MAUD to IRCAM Converter

Encode MAUD recordings as IRCAM format online

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MAUD to IRCAM

Transform vintage Amiga MAUD recordings into IRCAM — bridging retro computing audio with acoustic research and computational musicology.

No Amiga Required

Convert MAUD to IRCAM without booting an Amiga emulator or installing vintage software. Works from any modern platform.

Quick Results

MAUD files are typically compact. Conversion to IRCAM completes rapidly on our cloud servers with minimal wait.

How to convert MAUD to IRCAM

1

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

2

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

3

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

About formats

MAUD is an audio file format developed by MacroSystem for the Commodore Amiga platform, introduced in the early 1990s as part of their digital video and audio production tools. Built on the Amiga IFF (Interchange File Format) chunk architecture, MAUD files organize data into clearly delineated chunks — MHDR for the header, MDAT for sample data, and optional annotation chunks for metadata. The format supports mono and stereo layouts with bit depths of 8 or 16 bits and sample rates up to 48 kHz, which represented professional-grade specifications on Amiga hardware. Both signed linear PCM and A-law/mu-law encodings are available, offering a choice between fidelity and file size. MAUD saw primary use in the Amiga video production community, where MacroSystem Retina and VLab Motion boards demanded synchronized audio that the standard 8SVX format could not deliver. Conversion support exists today through SoX and libsndfile, ensuring vintage Amiga productions remain recoverable. Three distinct advantages stand out: clean IFF-based structure that any chunk-aware parser can navigate, 16-bit stereo capability ahead of typical Amiga audio, and lightweight overhead that left maximum CPU headroom for video rendering.
Initial release: 1992
IRCAM sound files originate from the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique — one of the world's foremost computer music laboratories, founded by composer Pierre Boulez in Paris. The format was created in the early 1980s to serve the research needs of IRCAM and has since been adopted by academic and artistic communities working at the intersection of science and sound. An IRCAM file begins with a 1024-byte header containing a magic number, sample rate, channel count, and an encoding type field that supports linear PCM (16/32-bit integer and 32-bit float), mu-law, and A-law variants. The header block also accommodates free-form annotation text, allowing researchers to embed experiment metadata directly in the audio file. Because the payload is uncompressed by default, recordings maintain full fidelity through successive analysis and resynthesis cycles — essential in psychoacoustic experimentation. Software such as Csound, libsndfile, and SoX reads and writes the format natively. Key advantages include a well-defined header that eliminates parsing ambiguity, support for floating-point samples essential in scientific DSP work, and deep roots in the computer music community ensuring continued tooling.
Developer: IRCAM
Initial release: 1983

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert MAUD to IRCAM?

IRCAM provides academic audio research format. Converting from MAUD brings vintage Amiga audio into this format for acoustic research and computational musicology.

What opens IRCAM files?

Csound, IRCAM tools, and SoX can handle IRCAM format files for playback and editing.

Is quality preserved?

Quality depends on the IRCAM encoding. The conversion faithfully represents whatever audio content the MAUD source contains.

What is MAUD?

MAUD is a Commodore Amiga audio format from 1985, used by Amiga audio software for samples and recordings. It requires conversion for modern use.

Can I batch convert?

Upload multiple MAUD files and convert them all to IRCAM at once — process your entire Amiga audio collection in one session.