PolyWAV splitter
PolyWAV Splitter – Split Multichannel WAV into Mono Files
- 1st conversion free
- No installation
- No plugin
- Files stay local
Drop a poly audio file
WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG. Stereo or multichannel, up to 32 tracks. Analysed locally. Drop several files for Pro batch mode.
✓ 1st conversion free. ✓ Your audio stays on your device.
Watch how to split a PolyWAVWhat this tool does for you
- Split a polyphonic WAV into one mono file per channel, up to 32 channels
- Track names are read from the iXML and bext metadata your recorder wrote
- Sample rate and bit depth are copied verbatim, samples are never re-encoded
- Download the whole set as a ZIP, already named for your session
- Everything runs in your browser. Files are never uploaded to a server.
How it works
01. Drop your PolyWAV
Channel count, sample rate, bit depth and duration are detected instantly.
02. Check and name the channels
Track names from the file are pre-filled. Rename them and untick anything you do not need.
03. Export the mono files
One channel downloads on its own, several arrive as a ZIP ready for the session.
Poly WAV, mono sets and why the split matters
What a poly WAV actually contains
A polyphonic WAV is a single RIFF file whose data chunk interleaves every channel of a take: boom, each radio mic, plant mics and the recorder's stereo mix, sample by sample. Sound Devices, Zoom, Zaxcom and Tascam recorders write this by default because it keeps one take in one file with one set of timecode and metadata. The channel names you see in a good workflow do not live in the audio: they sit in an iXML chunk alongside the bext chunk that carries timecode, scene and take.
When you need mono stems instead
Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and most music DAWs handle a poly file inconsistently: some import it as a single multichannel clip you then have to break out, some map only the first two channels. Mono stems remove the ambiguity. They are also what most assistant editors, dialogue editors and mixers ask for on delivery, because a folder of Boom.wav, Lav1.wav, Lav2.wav can be dropped on a timeline without anyone guessing what channel 4 was.
Quality and technical considerations
Splitting is a de-interleave, not a conversion. With the export settings left on Source, the 24-bit words for channel 3 are written into a new mono file at the same sample rate and bit depth, with no resampling and no dither. What you can lose is metadata: the bext chunk, iXML track names and LIST/INFO are copied into WAV exports, but AIFF and MP3 exports do not carry them, so keep the original poly files archived until picture lock — they remain the authoritative version of the take.
Professional use cases
Location sound
Deliver a card of multichannel takes as named mono stems so the editor never has to ask which channel the boom was on.
Post-production and dialogue editing
Break a take into stems before conforming, so you can mute a noisy lav without touching the boom.
Documentary and interview work
Two-camera interviews recorded to a 4-track poly file become four clean tracks ready for iterative re-cuts.
What is a PolyWAV?
A PolyWAV is a WAV file that contains several audio channels in one container. It is the usual recording format for production sound and field recording: a recorder can write every microphone it is fed into the same file, keeping the take together with a single timecode stamp, scene and take number.
Post-production rarely works that way. Editors, dialogue editors and mixers normally want each microphone as its own mono file so it can be routed and processed independently. Splitting is the step between the two.
Production recorder → PolyWAV
- Channel 1
- Channel 2
- Channel 3
- Channel 4
- → mono WAV
- → mono WAV
- → mono WAV
- → mono WAV
PolyWAV Splitter for location sound
On set, a production sound mixer feeds a boom, one or more radio mics, plant mics and sometimes a camera return into a field recorder. The recorder writes those inputs as one multichannel file per take.
In post, the assistant editor or dialogue editor often needs those inputs separately: the boom on its own track, each lavalier on its own, plants and extra inputs kept apart so a noisy channel can be muted without touching the rest. Loading the take here and exporting per channel produces exactly that set, with the names you type carried into the filenames so nobody has to guess what channel 4 was.
If the channel order in the delivered set does not match the sheet, you can reorder or relabel afterwards with the Channel Mapper.
Split Sound Devices PolyWAV files
Working with PolyWAV files from a Sound Devices recorder? They are read here like any other polyphonic WAV. Where the recorder wrote track names into the file's iXML metadata, those names appear next to each channel instead of a bare number.
The workflow is: load the poly file, check the detected channel count, sample rate and bit depth, rename or deselect channels, export, then download the mono files or the ZIP. Audio Tool Kit is an independent utility and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any recorder manufacturer.
What happens when you split a PolyWAV?
A multichannel WAV stores the channels interleaved: sample 1 of channel 1, sample 1 of channel 2, and so on. Splitting separates those streams, writing each one into its own mono WAV. Nothing is summed.
