WVE to IRCAM Converter

Transform Psion WVE audio into IRCAM research audio

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PDA Audio Rescued

Extract audio from legacy Psion WVE files and convert to IRCAM — make vintage PDA recordings accessible in a supported format.

No PsiWin Needed

Convert WVE files without PsiWin or SoX. The entire process runs in your web browser on any operating system.

Secure Processing

Uploaded WVE files are deleted immediately after conversion. Output files are purged from our servers within 24 hours.

How to convert WVE 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

WVE is the audio format native to the Psion Series 3 family of personal digital assistants, released by British company Psion PLC beginning in September 1991. These clamshell PDAs included a built-in voice recorder, and all dictation functionality relied on WVE files to store captured sound. Each file begins with the ASCII signature "ALawSoundFile**" followed by a minimal header, then raw A-law encoded audio sampled at 8 kHz — a rate inherited from digital telephony standards. At 8000 bytes per second, a one-minute recording occupies just 480 KB, which was essential given that Psion devices stored data on SRAM cards typically ranging from 128 KB to 2 MB. The A-law encoding provides reasonable speech clarity within these tight storage constraints, prioritizing intelligibility over high-fidelity reproduction. WVE files can be converted to WAV or other modern formats using SoX, Awave Studio, or specialized Psion file utilities. While the format is firmly a product of early-1990s handheld computing, it holds historical significance as one of the first audio recording formats designed for pocket-sized consumer devices. Collectors and researchers studying mobile computing history occasionally encounter WVE files when recovering data from legacy SRAM media.
Developer: Psion PLC
Initial release: 1991
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 WVE to IRCAM?

IRCAM is the Paris music research institute format. Converting WVE brings PDA audio into academic research.

What can open IRCAM files?

Csound, SoX, and Audacity read IRCAM files.

What is the WVE format?

WVE is the native audio format of Psion PDA devices (Series 3, 5, Revo). It stores 8-bit A-law encoded audio — a legacy from the EPOC operating system.

Can modern systems play WVE?

SoX and PsiWin on Windows can process WVE files. Standard media players do not support it — conversion is the easiest path to playback.

Can I convert multiple WVE files?

Yes. Upload several Psion recordings and batch-convert them all at once — efficient for archiving an entire PDA audio library.

WVE to IRCAM Quality Rating

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