VOC to AIFF Converter

How to Convert VOC to AIFF Online

1. Upload Your VOC File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to add Creative Voice (.voc) recordings — Sound Blaster captures, ripped DOS-game audio (id Software, Sierra, LucasArts), CT-VOICE archives, or 8-bit/16-bit PCM and ADPCM dumps. Batch upload is supported.
2. Pick Audio Channel and Sample Rate: Leave both at "Original" to keep the source intact (recommended for archival), or switch channels to Mono/Stereo and sample rate to 8000, 12000, 16000, 24000, 44100, or 48000 Hz. AIFF stores whatever you give it as uncompressed PCM, so the source rate carries cleanly into the AIFF container.
3. Trim (Optional): Open the Trim section and enter a start time and duration in seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss format — useful for pulling a single sound effect out of a long VOC sample bank without re-editing in a DAW.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files convert on our servers and download individually or as a ZIP — no sign-up, no watermark, no quality loss on the PCM payload.

Why Convert VOC to AIFF?

VOC (Creative Voice) is the native audio format of Creative Technology's Sound Blaster sound cards — the dominant PC audio hardware of the DOS era, introduced alongside the original Sound Blaster card in 1989. VOC stores audio in typed data blocks (8-bit unsigned PCM, 4-bit and 2.6-bit Creative ADPCM, 16-bit signed PCM, plus A-law and mu-law) wrapped in a 26-byte header. AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) is Apple's uncompressed PCM container, finalized at version 1.3 in January 1989 and based on Electronic Arts' IFF — the macOS-native counterpart to WAV. Common reasons to convert VOC -> AIFF:

• Edit retro game audio in Logic Pro, GarageBand, or ProTools — these Mac DAWs treat AIFF as a first-class native import. VOC is unknown to all of them; even the AudioFile Engineering tools that once handled VOC are long discontinued.
• Archive Sound Blaster captures with lossless PCM headers — VOC's block-based layout is fragile (typed blocks can include silence, markers, repeat loops), and modern decoders sometimes mis-handle non-sound blocks. AIFF flattens everything to a single SSND chunk with a clean COMM header.
• Preserve DOS-game sound effects for video work — Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and DaVinci Resolve all accept AIFF natively; none accept VOC. Game-preservation projects routinely transcode VOC dumps to AIFF for editorial.
• Compatibility with old Apple/SGI/professional audio pipelines — AIFF predates MP3 by years and remains a standard interchange format for broadcast and post-production. VOC outside Creative's DOS-era stack is effectively unsupported.
• Bit-perfect PCM with no recompression — Both formats can carry uncompressed PCM. Converting VOC -> AIFF at the original sample rate and bit depth is a container swap, not a re-encode, so there is no audible loss.
• Stop relying on DOSBox or VLC to audition files — modern macOS and iOS play AIFF natively in QuickTime, Music, Finder Quick Look, and any browser audio tag. VOC requires DOSBox-X, VLC with codec support, or a specialty decoder.

VOC vs AIFF — Format Comparison

Audio Channel and Sample Rate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose audio quality converting VOC to AIFF?

No, if you leave Audio Channel and Sample Rate set to "Original". Both VOC and AIFF can carry uncompressed PCM, so the conversion is a container swap — the PCM samples are copied from VOC's data blocks into AIFF's SSND chunk without re-encoding. The only path to quality loss is if you downsample (e.g., 44100 -> 8000 Hz) or down-mix (stereo -> mono). For archival, leave both at Original.

What if my VOC uses Creative ADPCM compression?

ADPCM-encoded VOC blocks are decoded to PCM during conversion and written into the AIFF as standard PCM. The output is slightly larger than the source VOC, but it is now a portable uncompressed file that any DAW can edit. Creative's ADPCM variants (4-bit and 2.6-bit) were proprietary and are not preserved in standard AIFF; if you need to keep ADPCM, target AIFC instead (Apple's compressed AIFF variant supports ITU-T G.711 A-law/mu-law).

Why use AIFF instead of WAV for my converted VOC?

Both are uncompressed PCM containers and largely interchangeable. AIFF stores samples in big-endian byte order and is the native format on macOS — Finder shows waveform previews, Quick Look plays audio without opening an app, and Logic/GarageBand treat AIFF as first-class. WAV is little-endian and Windows-native. Pick AIFF if your editing pipeline is Mac/Apple; pick VOC to WAV if it is Windows or cross-platform broadcast.

Can I batch-convert a whole folder of DOS-game VOC dumps?

Yes — drag in the entire folder of.voc files at once. Each one converts in parallel and they download individually or as a single ZIP. Settings apply uniformly across the batch, which is the right behavior for game-asset preservation where every file should be treated identically.

My VOC came from a game extraction tool and won't play in VLC. Will it convert?

Most likely yes. Game-extracted VOCs are sometimes truncated or carry unusual block types (markers, repeats, ASCII labels) that confuse media players but still hold valid PCM data. The converter reads the typed blocks directly and writes a clean AIFF. If a specific file fails, it usually means the VOC header is corrupt — try re-extracting from the game archive with an updated tool. The Video Game Music Preservation Foundation maintains tooling notes for various engines.

Will the metadata or ASCII text blocks transfer?

VOC ASCII text blocks (block type 0x05) are not standard AIFF metadata; they are dropped during conversion. AIFF metadata uses ANNO, AUTH, NAME, and (c) chunks, plus optional ID3 tags. If you need to keep the original VOC's text labels, screenshot or text-dump them before converting. The PCM payload itself converts intact.

What sample rates were typical for VOC files?

DOS-era VOC files commonly used 8000, 11025, 22050, or 44100 Hz at 8-bit mono — these matched what the Sound Blaster hardware could capture and play back. 16-bit Sound Blaster cards (SB16 and later) added 22050 and 44100 Hz at 16-bit. If your VOC is from a 1990-1995 game, expect 11025 or 22050 Hz mono; if from a Sound Blaster AWE or later capture, expect 44100 Hz stereo. Leave Sample Rate at "Original" to preserve whatever the source used.

How does AIFF compare to AIFF-C (AIFC) for the output?

Standard AIFF stores PCM only. AIFC adds a compression-type field in the COMM chunk, supporting MACE 3:1 and 6:1, IMA 4:1, ITU-T G.711 A-law/mu-law, and Apple's "sowt" (which is just little-endian PCM, no actual compression). For VOC -> AIFF this converter outputs standard AIFF with PCM, which is the most portable choice. If your downstream tool needs AIFC, see also the audio converter for full format control, or VOC to FLAC for a smaller lossless alternative.