M4A to AIFF converter
Drop in an M4A and get an AIFF back. M4A is the audio file Apple software produces, carrying a track along with its artwork, title and chapters. Worth knowing: an AIFF will not open in a browser tab, so it is a file for software rather than for the web. Your file never leaves your computer.
Need the other direction? Convert AIFF to M4A
How to convert M4A to AIFF
- 1 Drop your M4A .m4a file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
- 2 Check the options. Nothing is thrown away on the way to AIFF, so there is no quality dial to set.
- 3 Convert. The work happens on your own machine, so how long it takes depends on your computer and the file.
- 4 Download the AIFF, or add more files and do the whole set in one go.
Why convert M4A to AIFF
- Exactly as recorded, identical in quality to a WAV.
- Holds track details better than a plain WAV.
- Sample libraries made for Apple software.
- M4A: some older stereos and players only recognise MP3.
M4A compared with AIFF
How the two formats differ on the things that decide whether a conversion is worth making.
| Property | M4A | AIFF |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .m4a | .aiff |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Uncompressed |
| Typical file size | Depends on mode | Largest |
| Browser support | Every browser | Some browsers |
| Introduced | 2001 | 1988 |
| Developed by | Apple / ISO | Apple |
Quality and what changes
AIFF stores the same content under a different set of rules, so what matters here is compatibility rather than picture quality. Convert once from the best source you have rather than through a chain of intermediate files.
- Browsers will not display an AIFF, so it downloads rather than opening in a tab.
- One AIFF limitation to keep in mind: less universally supported on Windows and web.
Questions about M4A to AIFF
Is my M4A file uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole thing runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Your M4A is read straight from your own disk, converted on your machine and handed back as an AIFF. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no account.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because no server sees the file. The real ceiling is your device memory, since the input and the output both have to fit in the tab. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a desktop machine and considerably less on a phone.
Can I convert several M4A files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are processed one after another, then offered as separate AIFF downloads or as a single ZIP. Speed depends on your own processor rather than on a queue.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, after the page has loaded once. The engine is cached by the browser, so you can disconnect, reload and keep converting. That falls out of doing the work locally rather than being a separate mode you switch on.