How to Convert M4A to WAV with Professional Converter - VideoProc. First, let us catch a quick. M4A (Apple Lossless Audio) is an audio coding format by Apple, used for storing audio data losslessly without losing any quality, open source and royalty-free. MP3 (MPEG1/2 Audio Layer 3) is an efficient and lossy compression format for digital audio, offers a variety of different bit rates, an MP3 file can also be encoded at higher or lower. FLAC To MP3 Mac is a Mac OS software product that converts FLAC to MP3, WMA, M4A, AAC, OGG and WAV audio formats. Besides FLAC format, this FLAC To MP3 Converter can also convert other video and audio file formats to MP3 format.FLAC To MP3 Mac also transfers the tag information and meta data from FLAC into MP3, so users can keep all tags in the converted songs. M4A files are smaller in size while simultaneously better in quality than MP3 files, with which it shares the most similarities, in comparison to all other audio file formats. How to open an M4A file? M4A files open in most well-known, audio-playback programs, including iTunes, QuickTime, and Windows Media Player. For Apple users, iTunes is the. Free M4a to MP3 Converter combines professional quality with high speed and user-friendly interface. In addition, it is possible to fine-tune quality parameters for output files. The program supports a full range of MP3 settings: bit rates up to 320 Kbit/s and sample rates up to 48 KHz.
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If you think about it, just a decade or so ago, file formats were really important. People were discussing the differences between various file compressions and you often had to install an app extension if you wanted it to run a certain file format.
It seems that everything changed with the iPhone gaining mainstream popularity. Since all files were now hosted within apps, we never came across any incompatibility issues. Similarly, with more of our work moving to the web, it’s stored within appropriate software right away, so we don’t have to deal with file formats.
Still, occasionally, you might encounter a file that you can’t open or that you’d like to convert an audio file to another format. One of the most frequent issues for Mac users, for example, is dealing with M4A files, which you often want to convert to MP3s. So let’s discuss briefly what is M4A format and where you can find the best M4A to MP3 converter today.
What Is M4A And How To Use It
You might be more familiar with M4A files if you think of them as MP4s, which they essentially are — the only difference is that an MP4 file can handle video while .m4a is for audio only.
MP4 (also known as MPEG-4) is in turn based on QuickTime File Format (QTFF) and, in some sense, was developed to replace MP3. M4A files, for example, are generally smaller in size and can store audio in better quality than MP3s. Their only downside is that M4A players are much harder to find, whereas MP3 is one of the most universal audio formats out there.
So where can you stumble upon the .m4a format? Mostly in Apple’s own iTunes Store, as it’s the default file extension for song downloads, which is then encoded with AAC for reduced file size or ALAC for lossless audio. However, copyrighted songs might also come in the .m4p format, which is a variant of .m4a.
All this leads us to the question of how do you play M4A vs MP3 on Mac and what’s the easiest way to convert file to MP3?
How to play M4A files on Mac
As already mentioned above, a lot of the M4A files you’d come across are from the iTunes Store, so naturally you’d be able to play them on iTunes as well (or the Music app from macOS Catalina onward). You can drag and drop any M4A file into Music and it’ll be added to your library.
In addition to Music, or iTunes, M4A files also work with QuickTime Player (since they are based on QuickTime File Format), which is one of the default apps you can find in your Applications folder. While QuickTime is mostly used for playing movies, it has a standard audio playback functionality built into it as well. But what if you’re after a great .m4a audio experience?
Elmedia Player is one of the most versatile audio and video players out there. Not only can it easily play a variety of M4A files and MP4 formats, it lets you stream content directly from the web and save videos (e.g. from YouTube) for offline viewing as well. What’s more you can stream to any smart TV or AirPlay-enabled device and completely control the way subtitles are displayed.
How to convert M4A to MP3 using iTunes
While there are quite a few M4A players available on Mac, whether via default or third-party apps, you might often need to convert M4A to MP3 iTunes format to make it more widely available — so you can easily port music or audiobooks to virtually any device.
