wrote in message
oups.com...

i.e., If I open a .WAV file, do nothing to it, then save/export it with
a new name, then compare the result to my original (fc /b), there are
lots of changes reported (not just at the beginning of the file). (And
each subsequent save/export produces yet a different variant of the
file.)


The .wav format specification allows some variability in the way data is
stored; that is, the same audio data can be stored in different ways.
Here's oe description and commentary on the spec

http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tech/wave.htm

I guess each program will have its own methods of storing the data (eg,
order of the .wav file components)

Anyway, I tried what you suggested - I took an existing .wav file, created
by a Tascam 788 recorder, and opened and saved it with Goldwave. The input
and output files differed. I then opened the output file in Goldwave, and
saved it as a second output fiole. The two output files were identical.

Tim