SHN to VOC Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Convert VOC retro-game audio to WAV or MP3. If your files are still in SHN format, this page is the shortcut: SHN (Shorten) is the granddaddy of lossless audio — the format of every live-concert trade archive from the 1990s.
This converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your files never leave your device, nothing is uploaded, and there are no watermarks, sign-ups or queues. Drop in several files at once to convert them as a batch.
How SHN compares to VOC
| SHN | VOC | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Fixed 32KB frames, minimal header | Creative Voice file blocks (0x08 header) |
| Types / schema | Lossless, 16-bit PCM | 8-bit PCM / ADPCM variants |
| Compatibility | ffmpeg, shorten, etree tooling | ffmpeg, Sound Blaster era tools |
| Best for | Concert trade archives | Retro-game audio rescue |
How to convert SHN to VOC
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your SHN files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to VOC". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted VOC file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the SHN format
Shorten (SHN) is the 1993 lossless codec that made live-music trading possible: etree.org and the tape-trading community distributed entire concert recordings as SHN before FLAC existed. Its 32KB fixed frames and minimal header made it robust on FTP, its native habitat.
Converting SHN to FLAC is the standard modernization — sample-identical output, proper tags finally possible, and seeking that does not require decoding from the start of the file.
+ Strengths
- ✓Foundational live-music archive format
- ✓Extremely simple and stable
- ✓Decodes losslessly via ffmpeg
! Limitations
- −No seeking support
- −No tagging
- −16-bit PCM only
About the VOC format
VOC is the Creative Sound Blaster format — if a DOS game made a sound between 1989 and 1994, it was probably a VOC: 8-bit samples at exotic sample rates, with loop points, silence blocks and hardware-specific appendices that made each card sing differently.
ffmpeg decodes the standard sample blocks and converts VOC to WAV or MP3 — the cheapest time machine for retro-game audio.
+ Strengths
- ✓The DOS gaming era's audio format
- ✓Unique features: loops, silence, transfer blocks
- ✓Simple to decode
! Limitations
- −8-bit/11kHz era fidelity
- −Creative hardware extensions lost on convert
- −Rarely produced after 1995
Why convert SHN to VOC?
Think of it as moving your file to the container that fits the job. No seeking support VOC works differently: The DOS gaming era's audio format If any of that sounds like your task, run the conversion — it takes seconds and nothing leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this SHN to VOC converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for SHN to VOC?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Will converting SHN to VOC reduce audio quality?
If VOC is lossless, the output contains everything the SHN file contains — no further loss is added. If VOC is lossy, one recompression pass is unavoidable; the quality slider controls how much. Loss that already happened in the source file can never be undone by converting.
Are tags like title and artist preserved?
Tag handling varies between target formats and this conversion focuses on the audio itself. For archival copies where tags matter, keep the original file; the converted copy is for playback and sharing.