I run a small free tool, YTtoWAV, that turns YouTube audio into WAV files. Most of the people who use it are music producers, DJs and video editors. The same few questions keep coming in through the feedback box:
"Can you make it 44.1 kHz?"
"Is 24-bit better?"
"Why is the WAV so big if the quality is the same?"
So here is the short version of what is actually going on with YouTube audio, and how to pick the right settings for your DAW or video project.
What YouTube actually gives you
YouTube does not store your audio as WAV. It stores compressed streams, usually one of these:
Opus, around 128 to 160 kbps, at 48 kHz
AAC, around 128 kbps, at 44.1 kHz
Both are lossy. Some detail was thrown away when the video was uploaded and encoded. No converter can bring that back.
So what does converting to WAV do? It decodes that stream into plain, uncompressed PCM audio. From that point on, nothing else gets lost. You can cut it, stretch it, re-export it, and you won't stack a second round of MP3 compression on top of the first one.
That is the real reason to use WAV: not to gain quality, but to stop losing more of it.
48 kHz or 44.1 kHz?
The best choice is usually the sample rate the source already has. For most YouTube videos that is 48 kHz, so a 48 kHz WAV is a straight decode with no resampling.
Pick 44.1 kHz when:
your DAW project is set to 44.1 kHz (many music templates are)
you are burning a CD or using DJ software that expects 44.1 kHz
you want every sample in your library at the same rate
Pick 48 kHz when:
you are working on video (48 kHz is the video standard)
you just want the cleanest copy of what YouTube had
Resampling from 48 to 44.1 kHz with a good resampler is not audible on normal material. It just isn't needed unless your project asks for it.
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit float?
This one confuses a lot of people.
16-bit is CD quality and is more than enough to hold a decoded YouTube stream.
24-bit gives you more headroom if you plan to process the file heavily (gain changes, EQ, time-stretch) before you export again.
32-bit float can't clip inside your DAW, which is handy for stems you'll push around a lot in a mix.
None of these add detail that wasn't in the YouTube stream. They give you more room to work without adding new rounding errors. If you are just dropping a sample into FL Studio or Ableton, 16-bit is fine. If you are going to mangle it, 24-bit or 32-bit float is a safe habit.
Why is the file so big?
Uncompressed audio is simple math:
sample rate × bit depth × channels
For 48 kHz, 16-bit, stereo:
48,000 × 16 × 2 = 1,536,000 bits per second (1536 kbps)
That works out to about 11 MB per minute, so a 5-minute song is around 55 MB. A 128 kbps stream of the same song is about 5 MB. Same sound, more than ten times the size, because nothing is compressed anymore.
Quick way to check what you got
Open the file in Audacity and look at the track info on the left. It shows the sample rate and the format (16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit float). If it says 48000 Hz and you wanted 44.1 kHz, set the project rate and export again, or grab the right version from the converter in the first place.
What I settled on in the tool
After reading a few hundred feedback messages, the quality menu in YTtoWAV ended up with these options:
Option Good for
Original (16-bit, 48 kHz) Clean copy, no resampling
16-bit, 44.1 kHz DJ software, CDs
24-bit, 44.1 kHz Music production
24-bit, 48 kHz Video editing
32-bit float, 48 kHz Heavy processing, stems
There is also MP3 (up to 320 kbps), FLAC (16 or 24-bit), M4A and OGG for people who want smaller files. If you only need part of a video, a trim option lets you pick a start and end time, so you get just the sample instead of the whole track. It's free, there is no signup, and it works with normal YouTube links, youtu.be share links, Shorts and YouTube Music links.
One last thing
Only download audio you own or have permission to use. A lot of producers use this for their own uploads, for licensed sample packs, or for reference tracks they never publish, and that is the right way to use any converter.
If you have questions about sample rates, bit depth or getting YouTube audio into a specific DAW, leave a comment and I'll answer.
Top comments (0)