Question 1

Which bitrate should I choose?

Accepted Answer

256 kbps is what Apple uses for the music it sells and is hard to tell from the WAV. 192 kbps is a good balance of size and quality for music, and 128 kbps is plenty for speech and podcasts.

Question 2

How do I get the M4A onto my iPhone?

Accepted Answer

On a Mac, drag the file into the Music app and sync your iPhone in Finder. Or save it to the Files app on the iPhone directly, which plays it without adding it to your library.

Question 3

Is the M4A lossless?

Accepted Answer

No. The M4A made here uses AAC, a lossy codec. M4A files can also hold Apple Lossless (ALAC), but this tool doesn't write ALAC. For lossless compression, convert the WAV to FLAC instead.

Question 4

How much space does the M4A save?

Accepted Answer

A CD-quality WAV takes about 10.6 MB per minute. The M4A takes about 1.9 MB per minute at 256 kbps and about 1.4 MB per minute at 192 kbps.

Question 5

Does it work with WAV exports from GarageBand or Logic?

Accepted Answer

Yes. 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float WAV files all convert. Audio above 48 kHz is resampled, since AAC here is written at 44.1 or 48 kHz.

Question 6

Are my WAV files uploaded?

Accepted Answer

No. The AAC encoding runs in your browser, and your audio stays on your device.

WAV to M4A Converter

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