Reverse Audio
Reverse an audio file — play it backwards.
How to reverse audio
- Add an audio file.
- Click reverse. The waveform is identical in amplitude but the samples play in the opposite order.
- Download.
About this tool
Reversing audio is a pure sample-order operation — every sample that was at position N from the start is now at position N from the end. There is no re-encoding of the signal content, only re-ordering, and then a re-encode to the output format. For PCM formats (WAV) the operation is exact. For lossy formats the decode-re-encode cycle introduces the usual generation loss.
The practical applications are mostly in sound design and music production. Reversed reverb is the classic technique: record a sound, reverse it, apply reverb, reverse the result — the reverb tail now occurs before the sound itself, creating an anticipatory swell. That technique requires a proper audio editor but the reversed audio produced here is the starting material.