RAW

RAW Sample Files consist of nothing but PCM audio data are called raw sound files. Some audio i/o devices, especially older devices intended for research rather than the commercial market, produce such files. They are no longer commonly seen.

Since raw sound files have no header in which to store information, it is necessary to know their sampling rate, resolution, signedness, and number of channels. Some of these parameters are occasionally encoded in the filename, but there are no truly general conventions. Filename suffixes are sometimes used to convey the resolution and signedness. For example, the suffix .sb is likely to indicate that samples consist of one byte, that is, have a resolution of 8 bits, and are signed. The suffix .uw in this system indicates that each sample is represented by a two-byte word, that is, has a resolution of 16 bits, and is unsigned.