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M4A to AIFF converter

Convert M4A to AIFF in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

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Related conversions

Need it the other way round? Convert AIFF to M4A

Other ways to convert M4A

Convert other formats to AIFF

Read more about the M4A format and the AIFF format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert M4A to AIFF?

Only when software insists on AIFF. It stores the decoded M4A perfectly, but the detail the M4A discarded is already gone, so the AIFF is bigger without sounding better.

M4A is AAC audio in an MP4 container, Apple’s everyday audio format; AIFF is uncompressed audio, Apple’s equivalent of WAV. Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

M4A and AIFF compared
Property M4A AIFF
Compression Lossy Uncompressed
Typical quality 128–256 kbps AAC 16-bit PCM
Support Opens almost everywhere Opens almost everywhere
Best for Good-sounding audio at small sizes Audio production on Macs, and importing into Logic or GarageBand
Introduced 2003 1988

How to convert M4A to AIFF

  1. 01

    Add your M4A

    Drop your M4A file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to AIFF. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the AIFF

    Press convert and save the AIFF. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when M4A becomes AIFF

Bigger, not better

AIFF can’t restore what M4A compression removed. It does make editing easier and stops further loss, which is why editors and some broadcast systems ask for it.

Who needs AIFF

Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

Expect a much larger file

AIFF is far bigger for the same content. Choose it because something needs AIFF, not to send or store the file. M4A: About 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps. AIFF: About 10 MB a minute at CD quality.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of M4A and AIFF, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Recordings are often private: interviews, voice notes, unreleased music. Your browser can decode and encode audio itself, so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the M4A. An .m4a can also hold lossless ALAC audio, several times larger; the extension alone doesn’t tell you which.
  • About the AIFF. AIFF stores samples in the opposite byte order to WAV; tools that assume WAV turn it into loud static.
  • MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus and FLAC are converted by your browser directly. WMA, AMR, APE, AC3 and the other specialist formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does converting M4A to AIFF lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to AIFF, though it can’t restore what the M4A already discarded.

Will an AIFF play in my car or on my phone?

AIFF opens almost everywhere: Macs, iPhones and pro audio software; some Windows and web apps prefer WAV.

Read more about this

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