Convert WAV to FLAC
Drop a WAV and download a FLAC file holding the same audio at roughly 60% of the size. Sample rate and channel count are preserved.
This is the conversion for storage. An archive of session files, field recordings, or interview masters shrinks substantially with no quality decision to regret later.
Lossless compression
FLAC predicts each sample from the ones before it and stores only the prediction error, then packs those residuals efficiently. Because nothing is thrown away, decoding reproduces the original PCM exactly.
Compression ratio varies with content. A loud, heavily limited master might reach only 75% of the WAV size, while a quiet solo recording can drop below 50%.
When WAV is still the answer
Keep WAV for a hardware sampler, an embedded player, or any tool that reads RIFF and nothing else. Converting FLAC back to WAV is free in quality terms, so archiving as FLAC costs you nothing except a decode step when you need PCM again.