Surprisingly, there’s a way to use iTunes as an audio file converter, although not many people know about it, since it’s not that straightforward. Regardless, here’s how you can convert file to MP3 using iTunes:
- Launch iTunes (or the new Music app)
- Open Preferences (⌘ + ,)
- Navigate to Files ➙ Import Settings…
- Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder ➙ OK
- Drag and drop your M4A file into iTunes
- Select it and then go File ➙ Convert ➙ Create MP3 Version
- Find the new file created in your library (the old file will still be intact)
In a similar fashion, you can change the default iTunes encoder to create WAV, lossless, AIFF, and AAC files. Overall, iTunes is a good enough M4A converter and general file converter to MP3 if you only need to convert one or two songs occasionally. For more regular conversions, there are much more efficient apps out there.
A better way to convert M4A to MP3 on Mac
If iTunes can be a decent M4A to MP3 converter, you might also wonder what other specialized apps can do an even better job?
Permute is a pro-level and truly universal media converter. This blazing fast app allows you to drag and drop any number of files into it and get converted results in seconds. Transform audio, video (or video to audio), images, and more — possible combinations are nearly endless! You can even merge two videos into one or add a subtitle track on the fly.
To use Permute as a M4A to MP3 converter:
- Launch Permute
- Drag and drop your M4A file onto the app's window
- Select MP3 in the Audio dropdown
- Click the Start icon
You can find the MP3 result on your Desktop. Repeat as necessary, and don’t forget that Permute can handle as many files at once as you want — you can use this audio file converter to transform whole albums too.
In the end, most of the time nowadays, we don’t have to deal with file formats and can find the appropriate app relatively easy. In the case with M4A files, you can use iTunes (Music) and QuickTime to play them, but better switch your default media to Elmedia Player altogether. And if you ever need a file converter to MP3, look no further than Permute.
Best of all, Elmedia Player and Permute are available to you at absolutely no cost for seven days via the trial of Setapp, a platform with more than 190 top-tier Mac apps across all categories, from productivity (2Do) to following your favorite blogs (News Explorer). Try them all today for free and discover a whole new world of opportunities.
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What is M4A? M4A files are encoded with lossy Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) or Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which helps a lot to reduce the file size. But the problem is that M4A is compatible with just a small number of devices and platforms, mainly Apple-owned ones, like iTunes, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.
To make it playing on more devices and platforms, converting M4A to WAV would be a good option. And in this guide, we will show you 5 methods using M4A to WAV converters. Check them now.
Method 1. How to Convert M4A to WAV in Batch with VideoProc
VideoProc is a fast M4A to WAV media converter and a robust video converter that specializes in all types of media file format conversion. With support of full GPU acceleration, audio and video files can be batch converted in seconds or minutes without any quality loss, for sure. Both commonly used audio file formats and obscure ones are covered by it, like M4A, WMV, MP3, M4R, AAC, FLAC, OGG, etc. Besides, it is built in with powerful audio/video editor and recorder.
Free download VideoProc and convert M4A to WAV now!
Step 1: Add music files to the list.
Click Video > + Music to add M4A file(s) to the list, or you can simply drag and drop the music file into the centerboard.
Step 2: Start converting M4A to WAV.
After loading up all M4A files, select Music in the section of Target Format. And then choose WAV.
Step 3: Run the conversion process.
Click Browse to set an output destination for the generated WAV file(s). And then hit RUN to start to convert M4A to WAV in batch or not.
Audio Editings You Can Do with VideoProc
1. Click Codec Option to open the parameter adjusting panel. You are going to have full control over the exported WAV file.
- Move the quality slider left or right to get a lower or higher quality.
- Go to Audio Codec Options. You can enter the desired Audio Codec, Sample Rate, and Bit Rate information.
- Click Name & Tag to enter a new panel where you can adjust the Output Name, Song Name, Artist, Album, Genre, Images and other information.
