Overview: Audio-oriented containers

Audio-oriented containers organize sample data and associated information for particular recording and playback workflows.

An audio file's packaging can matter even when its decoded sound is familiar PCM or DSD. Chunk structures, metadata and format conventions affect how the stream is identified and read. This group covers the audio-focused containers below, keeping their stored structure distinct from the signal representation they carry.

• WAV and RIFF
  WAV usually stores audio in a RIFF WAVE structure containing a format description, sample data, and optional metadata chunks.

• AIFF
  Audio Interchange File Format stores sampled audio and supporting information in a chunk-based file structure originally defined by Apple.

• CAF
  Apple Core Audio Format uses extensible chunks and 64-bit size fields to store audio, packet descriptions, and metadata.

• DSF
  Sony DSF stores raw DSD audio in channel blocks together with an optional ID3v2 metadata section.

• DSDIFF (DFF)
  Philips DSDIFF stores DSD audio or its losslessly compressed DST representation with properties and optional production information.