About the Reverse Audio
Play any recording backwards. Reverse a voice note to hear what it sounds like, find hidden messages people say are in songs, make a reversed cymbal or reverse-reverb sound effect, or set a backwards puzzle for friends. Choose the file and download the reversed version.
It runs in your browser, so the recording is never uploaded. MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, FLAC and the sound of videos all work, for recordings up to 60 minutes and files up to 100 MB.
How it works
Digital audio is a long list of numbers, tens of thousands per second, each giving the position of the speaker cone at that instant. Reversing simply reads the list from the end to the start, so the last sound comes first and every note, word and echo runs the other way.
Because the last sample is needed before anything can be written, the whole decoded recording is held in memory while it is reversed. That is why recordings are limited to 60 minutes; for a longer file, cut it into parts with the audio splitter first.
The result keeps the original's sample rate and channels and is saved in the same format when it can be written, or as MP3. Reversing twice gives back the original sound.
Assumptions and limits
- Up to 60 minutes of audio per file.
- MP3, M4A and OGG are saved at 192 kbps; WAV and FLAC are exact.
- Only the first sound track of a file is used.
Worked examples
A reverse cymbal effect
Reverse a cymbal crash and it swells up out of silence instead of dying away, a classic lead-in before a drop.
Backwards speech
Record yourself saying a phrase, reverse it, then try to imitate the reversed sound and reverse that recording: the phrase comes back, slightly odd.
Checking for backmasking
Load a song section and play it reversed to listen for the hidden messages some songs are said to contain.
How to use the Reverse Audio
- Pick a sound to flip. Up to 60 minutes and 100 MB.
- Reverse it. The end becomes the beginning.
- Play and keep it. Listen, then download the reversed file.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reverse an audio file?
Choose the file on this page and press Reverse audio. The sound is turned around in your browser, from the last moment to the first, and you can listen to it on the page before downloading. Nothing is uploaded and no app is needed.
Does reversing change the quality?
No sample is changed, only their order. WAV and FLAC results are exact copies played backwards; MP3, M4A and OGG are compressed again at 192 kbps, which sounds the same for nearly all recordings.
Why is there a 60-minute limit?
To play a recording backwards, its very end has to be read before the first reversed sound can be written, so the whole decoded audio sits in your device's memory. An hour of stereo sound needs over a gigabyte, which is about the safe limit in a browser.
Can I reverse only part of a song?
Trim the part you want with the audio trimmer first, then reverse that clip here. You can join it back to the rest of the song with the audio joiner if you want the reversed part in place.
Can I reverse the sound of a video?
Yes. Choose the video and its sound track is reversed and saved as an audio file. The picture isn't kept or reversed; only the sound is processed.
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you enter or upload stays on your device and is never sent to our servers.