2. You are also allowed to convert M4A files to other formats, namely, MP3, M4R, AAC, OGG, FLAC, and more.
3. Click Merge if you need to joint multiple M4A files into one.
Method 2. How to Convert M4A to WAV in iTunes
Apple iTunes can also work as an M4A to WAV converter. It is a default app on Mac, but it is also available for Windows users. Follow the steps below to find out how to use it make the job done.
Step 1. Launch iTunes, Click on Preference from the Edit menu. Go to General > Import Settings.
Step 2. Choose WAV Encoder in the drop-down menu next to the Import Using. Save the change by clicking on OK. Now you can change the M4A file to WAV format. Keep reading.
Step 3. If the M4A file has already existed in iTunes library, you can just choose File > Convert > Create WAV Version, then another WAV version of this file would be displayed in iTunes Library; However, if the M4A files are not in iTunes library, the operation would be a little different. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, and click File > Convert > Convert to WAV. Then it would ask you to locate and import the M4A files. Just choose the files and click Open button. iTunes will change them in WAV format and show them in library.
Step 4. Now you just need to jump to the library folder and find the converted files. Have no idea where it is? Click on Edit > Preference > Advanced in iTunes, and you will see the folder path.
Method 3. How to Convert M4A to WAV in Audacity
Audacity is an open-source audio editor that also allows you to convert M4A to WAV on Windows, Mac, and Linux without paying a penny. But before everything gets started, you have to download FFmpeg Library, Because The FFmpeg library allows Audacity to import and export a much larger range of audio formats, M4A included.
Step 1. Locate FFmpeg Library.
Install FFmpeg on your computer. You can just go to here to get the installation file. Normally when you have FFmpeg installed on your computer, Audacity would automatically detect the library and you have no need to do another thing. If it fails detecting the library, just launch Audacity, go to the menu bar to click Edit > Preferences, select Libraries on the pop-up dialog window, and click the Locate button to do it manually.
Tip: some of you may also need to have an LAME MP3 library installed on your computer. The process is the same as installing the FFmpeg library.
2. Add M4A File(s) to Audacity.
Launch Audacity again. Go to File > Open and select M4A file(s) you want to convert.
3. Start the Conversion of M4A to WAV
Click on File on the menu bar and select Export > Export as WAV. Set an easy-to-found position as the output file folder. Click on OK to save changes. The conversion process will soon start.
Method 4. How to Convert M4A to WAV in VLC
Even though VLC works as a media player, we can also use it for M4A to WAV conversion. And here are the detailed steps.
Step 1. Launch VLC on your computer, click on Media tab > Convert / Save.
Step 2. In the new window, click +Add button to locate the M4A file and import it. Then choose Convert / Save button again.
Step 3. In another new window, click on the wrench icon menu, which would lead you to the page with more video and audio formats options.
Step 4. On the page, find and choose WAV. Then click Save button back to the previous window.
Step 5. Then choose the destination path and click Start button. VLC would start the processing job.
Method 5. How to Convert M4A to WAV Online
Online tools are becoming popular among users, since they require no downloading and installing some files. It is quite convenient. Here we recommend you Zamzar as an great choice.
Step 1. Open this tool in your browser on your Windows 10 or Mac computer.
Step 2. Load your M4A files by clicking on the Add File button. You can import multiple files. However, you need to know that Zamzar only allows users to convert 2 files a day for free. For converting more files, you have to upgrade your account, with three options, basic plan with $9/month, pro plan with $16/month, and business plan with $25/month.
Step 3. After files imported, click the Convert button to start processing.
M4a To Mp3 Converter Mac Batch
Step 4. Wait for Zamzar finishing the converting, and then just download the converted files to your computer.
Over to You
M4a To Mp3 Converter For Mac
Now we finish all 5 methods on converting M4A to WAV and just choose the one you prefer. Still have no clue? If you want do it in batch, then VideoProc would be the best option; if you prefer free software, iTunes, Audacity and VLC would be great; if you do not want to downloading any installation file, then go to the online way.