WAV to AMR Converter
Initializing... drag & drop files here
Supports: WAV
Advanced Options - Our defaults are optimized for the best results. We recommend you keeping the defaults unless you have a specific need.
Reset to defaults
Need help?How to Convert WAV to AMR Online
- Upload Your WAV Files: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select .wav recordings from your computer. Voice memos, studio narration takes, IVR prompts exported from Audacity, and microphone captures from any DAW all work. Batch upload is supported.
- Pick the AMR Variant and Bitrate: Default is AMR-NB at 12.2 kbps (the highest narrowband rate, used by GSM full-rate voice). Choose lower NB rates (4.75, 5.15, 5.90, 6.70, 7.40, 7.95, 10.2 kbps) to shrink the file further for SMS-bandwidth telephony, or switch to AMR-WB for HD-voice quality from 6.60 up to 23.85 kbps (sample rate jumps to 16 kHz, frequency response widens to 7 kHz).
- Set Sample Rate, Channel, and Trim (Optional): AMR is locked to 8 kHz (NB) or 16 kHz (WB) — XConvert downsamples your 44.1/48 kHz WAV automatically. Force mono (required by the codec — AMR doesn't carry stereo), or trim with start time and duration in HH:MM:SS.sss format to cut a single phrase out of a longer take.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files process in your browser session and download individually or as a ZIP — no sign-up, no watermark, no upload to a third-party server.
Why Convert WAV to AMR?
WAV stores uncompressed PCM samples — pristine quality, but a 1-minute 44.1 kHz stereo recording is roughly 10 MB. AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) is a speech codec built by Ericsson and standardized by 3GPP for GSM and UMTS networks; it strips music-range frequencies and parametrically encodes the human vocal tract, dropping the same minute to 35-90 KB. That's where WAV-to-AMR conversion earns its keep:
- Voicemail and IVR prompt deployment — Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, and most carrier voicemail systems expect AMR or G.711 for greetings. Recording a clean WAV in a studio and converting to AMR-NB at 7.4 kbps gives you a telephony-ready prompt that fits the codec the PBX actually plays.
- MMS audio attachments and old-phone ringtones — feature phones, older Android handsets (pre-2018 Samsung, LG, HTC), and MMS gateways accept .amr but balk at large WAVs. AMR is the format MMS was designed around.
- Bandwidth-constrained voice messaging apps — push-to-talk and walkie-talkie apps (Zello, TeamSpeak push-to-talk plugins, satellite messengers) ship audio over slow links. A 30-second WAV is 5 MB; the same clip in AMR-NB is roughly 30 KB.
- Embedded device audio storage — alarm panels, intercoms, and IoT voice-prompt firmware often allocate kilobyte-scale flash for prompts. AMR-NB at 4.75 kbps fits dozens of prompts where one WAV would not.
- Field recording archives where size matters more than fidelity — interview backups for transcript review, legal call logs, and oral-history projects often archive in AMR after transcription to free up disk while keeping the recording intelligible.
- Replicating legacy production assets — game ports, accessibility apps, and translation projects sometimes need to match an existing AMR pipeline so new dialogue plays through the same decoder as the original.
See also WAV to MP3 and WAV to M4A when you need a smaller file but still want music-quality output, or AMR to WAV for the reverse direction.
