Cut AIFF

How to Cut AIFF Files Online

1. Upload Your AIFF File: Drag and drop your .aiff or .aif file, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Files stay in your browser session — nothing is sent to a server until you start processing. Batch uploads are supported.
2. Set Start Time and Duration: Use the trim controls to enter the start point and either an end time or a duration in hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. Frame-accurate millisecond input is supported, which matters when you are isolating a single drum hit or trimming silence at the head of a take.
3. Pick Output Format and Quality (Optional): Keep AIFF to preserve the original big-endian PCM samples bit-for-bit, or switch to WAV, FLAC, ALAC, or MP3 if you need a smaller delivery file. If you stay on AIFF, you can also choose the PCM variant (signed 16-bit BE, 24-bit LE, 32-bit LE) plus sample rate (8 kHz to 48 kHz preset, custom up to 192 kHz), channel layout (mono or stereo), and quality preset.
4. Cut and Download: Click "Cut" and the trimmed file downloads when processing finishes. No watermark, no sign-up, and no file count limit.

Why Cut AIFF Files?

AIFF — Audio Interchange File Format — was released by Apple on January 21, 1988, based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File Format (IFF) used on the Amiga. The standard variant stores uncompressed PCM samples in big-endian byte order, which is why AIFF remains the default lossless container in Logic Pro and a first-class citizen in Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro, and GarageBand. Because the audio data is raw PCM, a one-minute stereo 44.1 kHz / 16-bit AIFF is roughly 10 MB and a 24-bit / 96 kHz session file is around 33 MB per minute — large enough that even a short trim saves meaningful disk space.

Cutting AIFF in the browser avoids two things people often do not want: opening a full DAW for a 10-second edit, and re-encoding through a lossy codec just to get a clip out of a 2-hour session.

• Pull a clean sample from a long recording — Isolate a single guitar lick, vocal phrase, or foley hit from a 60-minute Logic bounce without launching Logic Pro and waiting for the project to load.
• Trim Pro Tools bounces — Pro Tools writes AIFF or WAV by default. A quick browser cut removes the count-in or tail noise before sending a stem to a collaborator.
• Prep field-recorder takes — Zoom H4n, Tascam DR-40, and Sound Devices MixPre recorders write BWF/AIFF. Trim the slate and post-roll before importing into your edit timeline.
• Cut royalty-free sound effects — Freesound.org, BBC Sound Effects Library, and the Apple Loops bundled with Logic ship many assets as AIFF. Crop to the exact frame you need for a film cue.
• Shorten a master before encoding — Cut a 5-minute master down to a 30-second radio edit while still in the lossless domain, then encode the trimmed AIFF to MP3, AAC, or Opus once.
• Repair the head of a take — Remove the chair squeak, mouth click, or "are we rolling?" without re-rendering the whole session.

AIFF vs WAV vs FLAC — Lossless Format Comparison

Property	AIFF	WAV	FLAC
Released	1988 (Apple, based on EA IFF)	1991 (Microsoft + IBM, based on RIFF)	2001 (Xiph.Org)
Compression	None (PCM); AIFF-C adds optional codecs	None (PCM) by default	Lossless, ~40-50% smaller than PCM
Byte order	Big-endian (standard) / little-endian (sowt)	Little-endian	N/A (frame-coded)
Max file size	4 GB (32-bit chunk size)	4 GB (RF64 extension lifts cap)	2^36 samples (~hundreds of GB)
Metadata	Rich ID3-style chunks, MIDI loop points	Basic LIST/INFO, BWF extension	Vorbis comments + cover art
Native DAW support	Logic Pro, Pro Tools, GarageBand, Final Cut	Pro Tools, Reaper, Cubase, Audition, Audacity	Audacity, Reaper, foobar2000; partial Logic/Pro Tools
Best for	Mac-centric production, Logic sessions	Cross-platform PCM masters	Archival, distribution to listeners

AIFF Bit Depth and Sample Rate Quick Guide

Bit depth / sample rate	Use case	Size per minute (stereo)
16-bit / 44.1 kHz	CD master, podcast delivery	~10 MB
16-bit / 48 kHz	Video sync (NLE timeline standard)	~11 MB
24-bit / 48 kHz	Pro Tools session, mixing headroom	~17 MB
24-bit / 96 kHz	High-resolution tracking, mastering	~33 MB
24-bit / 192 kHz	Archival, slowdown / pitch work	~66 MB

Logic Pro supports 16-bit and 24-bit AIFF import at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in mono, stereo, or surround. Pro Tools handles the same range plus 32-bit float in its native sessions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does cutting an AIFF file reduce audio quality?

No. When you keep the output as AIFF with the same bit depth, sample rate, and PCM variant as the source, the cut is a sample-accurate trim — the surviving samples are bit-identical to the original. Quality only changes if you switch the output to a lossy codec (MP3, AAC, Opus) or resample to a different sample rate.

How precise is the cut — can I trim to a single millisecond?

Yes. The trim input accepts hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds, so a cut at 00:00:03.275 lands on the closest sample for any common rate (at 44.1 kHz one millisecond is ~44 samples). For the absolute frame-accuracy a film mixer needs, do the final pass in your DAW; for almost every other purpose millisecond input is enough.

My file is .aif instead of .aiff — will the cutter accept it?

Yes. .aif and .aiff are the same format; the three-letter extension is a Classic Mac OS / MS-DOS holdover and four-letter is the modern convention. Both are accepted on the upload step and processed identically.

What about AIFF-C (AIFC) files with the sowt codec?

AIFF-C is the compressed AIFF variant introduced with the 1991 update. The sowt codec used by macOS is a "pseudo-compression" — it just flips byte order to little-endian and stores raw PCM, so the audio data is still lossless. The cutter reads AIFC files; if you need the output in classic big-endian AIFF, pick AIFF on the output step.

Will trimming preserve the loop points and metadata Logic embedded?

Most descriptive metadata (NAME, AUTH, copyright) is preserved when the output is AIFF. Loop point chunks and instrument chunks may be re-anchored to the new file length or stripped, since their sample offsets reference positions that no longer exist after a cut. If the Apple Loops loop points are critical, re-tag the trimmed file in Logic's Loop Browser after export.

Why is the standard AIFF max file size 4 GB?

AIFF chunk sizes are stored in unsigned 32-bit integers, which caps a single chunk at 2^32 − 1 bytes (~4.29 GB). At 24-bit / 96 kHz stereo that is roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes of continuous audio. For longer recordings, Sound Devices and other field recorders use the Wave64 / RF64 WAV extension instead — convert with AIFF to WAV if you need to break the cap.

Can I convert the trimmed clip to MP3 or FLAC in the same step?

Yes. On the output step pick MP3, FLAC, ALAC, Opus, or another supported codec and the trimmer cuts and encodes in one pass. For dedicated conversions afterward use AIFF to MP3 or AIFF to FLAC — FLAC typically shrinks a 24-bit AIFF by 40-50% without any quality loss.

Is the file uploaded to your server?

The trim happens in the browser session — your AIFF is not stored for any longer than processing requires, there are no public download URLs, and no account is needed. For batches across multiple formats see the general-purpose Audio Cutter, and for fade-in / fade-out trims without re-cutting see Trim AIFF.

Why does my cut AIFF sound silent on Windows Media Player?

Some older Windows decoders mishandle big-endian PCM (the AIFF default) and play back silence or static. Re-export as WAV (little-endian PCM) or AIFF-C with the sowt codec and Windows Media Player, VLC, and foobar2000 will all read it. VLC and foobar2000 handle both byte orders natively on every platform.