How to convert AAC to AIFF
- 1
Upload your file
Drag and drop a file or click to select one. Keep this page open while the file uploads and converts.
- 2
Convert AAC to AIFF
NexMedia converts AAC to AIFF on its own servers. Processing time depends on the file size and how busy the queue is.
- 3
Download the converted file
When the conversion finishes, the download appears on this page. Your converted file is kept for 2 hours, then deleted.
About AAC
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the lossy audio codec standardised in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 as the successor to MP3; at the same bitrate it generally sounds better than MP3.
It is the audio in most MP4 videos, in Apple Music and on YouTube; a .aac file is a bare AAC stream without a container.
A bare .aac stream has only limited room for tags and cover art, so music players usually expect AAC inside an M4A file.
Convert AAC to AIFF online free, no account required — AIFF is Apple's uncompressed audio format.
Change AAC to AIFF without losing quality — convert AAC to AIFF free in your browser.
Why won't my old MP3 player or car stereo play AAC files? Older hardware was built before AAC became common and often only decodes MP3, so a conversion keeps the music playable anywhere.
About AIFF
AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) was developed by Apple in 1988 on the basis of the Electronic Arts IFF format, and it normally stores uncompressed PCM audio in big-endian byte order.
Professional audio on the Mac: Logic Pro and GarageBand projects, sample libraries and CD-quality masters.
AIFF files are as large as WAV files, about 10 MB per minute of CD-quality stereo, and some Windows programs handle them less readily than WAV.
Why convert audio to AIFF? For Mac production work: it is uncompressed like WAV, and iTunes, Logic and the rest of Apple's toolchain read it natively.
What changes when you convert AAC to AIFF
- The audio is decoded and re-encoded as AIFF at the default settings, so the result is close to the AAC but not bit-identical.
- AAC is a lossy format and AIFF is not: the AIFF keeps the decoded AAC exactly, but it cannot restore detail the AAC compression already removed, and the file is usually larger.
- AIFF output is written as 16-bit PCM, so audio with a higher bit depth, such as 24-bit, is reduced to 16 bits.
Settings you can change
Before you convert AAC to AIFF, you can adjust: Audio codec, Rate control, Audio bitrate, Quality (VBR), Sample rate, Channels, Normalize loudness, Trim start, Trim duration, and Keep tags.
Limits
Each plan sets a maximum file size and a number of conversions per day, and video and audio files also have a maximum length. Guests can convert files up to 100 megabytes and 5 per day; a free account raises this to 500 megabytes and 25 per day; paid plans go up to 100 gigabytes.
Your converted AIFF file is kept for 2 hours, then deleted.
AAC to AIFF: questions and answers
Does converting AAC to AIFF reduce quality?
The audio is decoded and re-encoded as AIFF at the default settings, so the result is close to the AAC but not bit-identical. AAC is a lossy format and AIFF is not: the AIFF keeps the decoded AAC exactly, but it cannot restore detail the AAC compression already removed, and the file is usually larger. AIFF output is written as 16-bit PCM, so audio with a higher bit depth, such as 24-bit, is reduced to 16 bits.
What is the difference between AAC and AIFF?
AAC is the lossy audio codec that succeeded MP3. AIFF is Apple's uncompressed audio format.
Can I change the settings when converting AAC to AIFF?
Before you convert AAC to AIFF, you can adjust: Audio codec, Rate control, Audio bitrate, Quality (VBR), Sample rate, Channels, Normalize loudness, Trim start, Trim duration, and Keep tags.
Do I need an account to convert AAC to AIFF?
No. You can convert AAC to AIFF without an account; signing in raises the file-size and daily limits.
How long is my converted AIFF file kept?
The AIFF file you convert from AAC is kept for 2 hours, then deleted automatically.
Will my AIFF keep the 24-bit sound of my AAC?
AIFF output is written as 16-bit PCM, so audio with a higher bit depth, such as 24-bit, is reduced to 16 bits.
Does converting AAC to AIFF restore the quality the AAC lost?
AAC is a lossy format and AIFF is not: the AIFF keeps the decoded AAC exactly, but it cannot restore detail the AAC compression already removed, and the file is usually larger.