WAV vs AMR — Format Comparison
| Property | WAV (source) | AMR (output) |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Uncompressed PCM | Lossy ACELP, speech-optimized |
| Sample rate | 8 kHz to 192 kHz, freely chosen | 8 kHz (NB) or 16 kHz (WB) only |
| Channels | Mono or stereo | Mono only |
| Bitrate | ~128 kbps (8-bit/8k mono) up to 1,411 kbps (16-bit/44.1k stereo) | 4.75-12.2 kbps (NB), 6.60-23.85 kbps (WB) |
| 1-minute file size | ~1 MB to ~10 MB | ~35 KB to ~180 KB |
| Frequency range | Full audible spectrum (20 Hz - 20 kHz+) | 300 Hz - 3.4 kHz (NB) / 50 Hz - 7 kHz (WB) |
| Music suitability | Excellent | Poor — speech only |
| Best for | Recording, editing, archival | Telephony, voicemail, MMS, IVR prompts |
AMR Bitrate Quick Guide
| Mode | Bitrate | 1-min size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMR-NB 4.75 kbps | 4.75 kbps | ~35 KB | Maximum compression — embedded prompts, low-bandwidth telephony |
| AMR-NB 7.40 kbps | 7.40 kbps | ~55 KB | Standard voicemail / IVR — intelligible, very small |
| AMR-NB 12.2 kbps | 12.2 kbps | ~92 KB | GSM full-rate quality — best AMR-NB speech clarity |
| AMR-WB 12.65 kbps | 12.65 kbps | ~95 KB | HD voice baseline — fuller speech with 7 kHz top end |
| AMR-WB 23.85 kbps | 23.85 kbps | ~180 KB | Highest AMR fidelity — VoLTE-grade speech |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my WAV music sound okay after converting to AMR?
No. AMR is a parametric speech codec — it models the human vocal tract and discards everything above 3.4 kHz (NB) or 7 kHz (WB). Music, instruments, and singing are heavily distorted because cymbals, guitar harmonics, and high vocals all live above AMR's cutoff. If you need a small music file, convert to WAV to MP3 at 96-128 kbps or WAV to OPUS at 64 kbps instead.
Should I pick AMR-NB or AMR-WB?
Match the playback target. AMR-NB (8 kHz sample rate, 4.75-12.2 kbps) is what GSM voicemail, MMS, and pre-VoLTE phones expect — universal compatibility, smallest files. AMR-WB (16 kHz, 6.60-23.85 kbps) is HD Voice / VoLTE quality and sounds noticeably clearer, but only newer handsets and modern PBX systems decode it. When in doubt for telephony deployment, use AMR-NB at 12.2 kbps.
Why does the converter force my stereo WAV to mono?
The AMR codec specification only carries a single channel — it has no stereo mode. XConvert downmixes your stereo WAV to mono before encoding (averaging left and right). For speech this is the right call; for music it's another reason AMR isn't appropriate for non-voice content.
How small will my WAV actually become?
Roughly 100x to 300x smaller. A 60-second 44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo WAV is about 10 MB. The same minute as AMR-NB at 12.2 kbps is ~92 KB; at 4.75 kbps it drops to ~35 KB. AMR-WB at 23.85 kbps is the largest AMR option and still only ~180 KB per minute.
Will the converted AMR play on iPhone?
Apple dropped native AMR support years ago — iOS Voice Memos and the default player won't open .amr. VLC for iOS and most third-party audio apps decode AMR fine. If you need native iPhone playback, convert to WAV to M4A instead, which is the format iOS uses for voice memos.
Can I trim my WAV before encoding to AMR?
Yes. Use the trim section to set a start time and duration in seconds (12.5) or HH:MM:SS.sss (00:00:30.500). Useful for cutting a single voicemail greeting out of a longer studio take or removing silence at the start of an IVR prompt before deploying it.
Why does my AMR sound muffled compared to the WAV?
AMR-NB cuts off at 3.4 kHz — half the frequency range of even AM radio. Sibilants ("s" and "f" sounds), high-pitched voices, and any music content above that cutoff are simply gone. Switch to AMR-WB if your decoder supports it; the 7 kHz top end restores most of what makes speech sound natural. If muffled audio is a deal-breaker, AMR is the wrong target — use MP3, M4A, or OPUS.
Is AMR good enough for podcast or interview archival?
Only if storage is the dominant constraint and you've already extracted a transcript. AMR is intelligible but lossy and band-limited; once it's encoded you can't recover the source quality. The standard practice is: keep the WAV master, encode an MP3 or AAC copy for distribution, and only fall back to AMR for legacy telephony deployment or storage-starved embedded devices.