Convert MPEG-4 Audio (.m4a) to Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac) online for free. Fast, secure audio conversion with no watermarks or registration.
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Upload your .m4a file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.
Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.
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M4A files can contain either AAC (lossy) or ALAC (lossless) audio. If your M4A already contains ALAC, there is nothing to convert — it is already in the target format. However, if your M4A contains AAC audio (such as iTunes Store 256 kbps purchases), converting to ALAC re-encodes the lossy audio into Apple's lossless codec. The result is a larger file that stores the AAC-decoded audio losslessly, but this does not recover any quality that was lost during the original AAC encoding.
The main practical reason is format standardization. If you maintain an ALAC library and receive M4A files encoded as AAC, you might convert them to ALAC for consistency in your library management. Some DAWs and audio tools identify ALAC vs AAC M4A files differently and handle them with different import pipelines. Note that converting AAC M4A to ALAC does not improve audio quality — it simply prevents further generational loss if the file will be decoded and re-encoded in future workflows.
FFmpeg decodes the AAC stream inside the M4A to PCM, then encodes using ALAC back into an M4A container. The result is an M4A file with ALAC codec instead of AAC. If the source already contains ALAC, a simple stream copy (container remux) is all that is needed. ALAC in M4A uses the same iTunes metadata atom structure as AAC in M4A, so all tags and artwork transfer seamlessly.
If source is AAC: no quality improvement. The AAC artifacts are preserved exactly in the ALAC output, but the file is now lossless relative to the decoded AAC signal. If source is already ALAC: stream copy produces an identical file. Converting lossy to lossless never adds quality — it only prevents future generational loss.
| Device | M4A | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Partial | Partial |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| iPhone/iPad | Native | Native |
| Android | Partial | Partial |
| Linux | Partial | Partial |
| Web Browser | No |
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
M4A (AAC) to ALAC conversion is useful for library standardization and preventing future generational loss. It does not improve audio quality but ensures the decoded signal is preserved without further degradation.
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Будь-який браузер, будь-який пристрій
| No |
| Характеристика | M4A | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| Повна назва | MPEG-4 Audio | Apple Lossless Audio Codec |
| Розширення | .m4a | .m4a |
| Найкраще для | Better than MP3 | Lossless |