Play embedded .wav files in Firefox without Quicktime

Does it not annoy you that buggy, nagging Quicktime is required to play embedded wave files (.wav) in Firefox? I use Merriam-Webster's online dictionary for pronunciation help, and it uses embedded .wav, which until now forced me to use Quicktime in Firefox. Now there is a solution (if you use Windows).

  1. Download the obscure MCI Wave Plugin for Win32 from DSLreports (it's the file called NPMCI_WAVE32.zip).
  2. With Firefox closed, unzip and copy NPMCI_WAVE32.dll to your Firefox plugins folder (often C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugins).
  3. Open QuickTime Player and go to Edit\Preferences\QuickTime Preferences. Under the Browser tab, select MIME settings, expand the Audio group, and uncheck the WAVE audiobox. This tells QuickTime not to play WAVE files in your browser.
  4. Restart Firefox and check the active plugins (type in about:plugins in address bar). MCI Wave Plugin for Win32 should be associated with audio/wav and audio/x-wav MIME types:

    MCI Wave Plugin for Win32

  5. Open a page with an embedded wave file, and see if it works!

NOTE: DSLreports also have a working plugin for playing embedded MP3 files. Their MIDI plugin to does not work for me.