For one finished mix, open Deliver > Custom Export, turn Export Video off and Export Audio on, choose WAVE/Linear PCM, and select the actual stereo Main or Submix bus. 24-bit/48 kHz is common for video post, but the delivery specification wins. For dialogue, music, and effects stems, route those groups to separate Fairlight buses first and render every bus over the same timeline range.
Decide What You Are Delivering: One Mix or Stems
Before touching the Deliver page, ask one question: should the recipient hear your finished mix, or should they be able to rebalance parts of it?
| Deliverable | Choose in Resolve | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Finished stereo mix | Main stereo bus | All tracks, automation, track processing, and bus processing routed into that bus |
| Dialogue, music, and effects stems | Separate D, M, and E buses | Processed groups that can be recombined downstream |
| Raw or lightly processed tracks | Individual timeline tracks | Each selected track, which may not include downstream bus processing |
| Bounced clip or track | Fairlight bounce command | A rendered asset created during editing, not necessarily the final delivery master |
I use the main bus for approval files, podcasts, YouTube voiceovers, and final audio masters unless the handoff specification says otherwise. A timeline-track export isn't automatically a stem. If dialogue passes through a dialogue bus with EQ or compression, exporting the source track can produce a different result from the mix you approved.
Blackmagic’s Fairlight overview explains the routing model. The final Resolve 21 Reference Manual defines the Deliver Audio panel: Output Track can select a Main or Submix bus, the plus control adds more outputs to the same job, and All Timeline Tracks is a separate choice rather than a processed stereo mix.
How to Export One Audio File from DaVinci Resolve
- Set the render range. On the Deliver page, choose Entire Timeline unless you deliberately set In and Out points. Leave enough space for the last reverb or music tail.
- Choose Custom Export. Give the file a useful name such as
project_mix_v03.wavand choose a normal delivery folder, not a cache directory. - Disable Export Video. Open the Video section and clear Export Video. This prevents Resolve from wrapping the audio in an unnecessary video render. If the deliverable must include picture, use the video-export workflow instead of disabling it.
- Enable Export Audio. In the Audio section, turn on Export Audio.
- Choose WAV and Linear PCM. For a reliable master, select WAV, Linear PCM, 24-bit, and the project’s sample rate. In video post, that's normally 48 kHz.
- Select the real output bus. In Output Track, choose the stereo Main or Submix bus that receives the approved mix. Use the project’s actual bus name; Resolve doesn't guarantee that every session calls it Bus 1.
- Keep channel-splitting options off for a normal stereo master. Render one track per channel and Render as discrete audio tracks have different channel/interleaving behavior. Enable either only when the delivery specification requires that structure.
- Add and render. Click Add to Render Queue, inspect the queued summary, then click Render All.
If Bus 1 isn't your actual mix bus, stop here and fix the routing. Open the Fairlight mixer, play the timeline, and watch the bus meters. The bus you select for delivery must receive every track you expect to hear. The Fairlight bus-routing guide shows the track-to-bus signal path without treating every track as an isolated output.
WAV, MP3, or AAC?
WAV is the safe default. It stores uncompressed PCM audio, survives another edit or encode without adding lossy-compression damage, and makes channel count, sample rate, and bit depth explicit. My routine delivery setting for video work is 24-bit, 48 kHz WAV unless a broadcaster, editor, or client supplies a different specification.
MP3 and AAC are listening-copy formats. They're smaller and useful for review, but they should not replace an uncompressed master that will be edited, mixed, or encoded again. In the final Resolve 21 manual, AAC audio encoding is macOS-only. Don't promise AAC from Windows or Linux, and don't infer availability from a screenshot made on another platform. Verify the options on the delivery machine.
| Format | Use it for | Avoid it when |
|---|---|---|
| WAV / Linear PCM | Master, archive, editor handoff, stems | File size is the only concern |
| MP3 | Small speech or music review copy | The file will be processed or encoded again |
| AAC (macOS only in Resolve 21) | Compressed playback or a specified macOS handoff | The recipient asked for an uncompressed master |
How to Export Dialogue, Music, and Effects Stems
A stem is a deliberately routed group, not a synonym for every visible timeline track. A Dialogue bus can include the intended EQ, compression, automation, and level trim; a source-track export can omit downstream bus processing. Verify the actual route and insert state, because a bus export contains what reaches that selected output path, not whatever the editor meant to include.
- Create or identify three buses. Use Dialogue, Music, and Effects, with the channel format required by the handoff.
- Route every source deliberately. Dialogue tracks go to Dialogue, music tracks to Music, and sound effects to Effects. Make sure the stems reach the monitoring or main path without being counted twice.
- Check the summed result. When all stems play together at unity gain, they should reproduce the approved mix unless the delivery specification calls for a separate printmaster treatment.
- Use one common range. Render every stem from the same start time to the same end time, including silence before the first event and after the last event. That keeps the files sample-aligned in another editor or DAW.
- Add the buses on Deliver. In Output Track, select the first Main or Submix, then use the plus control for Dialogue, Music, and Effects in the same job. All Timeline Tracks renders timeline tracks individually and isn't a shortcut for properly routed DX/MX/FX stems.
- Verify each file and the recombined set. Reimport the stems, align them at the same start, and confirm that no group is missing, duplicated, offset, or unexpectedly mono.
For more complex sessions, set up the groups before the last day of the mix. Retrofitting buses at export time is how sends, sidechains, and bus plug-ins get missed. If dialogue dynamics are part of the approved sound, check the routing alongside the dialogue compressor workflow.