That is the difference with a downmix. A downmix mixes several channels into fewer channels, so the boom and the lavs end up in the same audio. Channel extraction keeps them apart: four channels in, four files out, one per channel. If you actually want a mix, use the surround downmixer instead.
| Source file | After the split |
|---|---|
| 2 channels | 2 mono WAV files |
| 4 channels | 4 mono WAV files |
| 8 channels | 8 mono WAV files |
| 16 channels | 16 mono WAV files |
| Up to 32 channels | 32 mono WAV files |
Does splitting a PolyWAV reduce audio quality?
Extracting a channel does not require any lossy compression. When you export WAV and leave the sample rate and bit depth on the source values, each channel's samples are written into a new mono file as they were, so there is no re-encoding step. Quality changes only if you choose to change something: converting to a different sample rate resamples the audio, a lower bit depth requantises it, and MP3 export is lossy by nature. Keep the original poly files archived until picture lock either way — they stay the authoritative version of the take, with the recorder's own metadata.
Split a PolyWAV without a DAW
Splitting a poly file is a file operation, not a mixing decision, so it does not need Pro Tools, Reaper or Resolve open. Every channel already exists inside the container; the splitter just writes each one to its own file. That matters when the person who needs the isos is an editor or a producer without a sound licence, or when you are on a borrowed machine on location.
The tool runs entirely in the browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to upload — useful for embargoed rushes. Do you need a DAW to split a PolyWAV? compares the approaches, and do you need a DAW for audio file prep covers the wider question of what actually requires a session.
Channel order and track names
A poly file's channel order is whatever the recordist assigned on the recorder: track 1 is usually the boom, then the radio mics, and on many jobs the last two channels are a stereo mixdown rather than an iso. Nothing in the WAV format enforces that, which is why the sound report matters and why the track names written into the iXML chunk are worth keeping.
The splitter pre-fills each channel with the name it finds in the file and puts that name in the exported filename, so the isos arrive in the session labelled Boom and Lav1 rather than Track 1 and Track 2. If a channel is unnamed or wrongly named, edit it before exporting. To check what a file contains first, use the audio inspector; to change the order of channels inside a multichannel file rather than split it, use the channel mapper. Background on layouts is in PolyWAV channel order and BWF metadata explained.
See how it works
How to Split a PolyWAV into Mono Tracks Without Pro Tools or any DAWWatch the step-by-step tutorial and split a polyphonic WAV into named mono tracks directly in your browser.Watch the tutorial →Your audio stays on your device
Decoding, processing and export all run in your browser: compressed formats are decoded with the Web Audio API, and WAV, AIFF and MP3 files are written by JavaScript in the page. Your audio is never uploaded to our servers. Only anonymous page analytics and, if you sign in, your account and payment details go online.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a PolyWAV file?
- A PolyWAV is a single WAV file that holds several audio channels interleaved together instead of one channel per file. Field recorders and multitrack production recorders write them so that every microphone of a take stays in one file with one set of timecode and metadata.
- How do I split a PolyWAV into mono files?
- Drop the file on the uploader above. The channel list appears with a waveform for each track. Rename the channels if you want, untick the ones you do not need, then export. One channel downloads as a single mono file, several channels download as a ZIP.
- Can I split an 8-channel WAV file?
- Yes. An 8-channel recording becomes eight mono files, one per input. That is the common case for a bag rig running a boom, several radio mics and a stereo mix.
- Can I split a 16-channel PolyWAV?
- Yes. Files up to 32 interleaved channels are supported, so a 16-track mixer capture splits into sixteen mono files in one pass. Above 8 channels the split is part of Pro.
- Can I split a Sound Devices PolyWAV?
- Yes. Poly files written by Sound Devices, Zoom, Zaxcom and Tascam recorders are read the same way, and track names stored in the iXML chunk are used to pre-fill the channel names, so exported stems are already labelled. Audio Tool Kit is not affiliated with any recorder manufacturer.
- Does splitting a PolyWAV reduce audio quality?
- No re-encoding happens when you export WAV at the source sample rate and bit depth: the samples of each channel are copied into their own file. Quality only changes if you deliberately pick a different sample rate, a different bit depth, or a lossy format such as MP3 in the export settings.
- What is the difference between a PolyWAV and a mono WAV?
- A PolyWAV carries every channel of the take in one file. A mono WAV carries exactly one channel. Editors and dialogue mixers usually ask for mono files because each track can be routed, muted and processed on its own.
- Can I split a multichannel WAV that did not come from a field recorder?
- Yes. Any interleaved multichannel WAV works, including bounces out of a DAW and stems exported from a mixing session. Channels without embedded names are numbered so you can rename them before export.
- Are my audio files uploaded to a server?
- No. Decoding, splitting and encoding all run in your browser with the Web Audio API. The audio is never sent anywhere, which matters for unreleased productions and confidential interviews.
- Do I need Pro Tools or another DAW to split a PolyWAV?
- No. This page does the de-interleave without any installation. A DAW is still the right place for editing, mixing and conforming, but not for a routine channel extraction.
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