editor's note:  From the illustrations below, you may note that Winamp has evolved a bit since the writing of this article (1998) however the concepts have not changed at all.  As such, this guide is both a reference and a testament to a time when Winamp wasn't owned by AOL, Napster wasn't even written yet, decoding took noticeable amounts of time, and the author (now the editor) had much more free time.

Due to repeated requests I observe as channel operator on EFnet's #MPEG3, I've constructed a nice guide to MP3 decompression featuring everyone's favorite player, Winamp.

If you're reading this page you probably already have the prerequisites: a recent copy of the Winamp program and some MP3 files.

Step 1: Setting the mood... err, mode!

Hit Control-P at the main Winamp window to reveal this Preferences dialogue. Select the Audio I/O tab. In the Output Plug-Ins box, select the Nullsoft Disk Writer Plug-In.

Step 2: Just do it.^TM
 

Now it is just a matter of gathering the files you want to convert to MP3 and letting your computer and Winamp do its thing.

One thing you should consider doing is turning off the Winamp Equalizer. Otherwise, you will introduce unnecessary "sound enhancement" into the final WAV files. Unless of course you really want to keep those sound enhancements, but for general recording purposes, I strongly encourage you to disable the graphic equalizer.

If you have just one file, it's just a simple matter of dragging and dropping the MP3 onto Winamp. The program will take over after that and decode your MP3. You will be prompted for the folder in which you want the WAV file saved.

If you have a bunch of files to decode scattered around, you have two options. The easy way would be to manually move all those files to a common directory then drag the whole folder to Winamp and go cook a hot dog or something while you wait. The other option is to use the Winamp Playlist Editor, at right, to put together all the MP3s into a playlist. Then press play and cook your hot dog.

Well, that's it! Not too hard was it? If you have any questions, please do not feel free to contact me or the author of Winamp as programmers tend to be busy men (or women) and are often slow to reply to the swamp of email they get in their inboxes each day-- at least I know I am. However, I do invite you to hang out on IRC with myself and the gang in EFnet's #MPEG3.

Cheers,
Gary Calpo a.k.a. Flipino