Bounce Is Not the Same as Deliver
Fairlight bounce commands create working media during the edit. The Resolve 21 Reference Manual says Bounce Mix to Track processes a selected bus mix to a new or existing timeline track and writes new media to the Project Settings > Capture and Playback > Save clips to location. Deliver instead creates the controlled handoff job, range, filename, destination, and output assignment.
Use Bounce Mix to Track when you need a reusable timeline asset; use Deliver when you need the final master or handoff. A successful bounce doesn't validate the Deliver range, selected output, channel layout, normalization, or destination.
Check Loudness, Peaks, and the Render Range
Don't turn on normalization just because the export sounds quiet. First measure the mix, identify the required loudness target, and adjust the mix intentionally. A web video, podcast, broadcast master, and cinema deliverable may have different requirements. The Resolve loudness and LUFS guide explains what to measure before using any target-based normalization.
- Start: confirm that the first transient or word isn't before the chosen In point.
- End: listen past the last visible edit so reverb, room tone, and music decays aren't chopped.
- Peaks: fix clipping in the mix. Saving the same clipped signal as WAV doesn't repair it.
- Channels: confirm mono, stereo, or multichannel delivery against the specification.
- Version: put the revision in the filename instead of overwriting an approved file with an ambiguous name such as
final.wav.
Resolve Free vs Studio
The standard audio-only Deliver workflow, WAV export, Fairlight mixing, and ordinary bus routing are available in DaVinci Resolve Free. Studio adds Fairlight and codec capabilities for specialized workflows, including features and formats that don't belong in a basic stereo export.
Don't use edition labels as a substitute for the actual Audio panel. Codec availability also depends on the operating system and selected format: Resolve 21 documents AAC encoding as macOS-only. WAVE/Linear PCM is the portable choice for a dependable audio-only master when the recipient hasn't supplied another specification.
Fix Common Audio Export Problems
The exported file is silent
Confirm that Export Audio is enabled and that the selected bus meter moves during playback. Then check track mute, bus mute, automation, and routing. If the timeline itself is silent, start with the Resolve no-audio checklist before changing render settings.
The export contains only one track or misses music
You probably selected a timeline track or a bus that doesn't receive the whole mix. Follow the signal from each source track through any subgroup bus to the output chosen on Deliver. Don't assume Bus 1 is the master in a project with custom routing.
The WAV is mono instead of stereo
Inspect both the bus format and Output Track selection. A mono bus produces a mono output even when the timeline contains many audio clips. Change the routing or create the required stereo bus; renaming the file will not change its channel layout.
Resolve creates several files instead of one
Return to Audio, choose the intended stereo Main or Submix bus, and disable both Render one track per channel and Render as discrete audio tracks unless the delivery specification requests separated channel structure. All Timeline Tracks is also a different output choice from one processed stereo bus.
The file ends too early
Check the In/Out range and move the Out point after the full audio tail. Entire Timeline is safer for a normal master, but even then I listen through the last seconds because a muted or trimmed tail can still sound abrupt.
The render is quieter or different from playback
Make sure Deliver is using the same bus path you monitored and that its meter moves through the full range. A bus render includes only audio actually routed through that output, with its active insert and automation state. Timeline-track output can differ, and normalization in the render job can change level after the mix.
The Two-Minute Verification I Never Skip
Open the exported file in a player outside Resolve and listen to the beginning, a loud section, a quiet section, and the ending. Check duration and channel count. For a client master or stems, reimport the files into a clean timeline, line them up at the same start time, and compare them with the approved mix.
A green render-complete message proves only that Resolve wrote a file. It doesn't prove that you selected the correct bus, included the full range, preserved the channel layout, or delivered the version the recipient asked for. Once that verification passes, keep the WAV master and create a smaller listening copy only if somebody needs it. For the rest of the picture-and-sound handoff, use the DaVinci Resolve export settings guide.
Use the DaVinci Resolve export-settings hub for video delivery targets and the tutorial roadmap for project setup and Fairlight mixing. This page stays focused on audio-only files, buses, tracks, stems, and their verification.
DaVinci Resolve Audio Export FAQ
What are the best settings for audio-only export?
For a general video-post master, use WAV, Linear PCM, 24-bit, 48 kHz, and the main stereo bus. Follow a supplied delivery specification when it requires something different.
How do I export one finished stereo mix?
Turn off Export Video, turn on Export Audio, and choose the stereo bus that receives the complete approved mix. Keep individual-track and split-channel options disabled.
Can DaVinci Resolve export separate audio stems?
Yes. Route dialogue, music, and effects to separate buses, then render those buses over an identical start and end range. Recombine them once to verify alignment and content.
Why is my exported audio silent?
The usual causes are Export Audio being off, the wrong output bus, a muted bus or track, automation, or source tracks that never reach the selected bus.
Should I use 44.1 or 48 kHz?
Match the project and delivery specification. Video post-production normally uses 48 kHz; some music-only workflows use 44.1 kHz.
Does audio-only export work in Resolve Free?
Yes. Resolve Free supports the standard audio-only workflow, WAV export, mixing, and ordinary bus routing. Specialized formats and advanced workflows can depend on Studio, the operating system, or additional components.
Related guides
- DaVinci Resolve Export Settings: the hub: every delivery target, video included.
- How to Export Video in DaVinci Resolve: the full Deliver page walkthrough.
- Audio Levels and LUFS in DaVinci Resolve: hit the loudness target before you export.
