AVR to SND Converter

Transform Audio Visual Research AVR into SND format

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Research Audio Rescue

Extract audio from the legacy AVR format and convert to SND — make Atari ST research recordings accessible in a supported format.

No Emulator Required

Convert AVR files without an Atari ST emulator or SoX command line. The entire process runs in your web browser.

Secure Processing

Uploaded AVR files are deleted immediately after conversion. Output files are purged within 24 hours.

How to convert AVR to SND

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose snd or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your snd file right afterwards

About formats

AVR (Audio Visual Research) is an audio format that originated on the Apple Macintosh around 1989, created by the Audio Visual Research company for their editing and synthesis tools. It stores raw audio samples preceded by a fixed-length header containing sample rate, bit depth (8 or 16 bits), channel configuration, and loop point markers. Unlike complex container formats, AVR uses a flat binary structure with no compression, preserving the full waveform quality at the expense of larger files. The format served professional Macintosh audio workstations during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Mac platform dominated creative computing. One advantage is uncompressed storage guaranteeing zero artifacts and perfect signal integrity through editing operations. Native loop markers represent another feature, letting sound designers define seamless repetition points within the file — ahead of its time for sample-based music production. Tools like SoX maintain AVR support, ensuring archivists can access and convert these legacy recordings. While eclipsed by WAV and AIFF, AVR remains a notable piece of early digital audio history.
Initial release: 1989
SND is a multi-platform audio file extension used across several computing ecosystems since the late 1980s. On Sun and NeXT workstations, .snd files follow the AU format structure — a header with magic number 0x2e736e64, data offset, encoding type, sample rate, and channel count, followed by raw audio. On MS-DOS PCs, the same .snd extension was used by early sound utilities like Sounder and SoundTool for simple 8-bit unsigned PCM recordings. Macintosh systems also employed .snd for sound resources embedded in the resource fork. Because the extension is shared across incompatible formats, audio processing tools typically inspect the file header to determine which variant they are handling: files beginning with the AU magic number are treated as Sun/NeXT audio, while headerless files are interpreted as raw PCM with assumed parameters. The Sun/NeXT variant supports multiple encodings including mu-law, A-law, 8-bit and 16-bit linear PCM, and ADPCM, making it versatile for both speech and general audio. One advantage of the AU-style SND is its self-describing header, which enables any compliant player to determine sample format and rate without external metadata. The MS-DOS SND variants hold historical value as artifacts of the era when Sound Blaster cards first brought digital audio to personal computers. SND files from all platforms can be processed and converted using SoX and other audio tools.
Initial release: 1988

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert AVR to SND?

SND works on NeXT and macOS. Converting AVR creates audio compatible with Unix and Apple legacy audio systems.

What can open SND files?

macOS, Unix, Audacity, VLC, and SoX handle SND.

What is the AVR format?

AVR (Audio Visual Research) is an audio format developed for the Atari ST computer. It was used in academic and research audio applications.

Is AVR widely supported today?

AVR is a niche legacy format. SoX and Audacity can read it on modern systems, but mainstream media players do not support it.

Can I convert multiple AVR files at once?

Yes. Upload several AVR recordings and batch-convert them all simultaneously — efficient for processing research audio libraries.