WMA to AIFC Converter

How to Convert WMA to AIFC Online

1. Upload Your WMA File: Click "+ Add Files" or drag a .wma clip into the drop zone. Standard WMA, WMA Pro, WMA Lossless and WMA Voice are all accepted, and you can queue multiple files for batch conversion.
2. Pick an Audio Codec: The default is PCM signed 16-bit big-endian (pcm_s16be) — the same encoding Apple ships in standard AIFF, just wrapped in the AIFF-C container. Switch to PCM 24-bit or 32-bit for studio masters, A-law / µ-law for smaller files compatible with legacy telephony tools, or FLAC / ALAC-style codecs when supported by your target app.
3. Adjust Audio Channel, Sample Rate, or Trim (Optional): Force mono or stereo, resample to 44.1 kHz (CD), 48 kHz (video post), or 96 kHz (high-res), and use Trim to cut a start/end range with millisecond precision before the export runs.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files process server-side over HTTPS and are auto-deleted within a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, and the original WMA stays on your machine untouched.

Why Convert WMA to AIFC?

WMA was Microsoft's answer to MP3 when it launched on August 17, 1999, and for a few years it shipped as the default rip format in Windows Media Player. AIFC (AIFF-C) is Apple's compressed cousin of AIFF, published in July 1991 — it uses the same chunked AIFF container but stores a codec identifier in the COMM chunk so the audio inside can be PCM, A-law, µ-law, IMA ADPCM, MACE 3:1/6:1, or any of the other codecs Apple registered. The .aifc extension signals "this AIFF may not be raw PCM" to macOS, Logic Pro, and Final Cut so they decode it correctly.

• Move a Windows audio library into a Mac workflow — Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, GarageBand, and QuickTime all read AIFC natively; WMA support on macOS requires third-party plugins like Flip4Mac, which Microsoft retired in 2017.
• Future-proof legacy WMA archives — Microsoft re-branded Windows Media Player as "Windows Media Player Legacy" in Windows 11. The codec still works, but it is no longer a strategic format, so re-encoding to an open Apple container preserves the audio in something every DAW understands.
• Standardize a mixed-source podcast or radio archive — interviews captured on Windows tablets often arrive as WMA Voice mono at 16 kHz. AIFC normalizes them to 16-bit PCM at 44.1 kHz so they sit alongside iPhone Voice Memos and field-recorder AIFF takes in one project.
• Send Apple-native deliverables to broadcast / film clients — many post-production handover specs ask for AIFF or AIFC at 48 kHz 24-bit; converting WMA up to PCM 24-bit avoids a second re-encode at the client side.
• Edit WMA on iOS / iPadOS — neither iPhone nor iPad will import a .wma into Voice Memos, GarageBand iOS, or Files preview. AIFC plays back and edits everywhere across the Apple ecosystem.
• Use AIFC's metadata chunks for cue points and loops — AIFC supports MARK, INST, and APPL chunks, so sampler users and audio editors keep loop points and named markers that WMA cannot store.

WMA vs AIFC — Format Comparison

AIFC Codec & Sample-Rate Quick Guide

Sizes assume two channels except where noted; mono halves the figure. AIFC's overhead is a few hundred bytes of header chunks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between AIFC and AIFF, and which should I pick?

AIFF holds only uncompressed linear PCM. AIFC uses the same container layout but adds a 4-byte codec identifier in the COMM chunk, so the audio inside can be PCM or a compressed codec like A-law, µ-law, IMA ADPCM, or MACE. If you choose the default PCM 16-bit big-endian codec, the resulting .aifc is byte-for-byte interchangeable with .aiff apart from the header tag — pick AIFC when you want flexibility to swap in a smaller codec later, and AIFF when a strict spec requires the original 1988 format.

Will my WMA file sound better after converting to AIFC?

No. WMA Standard, WMA Pro, and WMA Voice are lossy codecs, so the information discarded at encode time is already gone. Converting to PCM inside AIFC preserves exactly what's left — it does not restore detail. The benefit is that further edits, mixes, and exports run lossless from that point on, with no additional generation loss.

Why is my AIFC file 8-10x larger than the WMA?

WMA Standard at 128 kbps stores about 1 MB per minute of stereo audio; uncompressed PCM 16-bit at 44.1 kHz stores about 10 MB per minute. AIFC defaults to that same PCM 16-bit big-endian encoding, so the size jump matches the bit-rate ratio. To shrink files while staying in the AIFC container, pick A-law / µ-law for voice or FLAC for lossless music; to keep the smaller size with a lossy codec, convert to MP3 or AAC instead.

Does macOS, Logic Pro, and Final Cut Pro actually accept AIFC files?

Yes. Apple's audio frameworks (Core Audio / AVFoundation) have read AIFC since the Mac OS Classic era because Apple authored the spec in 1991. Logic Pro, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro, QuickTime Player, and the macOS Finder previewer all decode it. The reverse — getting macOS to read WMA — requires installing a third-party codec pack since Microsoft retired the Flip4Mac plugin in 2017.

Can I play AIFC on Windows or Android?

Out of the box, no. Windows 11's modern Media Player does not decode AIFC, and Android lacks a system codec. VLC, foobar2000, and any FFmpeg-based player handle it on Windows; on Android, VLC and PowerAmp work. If you need broad playback compatibility instead of Apple-pipeline compatibility, WAV or FLAC is a safer target.

Does the converter preserve ID3 tags, album art, and metadata?

WMA stores metadata in ASF header objects, and AIFC stores it in NAME, AUTH, (c) , ANNO, and ID3 chunks. Basic fields (title, artist, album) carry across; album art and obscure custom WMA tags may not. If you need a strict tag round-trip for music libraries, run a tag editor like Mp3tag or Kid3 on the AIFC output afterward to fill anything missing.

Will WMA Lossless convert without quality loss?

Yes — WMA Lossless decodes to bit-perfect PCM, and exporting to AIFC PCM 16-bit (or 24-bit if the source is 24-bit) preserves every sample. Check the source bit depth first: if your WMA Lossless file is 24-bit/96 kHz, set the AIFC export to 24-bit and 96 kHz so no down-conversion happens. WMA Standard, Pro, and Voice are lossy regardless of bitrate, so "lossless conversion" only applies to the WMA Lossless variant.

Why is .aifc the preferred extension instead of .aif or .aiff?

Apple's 1991 AIFF-C specification recommends .aifc specifically to signal to applications that the file may not contain raw PCM — that the COMM chunk holds a codec identifier they must check before decoding. In practice macOS and most audio apps also accept .aif and .aiff for compressed AIFF, but .aifc is the technically correct extension and avoids confusion when an app blindly assumes "AIFF = uncompressed PCM."

Can I trim or split the WMA before converting to AIFC?

Yes. Use the Trim option on this page to enter start and end timestamps with millisecond precision — the conversion only encodes that range, which keeps the AIFC file small. For more involved cuts (multiple regions, fade in/out, joining clips) export the full AIFC first and edit it in Audio Cutter or your DAW of choice.