Reversing sample order does not shorten or lengthen the recording.
REV / AVAILABLE NOW
Reverse Audio
Turn the timeline around. Reverse music, speech, or sound effects locally in one click.
Local audio labFiles never leave this tab
00:00LOCAL BUFFER--:--
Preview controls appear after you add or generate audio.
GUIDE / reverse audio online
What does reversing audio do?
Reversing audio changes the order of its samples so the end plays first and the beginning plays last. SoundTools reverses each channel locally in your browser while preserving the recording length and sample rate. You can compare the backward result with the original and download it as a WAV without uploading the source.
FIELD NOTES / 01
Turn the timeline around in one pass
The reverse process reads every decoded sample from the end of each channel back to the beginning. Stereo channels remain separate and synchronized, so the result keeps the same channel layout, duration, and sample rate as the decoded source.
Reversing changes attacks into decays and makes speech unfamiliar, but it does not add reverb, stretch time, isolate vocals, or restore an already reversed recording to a compressed original. Running the exported result through the tool again restores the sample order, with another WAV encode.
PROCESS / THREE STEPS
How to reverse audio online
- 01
Choose the source audio
Drop an MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, or OGG file into the browser workbench. The file is decoded locally and displayed as a waveform.
- 02
Reverse every sample
Select Reverse and run the process. There are no effect parameters to guess—the end of each channel simply becomes its new beginning.
- 03
Listen and download
Preview the backward version next to the original. If it creates the effect you want, save the result as a WAV on your device.
SIGNAL NOTES / VERIFIED BEHAVIOR
What this tool actually does
Clear limits are part of a useful tool. These values describe the processor currently running in this page.
Mono remains mono, and left and right stereo channels are reversed independently.
The reversed audio is encoded locally at the decoded source sample rate.
USE CASES / 02
Creative ways to play audio backwards
- Reverse transitions
Turn cymbals, impacts, and sustained notes into rising textures for music or video edits.
- Sound-design experiments
Discover unusual envelopes and rhythms in field recordings, Foley, voices, or instrumental samples.
- Backward speech challenges
Reverse a spoken phrase, imitate what you hear, and reverse the new take for a familiar party or pronunciation experiment.
QUESTIONS / PRACTICAL ANSWERS
Questions about this tool
Answers based on the current browser processor—not promises about a future version.
01Can I play audio backwards before downloading it?
Yes. SoundTools creates a separate preview player for the reversed result while keeping the original player available for comparison.
02Does reversing audio change its duration or pitch?
No. It changes only the order of samples. Duration, sample rate, and the frequencies contained in each moment remain otherwise unchanged.
03Can I reverse stereo audio?
Yes. The left and right channels are reversed independently and remain aligned as a stereo result.
04Which files can I reverse?
Input decoding depends on the browser, but modern browsers commonly support MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, and OGG. The result is downloaded as WAV.
05Is the recording sent to a server?
No. The source stays in the browser tab while a dedicated local worker reverses the decoded samples.