Converting ALAC to AIFF with iTunes or Max

Posted by: DT79 on 17 March 2011

Hi,

My ripped library consists mainly of ALAC and AIFF files.  I started off with ALAC when storage space was a consideration; now it's not.  I want to convert all the ALAC files to AIFF, not because I can tell them apart necessarily (don't want to enter in to that debate!) but because there's no reason to hold half my library in a compressed (albeit losslessly), less-3rd-party-compatible format anymore.

I have  2 applications that can convert these files for me, iTunes and Max.  My question is, using either of these, will I get back out what I put in - i.e. will the resulting AIFF file be identical to what I would have got if I had ripped to AIFF in the first place? Is there any reason any one knows of to prefer one application over the other other than for convenience (iTunes probably wins that one).

Cheers,
Dan.
Posted on: 17 March 2011 by garyi
ALAC like FLAC is in essence a ZIP file.

AIFF is to all intents and purposes how apple 'Sees' a WAV file from CD (Stick same cd in a pc and mac pc will say .wav and mac will say .aiff)

So basically decompressing the ALAC to AIFF will result in the same file. 

itunes will do this far more easily and cleanly than MAX. In preferences change the ripping options to AIFF.

Back in the library select everything the right click and convert the lot. This could take a fair old while depending on how many you have to do.

Once complete choose to view the library by TYPE, select all the ALAC and delete them (assuming you only want AIFF left)

Job done.
Posted on: 17 March 2011 by Tog
Max is a fantastic little program - alac to aiff no problem.



Tog
Posted on: 17 March 2011 by garyi
Sadly max kind of fell off the cliff for me into 10.6 on OSX, not sure if i just got unlucky but on three macs it simply did not work.

iTunes does, and it does it simply and quickly. Especially of course if the library is already in itunes which I have assumed it is.
Posted on: 17 March 2011 by Dungassin
Originally Posted by DT79:
Hi,

My ripped library consists mainly of ALAC and AIFF files.  I started off with ALAC when storage space was a consideration; now it's not.  I want to convert all the ALAC files to AIFF
Why?  Just expanding a compressed file won't improve necessarily improve its quality - after all, the original ALAC is supposed to be lossless.  Probably a waste of time IMO - unliess you want to re-rip from scratch to AIFF.
Posted on: 17 March 2011 by DT79
Max has mostly been fine for me, other than the occasional crash when trying to access the preferences tab for the output format for some reason...

However I do agree iTunes will be the easiest way to go.

garyi - thanks for comfirming.  I just want someone to reassure me that it would be a straight 'un-zip' of the ALAC file and there wouldn't be any other jiggery-pokery  going on.

Thanks!
Posted on: 18 March 2011 by garyi
Assuming the ALAC came straight from CD, then it will be fine.
Posted on: 18 March 2011 by DT79
Originally Posted by Dungassin:
Originally Posted by DT79:
Hi,

My ripped library consists mainly of ALAC and AIFF files.  I started off with ALAC when storage space was a consideration; now it's not.  I want to convert all the ALAC files to AIFF
Why?  Just expanding a compressed file won't improve necessarily improve its quality - after all, the original ALAC is supposed to be lossless.  Probably a waste of time IMO - unliess you want to re-rip from scratch to AIFF.
Dungassin - carry on reading my original post, after the bit you quoted!
Posted on: 18 March 2011 by DT79
Originally Posted by garyi:
Assuming the ALAC came straight from CD, then it will be fine.
Cheers.  All done overnight!
Posted on: 18 March 2011 by manicm
Originally Posted by garyi:
ALAC like FLAC is in essence a ZIP file.

AIFF is to all intents and purposes how apple 'Sees' a WAV file from CD (Stick same cd in a pc and mac pc will say .wav and mac will say .aiff)

So basically decompressing the ALAC to AIFF will result in the same file. 

itunes will do this far more easily and cleanly than MAX. In preferences change the ripping options to AIFF.

Back in the library select everything the right click and convert the lot. This could take a fair old while depending on how many you have to do.

Once complete choose to view the library by TYPE, select all the ALAC and delete them (assuming you only want AIFF left)

Job done.

This has patently not been the case on Windows/iTunes if my ears are anything to go by. If within iTunes I rip a WAV file to ALAC and then back to WAV again, the final WAV sounds worse than the original. Which tells me iTunes is transcoding again.

In any event ALAC to me sounds the worst of all lossless or uncompressed formats.