AIFF vs ALAC
Una comparativa detallada de AIFF Audio y Apple Lossless Audio — tamaño de archivo, calidad, compatibilidad y cuál elegir según tu flujo de trabajo.
AIFF Audio
Audio FilesAIFF is Apple's uncompressed audio format, equivalent to WAV in the macOS ecosystem. It stores CD-quality PCM audio and is widely used in professional audio production on Apple hardware.
Sobre los archivos AIFFApple Lossless Audio
Audio FilesALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) provides lossless compression for audio, similar to FLAC but native to Apple ecosystem.
Sobre los archivos ALACComparativa de ventajas
AIFF Ventajas
- Lossless and uncompressed — bit-exact audio reproduction.
- Native to macOS and all Apple Pro Audio apps.
- Simple structure — trivially parsed by audio libraries.
- Supports up to 32-bit float, 192 kHz, and multi-channel audio.
- Rich metadata via named chunks (annotations, markers, MIDI).
ALAC Ventajas
- Lossless — bit-exact with the original PCM.
- 40-60% smaller than uncompressed WAV/AIFF.
- Native Apple ecosystem support (iTunes, Apple Music Lossless).
- Open-source since 2011 — supported in FFmpeg, VLC, Android.
Limitaciones
AIFF Limitaciones
- Enormous file sizes — 10 MB per minute at CD quality.
- No built-in compression — use FLAC for lossless with smaller files.
- Big-endian byte order confuses tools written on little-endian hardware.
- Less common on Windows; WAV is the local equivalent.
ALAC Limitaciones
- Non-Apple devices support ALAC but rarely make it the default.
- Slower encoding than FLAC on most reference implementations.
- Large files vs lossy alternatives (AAC).
- The .m4a extension is shared with lossy AAC, causing mislabeling.
Especificaciones técnicas
| Especificación | AIFF | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| MIME types | audio/aiff, audio/x-aiff | — |
| Extensions | .aif, .aiff, .aifc | .m4a (common), .alac |
| Byte order | Big-endian | — |
| Max bit depth | 32 bits (PCM or float) | — |
| Max sample rate | 192 kHz (practical); unlimited (spec) | — |
| MIME type | — | audio/mp4 (inside .m4a) |
| Container | — | ISO Base Media File Format (like MP4) |
| Sample rates | — | Up to 384 kHz (hi-res); typical 44.1-192 kHz |
| License | — | Apache 2.0 (since 2011) |
Tamaños típicos de archivo
AIFF
- 3-min song (CD quality) 30 MB
- 3-min song (24-bit / 96 kHz) 100 MB
- Full album (CD, 10 tracks) 450 MB
ALAC
- 3-min song (CD quality) 20-30 MB
- Full album (CD, 10 tracks) 250-400 MB
- Hi-Res 24-bit/96 kHz song 80-120 MB
¿Listo para convertir?
Convierte entre AIFF y ALAC online, gratis y sin instalar nada. Subida cifrada, eliminación automática a las 2 horas.
Frequently Asked Questions
AIFF (AIFF Audio) is an audio file format used to store sound recordings — music, voice, podcasts, sound effects. The format defines how the audio samples are compressed (or stored raw), what bitrates are supported, and how metadata such as title, artist, album, and cover art is embedded. It is part of the audio files family.
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio) is an audio file format used to store sound recordings — music, voice, podcasts, sound effects. The format defines how the audio samples are compressed (or stored raw), what bitrates are supported, and how metadata such as title, artist, album, and cover art is embedded. It is part of the audio files family.
VLC, foobar2000, and the default media players on Windows and macOS handle AIFF natively. On mobile, iOS Music and Android media apps vary in their support — popular formats work everywhere; niche ones may need a dedicated app. If playback fails on a device, converting to MP3 or AAC usually solves it.
VLC, foobar2000, and the default media players on Windows and macOS handle ALAC natively. On mobile, iOS Music and Android media apps vary in their support — popular formats work everywhere; niche ones may need a dedicated app. If playback fails on a device, converting to MP3 or AAC usually solves it.
Upload the AIFF to KaijuConverter and pick MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, or any other target. Our FFmpeg pipeline decodes the audio and re-encodes to the target format at sensible default bitrates (VBR ~190 kbps for music, 96 kbps for speech). Metadata and cover art travel with the audio where both formats support them.
AIFF can be lossy or lossless depending on the specific variant. Lossy variants (smaller files) discard some audio detail during compression in ways tuned to be inaudible; lossless variants preserve every sample exactly but produce larger files. For distribution, lossy at high bitrate is standard; for archival, lossless wins.