FLAC to WAV is a lossless unpack
FLAC is a lossless compressor for PCM audio, so turning it back into WAV restores exactly the samples that were encoded. Nothing is re-encoded and there is no quality setting to get wrong, as long as sample rate, channels and bit depth stay on "Original".
The converter proves it: FLAC files carry an MD5 checksum of their audio, and the converter computes the same checksum over the WAV it writes. When they match, the result shows "Bit-exact lossless" and "MD5 matches source FLAC".
24-bit and high sample rates are kept
A 24-bit/96 kHz FLAC becomes a 24-bit/96 kHz WAV; the decoder runs at the file's own rate, so no hidden resampling happens. 24-bit and multichannel files use the WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE header that Microsoft recommends, while 16-bit mono and stereo files use the classic 44-byte header for maximum compatibility.
Choose 16-bit only when a device or CD burner needs it. Reducing 24-bit to 16-bit applies dither, a tiny amount of noise that avoids distortion in quiet passages.
Why the WAV is bigger than the FLAC
WAV stores every sample uncompressed: 10.58 MB per minute at 16-bit/44.1 kHz stereo and 34.56 MB per minute at 24-bit/96 kHz. FLAC typically shrinks that to 50–70%, so expect the WAV to be about 1.4 to 2 times the FLAC size. A three-minute 24-bit/96 kHz track becomes a WAV of about 104 MB.
The size increase is expected and carries no quality change. If storage matters, keep the FLAC and convert to WAV only for the project that needs it.
Tags in WAV files
WAV has only a basic tag area, the RIFF INFO list. Title, artist, album, track, year, genre and comment are copied there, but there is no standard slot for cover art or album artist, so those are left out and the result card lists them. Some players ignore INFO tags entirely.
For a music library, FLAC remains the better container; WAV is best as a working file for editing, burning or hardware that requires it.
Uses: DAWs, DJ software, CD burning — and the 4 GB limit
Most audio editors, DJ software and hardware samplers accept WAV without plug-ins. For an audio CD, pick 16-bit and 44.1 kHz stereo, the Red Book CD format.
A standard WAV file cannot exceed 4 GB: about 6.8 hours of 16-bit/44.1 kHz stereo or about 2.1 hours of 24-bit/96 kHz stereo. The converter warns before exceeding it, although browser memory limits long files sooner (about 85 minutes of 44.1 kHz stereo per file on desktop).