MotionShine01 / Format
AAC in, PCM out
M4A holds compressed AAC sound. The WAV holds the same sound unpacked as plain 16-bit samples that any app can read.
Free tool
M4A to WAV, ready for any editor.
M4A is what Voice Memos, iPhone recordings and Apple Music downloads use. Some audio editors, samplers, transcription services and older Windows apps want WAV instead. Drop the M4A here and get an uncompressed WAV that opens anywhere, converted in your browser with nothing uploaded.
This runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded.
What changes
Unpacked, not improved.
02 / Size
About ten times bigger
A minute of stereo WAV at 44.1 kHz takes about 10 MB, where the M4A was often 1 MB or less.
03 / Quality
Same sound
Nothing is lost in the change, but nothing lost earlier comes back either. The WAV sounds exactly like the M4A.
Questions
Good to know.
Is my recording uploaded?
No. It is converted by your browser in this tab and never leaves your computer.
Why is the WAV so much larger?
WAV stores every sample without compression. A 44.1 kHz stereo file uses 44,100 samples a second on each side, 2 bytes each, which is about 10 MB a minute.
Does WAV sound better than M4A?
Not after a conversion. The WAV holds exactly what the M4A held. Pick WAV because an app needs it, not to improve the sound.
How do I get a Voice Memos recording onto my Mac?
On a Mac signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud on for Voice Memos, the recording appears in the Voice Memos app; drag it to the desktop to get the M4A file. On an iPhone, use Share, then Save to Files or AirDrop.
Does it work with protected iTunes songs?
No. Old songs bought with copy protection (M4P files) cannot be read by a browser.
Need an MP3 instead?
Use M4A to MP3, which gives a much smaller file that also plays everywhere.