DAW Definition Stands for "Digital Audio Workstation." A DAW is a digital system designed for recording and editing digital audio. It may refer to audio hardware, audio software, or both. Early DAWs, such as those developed in the 1970s and 1990s, were hardware units that included a mixing console, data storage device, and an analog to digital converter (ADC). They could be used to record, edit, and play back digital audio. These devices, called "integrated DAWs," are still used today, b...