is very popular now, it is not difficult to find an audio player that is compatible with the WAV file. Here we have listed the best WAV player for Mac alternatives for your consideration.

Free Media Player

Free Media Player is considered to be one of the best players for playing video files not only on Mac but also on Windows. This WAV player for Mac supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio technologies. The player is rather intuitive - you can start browsing without first studying the interface.

Supports many formats and very simple interface.

icon pros Pros

  • Support for various file formats AVI, MP4, FLV, MKV, MOV, FLAC, WAV, MP3, AAC, OGG, PNG, and JPG
  • Simple interface
  • No regional restrictions

icon cons Cons

  • Occurs crashes while playing files

VLC Media Player

VLC is an open-source WAV player for your Mac computer. This player is able to play any media files (including damaged ones), convert files from one format to another, broadcast media files to the network, and much more. One more plus of VLC payer is its compatibility with different operating systems.

VLC is a free and open-source, portable, cross-platform media player.

icon pros Pros

  • Absolutely free
  • A huge pack of codecs
  • Supported audio/video formats: WAV, FLAC, MP4, MP3, AVI, MKV, WMV, VOB, and more.

icon cons Cons

  • Shareware app, all functions are available only by subscription.

iTunes

iTunes or Music is not only a backup tool but also can be used as a WAV files player. Besides playing WAV files, this free WAV player can also convert other accepted formats to WAV for playback on your computer. To play the WAV file all you need is to drag and drop it into the player.

 iTunes is available on all Mac devices.

icon pros Pros

  • Support for random play, play next or later
  • Supports file formats such as WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, WAV, WMA, APE, OGG, etc.
  • Sound management tool for iPhone, iPad, and iPod

icon cons Cons

  • Advanced controls for WAV playback are missing
  • Managing the WAV playlist on the computer is difficult

WAV file extension: Knowledge base

WAV is also known as the Waveform Audio File Format (WAV or WAVE) can be called the most popular uncompressed audio file format. It is based on PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), a well-known mechanism for directly converting an audio signal to a digital form. Bitrate (stream compression ratio) - 1140 kbps.

Despite the default Mac player supports opening WAV files and playing on Mac, still there can be issues with opening this format. That’s why there are lots of WAV player Mac apps for every taste.

The main difference between MP3 and WAV is that the first file format involves sound recording with compression. At the same time, it can have a different level and bitrate. Which, in turn, are the same for WAV files in all cases. When an MP3 is compressed at a low enough bitrate, you may hear a reduction in audio quality. Whereas WAV always retains the original quality of the recording.

The format is great for those who work with sound.

Conclusion

Still searching for the WAV player and do not know which to choose? In our article, we have gathered the most popular ones for your consideration. Our top choice is Elmedia Player as it offers more features and is easier to use. However, the choice of application depends on the required functions and supported formats. And what is your favorite WAV file audio player? Leave your comments below.

FAQ

First of all, you need a WAV player for Mac, as the default media players can have issues with playing WAV files.
The described above WAV file player apps can seamlessly handle WAV files playback and offer a wide range of additional features.
Almost all default media players can play WAV files. However, if you want a player that is specialized in WAV format you can take a look at our recommended WAV Player apps.
Being one of the most popular audio formats each OS has a built-in media player that is fully compatible with WAV.
Elmedia: universal video player
Requirements: macOS 10.12+ , 89.23MB of free space
Version 8.15(3307) (22 Mar, 2023) Release notes
Category: Video
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Try best WAV player on Mac