Description:

WavPack is a completely open audio compression format providing lossless,
high-quality lossy, and a unique hybrid compression mode.

Although the technology is loosely based on previous versions of WavPack, the
new version 4 format has been designed from the ground up to offer unparalleled
performance and functionality.

In the default lossless mode WavPack acts just like a Zip compressor for audio
files. However, unlike MP3 or WMA encoding which can affect the sound quality,
not a single bit of the original information is lost, so there's no chance of
degradation. This makes lossless mode ideal for archiving audio material or
any other situation where quality is paramount. The compression ratio depends
on the source material, but generally is between 30% and 70%.

The hybrid mode provides all the advantages of lossless compression with an
additional bonus. Instead of creating a single file, this mode creates both a
relatively small, high-quality lossy file that can be used all by itself, and
a "correction" file that (when combined with the lossy file) provides full
lossless restoration. For some users this means never having to choose between
lossless and lossy compression!