5 Methods to Convert M4A to WAV on Your Mac

If you are yet worried about how to convert M4A to WAV, you get the best place. In this article, you can discover the five best ways to convert M4A to WAV easily.

What is M4A?

M4A files are encoded with lossy Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) or Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which supports a lot to shrink the file size. But the difficulty is that M4A is compatible with just a small number of devices and platforms, mostly Apple-owned ones, like iTunes, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Converting M4A to WAV would be an excellent option to make it working on more devices and platforms. And in this guide, we will show you five methods using M4A to WAV converters.

Check them now.

Method 1: How to Convert M4A to WAV in Batch with VideoProc:

VideoProc is a high-speed M4A to WAV media converter and a powerful video converter specializing in all kinds of media file format conversion. With the support of full GPU acceleration, Audio and video files can be batch converted in seconds or minutes without any loss of quality, for sure. Both regularly used audio file formats and complex ones are covered by it, like M4A, WMV, MP3, M4R, AAC, FLAC, OGG, etc. Additionally, it is built-in with a robust audio/video editor and recorder.

Step 1: Add music files to the list.

Click Video + Music to add M4A file(s) to the list, or you can just drag and release the music file into the centerboard.
Step 2: Start converting M4A to WAV.

After loading up all M4A files, picked Music in the segment of Target Format. And then choose WAV.

Step 3: Run the conversion process.

Hit Browse to set an output target for the generated WAV file(s). And then choose RUN to begin to convert M4A to WAV in batch or not.

Some more things that you can do with VideoProc M4A to WAV converter

1. Click Codec Option to open the parameter adjustment panel to have complete control over the exported WAV file.

  • Move the quality slider left or right to get a lower or higher quality.
  •  Go to the Audio Codec section to enter the wanted Audio Codec, Sample Rate, and Bit Rate information.
  •  Hit Name & Tag to set the Output Name, Song Name, Artist, Album, and Genre, etc.

2. Select another audio format on the Target Format tab for converting M4A to MP3, M4R, AAC, OGG, FLAC, and more.

3. Press Merge if you want to joint multiple M4A files into one.

Method 2: How to Convert M4A to WAV in Audacity

Audacity is an open-source audio editor that also enables you to convert M4A to WAV on Windows, Mac, and Linux without spending money. But before everything gets started, you have to download FFmpeg Library, Because The FFmpeg library provides Audacity to import and export a much more extensive range of audio formats, M4A included.

Step 1: Click here to get the FFmpeg installation file. Usually, when you have FFmpeg installed on your computer, Audacity would automatically recognize the library, and you have no requirement to do another thing.

If it fails to detect the library, just start Audacity, go to the menu bar to click Edit then Preferences, select Libraries on the pop-up dialog window, and press the Locate button to do it manually. 

Note: Some of you may also want to have an LAME MP3 library installed on your computer. The process is similar to installing the FFmpeg library.

Step 2: Relaunch Audacity. Go to File, then Open and select M4A file(s) you need to convert.

Step 3: Press on File on the menu bar and pick Export, then Export as WAV.

Step 4: Set an easy-to-found place as the output file folder.

Step 5: Hit on OK to save changes. On the pop-up Edit Metadata panel, press OK again to begin the conversion process.

Method 3: How to Convert M4A to WAV in iTunes

Apple iTunes can also serve as an M4A to WAV converter. It is a default application on Mac, but it is also possible for Windows users. Observe the steps below to discover out how to apply it and make the job done.

Step 1: Launch iTunes, Press on Preference from the Edit menu. Go to General, then Import Settings.

Step 2: Select WAV Encoder from the drop-down menu beside the Import Using. Save the setting by clicking on OK. Now you can change the M4A file to WAV format. Keep exploring.

Step 3: If the M4A file has already been in the iTunes library, you can just choose File, then Convert, then Create WAV Version, then another WAV version of this File would be presented in iTunes Library;

Nevertheless, if the M4A files are not present in the iTunes library, the process would be slightly different. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, and click File, then Convert, then Convert to WAV. Then it would invite you to locate and import the M4A files. Just choose the files and hit the Open button. iTunes will convert them in WAV format and display them in the library.

Step 4: Now you just require to escape to the library folder and find the converted files. If you have no idea where it is? Click on Edit, then Preference, then Advanced in iTunes, and you will notice the folder path.

Method 4: How to Convert M4A to WAV in VLC

Even though VLC serves as a media player, we can also practice it for M4A to WAV conversion. And here are the complete steps.

Step 1:  Install VLC on your computer, click on the Media tab, then Convert / Save.

Step 2:  In the new window, click the +Add button to find the M4A file and import it. Then click Convert / Save button again.

Step 3: On the new panel, click on the Create a new profile button which can be located next to the red X button. It will direct you to the page with more video and Audio format options.

Step 4: On the pop-up panel, enter WAV as the Profile Name. Next, you select Encapsulation, then WAV. After that, press Audio codec, press the option box of Audio, and select WAV as the audio codec. If needed, adjust the audio sample rate to 44100Hz. Next, you hit on Save to go back to the previous window.

Step 5: Select WAV from the given profile. Afterward, you choose the destination path and click the Start button.

Method 5. How to Convert M4A to WAV Online

Online tools are growing popular among users since they need no downloading and installing some files. It is beneficial. Here we recommend you Zamzar as an excellent choice.

Step 1: Start with this tool in your browser on your Mac computer or Windows 10.

Step 2: Load your M4A files by selecting the Add File button. You can import various files. However, you require to know that Zamzar only enables users to convert two files a day for free. For converting more files, you have to update your account with three options, a basic plan with $9/month, a pro plan with $16/month, and a business plan with $25/month.

Step 3: After files are imported, press the Convert button to begin processing.

Step 4: Wait for Zamzar to complete the converting, and then just download the converted files to your computer.

Final Words:

Users who like to convert M4A to WAV on Mac may find help from the above. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages. The free tools are useful and comfortable and preserve your money whereas, the commercial programs combine lots of functions into one and work efficiently in converting media files.

Now we finish all five methods on converting M4A to WAV and just select the one you like. Still have no hint? If you want to do it in batch, then VideoProc would be the most suitable choice; if you like free software, iTunes, Audacity, and VLC would be recommended; if you do not want to download any installation file, then go to the online method.

You Might Also Like