I know the WAV file format uses signed integers for 16-bit samples. It also stores them in little-endian order, meaning the lowest 8 bits come first, then the next, etc. Is the special sign bit on the first byte, or is the special sign bit always on the most significant bit (highest value)?
Meaning:
Which one is the sign bit in the WAV format?
++---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++
|| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h || i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p ||
++---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++
--------------------------- here -> ^ ------------- or here? -> ^
i or p?
Answer
signed int, little endian:
byte 1(lsb) byte 2(msb)
---------------------------------
7|6|5|4|3|2|1|0 | 7|6|5|4|3|2|1|0|
----------------------------------
^
|
Sign bit
You only need to concern yourself with that when reading/writing a short int to some external media. Within your program, the sign bit is the most significant bit in the short, no matter if you're on a big or little endian platform.