FormatDrop
How-To Guide

How to Convert WAV to ALAC

ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) compresses WAV files by 40–60% while preserving every audio sample exactly — it's lossless compression, not lossy. ALAC is the native lossless format for Apple's ecosystem: it plays in Apple Music, iTunes, on every iPhone and iPad, and syncs to iOS without conversion. If you want lossless audio on Apple devices without paying for full WAV file storage, ALAC is the answer.

Open WAV to ALAC Converter

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    FFmpeg (command line, any OS)

    Lossless conversion: `ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a alac output.m4a`. The output is an ALAC stream in an MPEG-4 container (.m4a extension). Batch: `for f in *.wav; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a alac "${f%.wav}.m4a"; done`. To preserve metadata from the WAV file: `ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a alac -map_metadata 0 output.m4a`. No quality settings — ALAC is always lossless.

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  2. 2

    iTunes/Apple Music on Mac

    Drag WAV files into the Music app library (File → Add to Library). Select the imported WAV tracks. File → Convert → Create Apple Lossless Version. Music creates ALAC copies in your library and preserves any embedded metadata. The original WAV files remain. This is the simplest method if you're organizing music for an Apple Music library.

  3. 3

    XLD on Mac (preferred for batch and metadata)

    XLD (X Lossless Decoder) is purpose-built for lossless conversion on macOS. Download from sourceforge.net/projects/xld. Preferences → Output Format → Apple Lossless (ALAC). Drag WAV files or folders onto XLD. It converts all files, preserves metadata perfectly, and can look up missing metadata from MusicBrainz. Output files are saved as .m4a.

  4. 4

    dBpoweramp on Windows

    Install dBpoweramp and the Apple Lossless codec. Right-click WAV files in File Explorer → Convert To → Apple Lossless. Set output folder. dBpoweramp converts the files, preserves all ID3/WAV metadata, and embeds cover art. It handles batch conversion efficiently. dBpoweramp is widely used by audiophiles and music archivists for its metadata preservation and AccurateRip integration.

Why convert WAV to ALAC?

WAV is the uncompressed standard — perfect quality but bulky. ALAC gives Apple devices the same perfect quality at half the storage cost, integrating natively with Apple Music.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

Is WAV to ALAC truly lossless?
Yes. ALAC uses lossless compression — when decoded back to WAV, the resulting PCM data is bit-for-bit identical to the original. You can verify this with `md5sum` on the decoded WAV from ALAC versus the original WAV — they'll match. ALAC is in the same category as FLAC, ZIP, and GZIP: lossless data compression, not quality reduction.
Should I use ALAC or FLAC for lossless audio?
Use ALAC if your primary playback device is in Apple's ecosystem (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod). Apple Music syncs ALAC natively without conversion. Use FLAC for everything else — non-Apple devices, Android, Plex, Jellyfin, open-source players, Linux, NAS devices. FLAC has broader software support. If you need both: store as FLAC (the universal standard) and convert to ALAC as needed.
Why is my ALAC file smaller than WAV?
ALAC applies lossless compression to the PCM data, similar to how FLAC or ZIP works on files. A typical CD-quality stereo WAV at 44.1 kHz/16-bit uses about 10 MB/minute; ALAC compresses this to 5–6 MB/minute. The audio is decoded back to the original WAV-equivalent PCM at playback — the compression/decompression is transparent and inaudible.
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