Convert Waveform Audio (.wav) to Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac) online for free. Fast, secure audio conversion with no watermarks or registration.
Conversion settings — add a file to adjust
Upload your .wav file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.
Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.
Click Convert and download your .m4a file when it's ready.
WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio in Microsoft's RIFF container, typically at 44.1 kHz/16-bit for CD quality — producing files around 10 MB per minute for stereo audio. ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is Apple's lossless compression codec, open-sourced in 2011, that reduces file sizes by approximately 40-60% compared to raw PCM while preserving every single audio sample bit-for-bit. ALAC files live inside the M4A (MPEG-4 Part 14) container.
Converting WAV to ALAC gives you significant storage savings without any audio quality compromise, and the output is natively supported across the entire Apple ecosystem — iPhone, iPad, Mac, HomePod, Apple TV, and AirPods Max all decode ALAC with hardware acceleration.
If you maintain a large WAV music library and use Apple devices, ALAC cuts your storage requirements nearly in half while guaranteeing zero quality loss. Unlike FLAC, ALAC plays natively on every Apple device without third-party apps — it is the format Apple Music uses for its Lossless tier. The M4A container also offers better metadata support than WAV, including embedded album art, lyrics, and chapter markers.
For archival purposes, ALAC provides the same bit-perfect audio reproduction as WAV with smaller footprint. If you ever need to convert back, ALAC-to-WAV produces files identical to the originals. This makes ALAC ideal for Apple-ecosystem users who want lossless quality without WAV's storage overhead.
FFmpeg decodes the WAV RIFF header and reads the raw PCM sample data, then encodes it using the ALAC encoder (-c:a alac) into an M4A container. ALAC uses linear prediction and entropy coding to achieve lossless compression — the algorithm predicts each sample based on preceding samples and encodes only the prediction error. Compression ratios vary with content: simple waveforms (speech, solo instruments) compress more than complex, full-bandwidth music. The output preserves the original sample rate, bit depth (16-bit or 24-bit), and channel layout.
ALAC is mathematically lossless — the decoded output is bit-for-bit identical to the original WAV input. This is not perceptual lossy coding like AAC or MP3; every single sample value is preserved exactly. You can verify this by converting ALAC back to WAV and performing a binary comparison. The only tradeoff is that ALAC files are larger than lossy formats (roughly 50-60% of WAV size vs 10% for AAC at 256 kbps).
| Device | WAV | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Native | Partial |
| macOS | Partial | Native |
| iPhone/iPad | Partial | Native |
| Android | Partial | Partial |
| Linux | Partial | Partial |
| Web Browser | Native |
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 320 kbps
OGG Vorbis preferred
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 256 kbps
AAC format required
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
Lossless FLAC/WAV for best quality
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
MP3 mono for spoken word
WAV to ALAC provides the best of both worlds for Apple ecosystem users: lossless audio quality with 40-60% smaller file sizes and native device support across all Apple hardware.
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| No |
| Caracteristică | WAV | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| Nume complet | Waveform Audio File Format | Apple Lossless Audio Codec |
| Extensie | .wav | .m4a |
| Cel mai potrivit pentru | Lossless quality | Lossless |