Convert AIFC to AIFF — Free Online Tool
Convert AIFC files to AIFF by decoding any compressed AIFC audio (including A-law, μ-law, or other codecs) into uncompressed 16-bit big-endian PCM — the native lossless format that macOS, Logic Pro, and professional audio tools expect. This tool runs entirely in your browser with no file uploads required.
to
FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
Drop your AIFC file here
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Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
AIFC is a superset of AIFF that adds support for compressed audio codecs like A-law (pcm_alaw), μ-law (pcm_mulaw), and floating-point PCM variants. When you convert AIFC to AIFF, FFmpeg reads the AIFC container, decodes whatever audio codec is inside (which may be compressed or a high-bit-depth PCM variant like 24-bit or 32-bit), and re-encodes the audio as 16-bit signed big-endian PCM (pcm_s16be) inside a standard AIFF container. The output is always fully uncompressed and lossless relative to 16-bit depth. If your source AIFC contained a compressed lossy codec like A-law or μ-law, those artifacts are preserved in the decode but no new degradation is introduced by the AIFF encoding step. If your source was already uncompressed PCM, the conversion is entirely lossless.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg multimedia processing engine. In this browser tool, this runs via FFmpeg.wasm (WebAssembly) entirely in your browser — no server involvement. When running locally, this calls the FFmpeg binary installed on your system. |
-i input.aifc
|
Specifies the input AIFC file. FFmpeg will probe the container and detect the audio codec inside — which could be any AIFC-supported codec including pcm_s16be, pcm_alaw, pcm_mulaw, or floating-point PCM variants — and decode it accordingly before encoding to the output format. |
-c:a pcm_s16be
|
Sets the output audio codec to 16-bit signed big-endian PCM, which is the standard and universally compatible audio encoding for AIFF files. This decodes whatever codec was in the AIFC source (including compressed variants like A-law or μ-law) and re-encodes it as uncompressed linear PCM matching the original AIFF specification. |
output.aiff
|
Specifies the output filename and triggers FFmpeg to use the AIFF container format based on the .aiff extension. Unlike AIFC, the AIFF container only accepts uncompressed PCM codecs, which is why the explicit -c:a pcm_s16be flag is required rather than relying on codec copying. |
Common Use Cases
- Removing the compressed AIFC wrapper from telecommunications audio (A-law or μ-law encoded voice recordings) to produce a standard AIFF file compatible with Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro
- Preparing archival audio for macOS workflows where software explicitly expects AIFF rather than AIFC, such as older ProTools session imports or certain audio mastering tools
- Stripping floating-point PCM encoding (pcm_f32be or pcm_f64be) from an AIFC file down to 16-bit AIFF for delivery to clients or platforms that don't handle float audio
- Converting AIFC files exported from telephony or broadcast systems (which commonly use μ-law or A-law compression) into standard uncompressed AIFF for editing in digital audio workstations
- Normalizing a batch of mixed AIFC files — some compressed, some not — to a uniform 16-bit AIFF format for consistent import into music production or podcast editing software
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what codec your AIFC file contains. If the source uses an uncompressed PCM codec like pcm_s16be, pcm_s24be, or pcm_s32be, converting to 16-bit AIFF PCMA (pcm_s16be) is lossless at 16-bit depth — though higher bit depths like 24-bit or 32-bit will be dithered down to 16-bit. If your AIFC contains a lossy compressed codec like A-law (pcm_alaw) or μ-law (pcm_mulaw), those codecs already introduced quality loss when the AIFC was originally created; the conversion to AIFF doesn't add further degradation, but it also can't recover the lost quality.
Some Apple and third-party professional audio tools support AIFF natively but have inconsistent or broken support for AIFC, especially when the AIFC contains compressed audio codecs like A-law or μ-law rather than plain PCM. Converting to AIFF with uncompressed pcm_s16be guarantees maximum compatibility with Apple's entire audio ecosystem including Logic Pro, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro, and QuickTime.
The resolved command uses `-c:a pcm_s16be`, which sets the output to 16-bit signed big-endian PCM. AIFF does support higher bit depths (pcm_s24be, pcm_s32be, pcm_f32be, pcm_f64be), so if you want to preserve a 24-bit or 32-bit source, you can modify the command to use `-c:a pcm_s24be` or `-c:a pcm_s32be` instead. Running the command locally on your desktop gives you full control over this parameter.
AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) was developed by Apple in 1988 and supports only uncompressed PCM audio. AIFC (also written AIFF-C) is an extension introduced shortly after that adds a compression type field to the container header, allowing it to store compressed audio codecs like A-law, μ-law, and others alongside uncompressed PCM. The two formats share nearly identical container structures, which is why many tools open both — but the codec inside AIFC can vary significantly, while AIFF is always uncompressed PCM.
The displayed command processes one file at a time, but you can batch-process on your desktop using a shell loop. On macOS or Linux, run: `for f in *.aifc; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a pcm_s16be "${f%.aifc}.aiff"; done`. On Windows Command Prompt, use: `for %f in (*.aifc) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:a pcm_s16be "%~nf.aiff"`. This is particularly useful for converting large collections of telephony or broadcast AIFC archives.
AIFF has limited native metadata support compared to formats like FLAC or MP3. Basic ID3-style tags embedded in an AIFC file may or may not carry over depending on how they were stored in the source file. FFmpeg will attempt to copy compatible metadata chunks, but chunk-level metadata specific to the AIFC format may be dropped. For professional audio workflows requiring rich metadata, consider adding an explicit `-map_metadata 0` flag to the FFmpeg command to maximize metadata transfer.
Technical Notes
AIFC uses big-endian byte ordering inherited from the original AIFF spec, and AIFF likewise stores all PCM data in big-endian format — so this conversion involves no endianness change, only a potential codec change. The pcm_s16be codec selected for output is the default and most universally compatible AIFF audio encoding, matching the original 1988 AIFF specification. AIFF does not support compressed audio at all, so any AIFC file carrying A-law or μ-law data must be decoded before writing to the AIFF container — FFmpeg handles this automatically. One notable limitation: AIFF does not support files larger than 4GB (due to a 32-bit chunk size field in the original spec), which puts a ceiling of roughly 6.5 hours of stereo 16-bit 44.1kHz audio in a single file. Files close to or exceeding this limit may need to be split before conversion. Metadata handling is also limited; AIFC-specific marker and instrument chunks may not survive the remux if they are not recognized by FFmpeg's AIFF muxer.