ALAC to AU Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
ALAC is Apple's lossless codec inside an MP4 container — the iTunes Store lossless tier and every big iOS recording. Converting AU to WAV preserves the samples in a format every modern tool reads.
Because the whole conversion happens on your device, it is instant, unlimited and genuinely private — no accounts, no watermarks, no files on anyone's server. Multiple files are converted in one go.
How ALAC compares to AU
| ALAC | AU | |
|---|---|---|
| Compatibility | iOS, macOS, iTunes, ffmpeg | Legacy Unix tools |
| Best for | Apple-ecosystem lossless libraries | Old system sounds and recordings |
How to convert ALAC to AU
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your ALAC files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to AU". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted AU file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the ALAC format
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is Apple's FLAC equivalent: bit-exact lossless compression inside an MP4 container, opened-source in 2011 and now native on every Apple device and most server-side pipelines. It is what iTunes Store sells as "lossless" and what iPhone recordings encode to by default.
For non-Apple players FLAC is the safer target, and conversion is sample-exact in both directions — the decode is handled by ffmpeg's native ALAC decoder without any Apple runtime.
+ Strengths
- ✓Native on every Apple device
- ✓Open source since 2011
- ✓Reasonable sizes inside MP4
! Limitations
- −Outside Apple ecosystems FLAC wins
- −Slightly worse ratios than FLAC
- −Confusing .m4a extension doubles as lossy
About the AU format
AU is Sun Microsystems' audio format from the Unix workstation age: a small header followed by µ-law (or PCM) samples. Java's applet era shipped it everywhere, and old Unix sound tooling still emits it.
Modern players increasingly skip it. Converting AU to WAV preserves the samples bit-for-bit while moving the file into universal territory — the standard rescue path for system sounds and old recordings.
+ Strengths
- ✓Simple, lossless sample storage
- ✓Native to old Unix/Java tooling
! Limitations
- −µ-law flavor sounds dated and mono
- −Dropped by modern players
Why convert ALAC to AU?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: Outside Apple ecosystems FLAC wins AU sidesteps that — Simple, lossless sample storage If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this ALAC to AU converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for ALAC to AU?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Are tags like title and artist preserved?
Tag handling varies between target formats and this conversion focuses on the audio itself. For archival copies where tags matter, keep the original file; the converted copy is for playback and sharing.
Will converting ALAC to AU reduce audio quality?
If AU is lossless, the output contains everything the ALAC file contains — no further loss is added. If AU is lossy, one recompression pass is unavoidable; the quality slider controls how much. Loss that already happened in the source file can never be undone by converting.