M4A to TAR Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
M4A is Apple’s audio container (AAC), the default for iTunes, Voice Memos and iPhone recordings. TAR preserves the exact file tree and permissions that Linux tooling expects.
iLoveConverter processes everything locally on your computer, which makes it private and fast: no upload wait, no server storage, no limits. Add as many files as you like — batch conversion is built in.
How M4A compares to TAR
| M4A | TAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy AAC (ALAC for lossless) | None (pair with gzip/zstd) |
| Best for | Music libraries and voice memos | Linux packaging and source trees |
How to convert M4A to TAR
- 1
Select your files
Select your M4A file — it never leaves your device.
- 2
Convert instantly
The engine packs the file, byte for byte, into a TAR container — no re-encoding, no quality change.
- 3
Download results
Download the finished TAR archive.
About the M4A format
M4A is MPEG-4 audio: AAC (or ALAC) inside the MP4 container, minus the video. It became the iTunes Store's format in 2003 and never left — Apple Music downloads, voice memos and most phone recordings are M4A. At the same bitrate, AAC sounds distinctly better than MP3, which is why 128 kbps M4A competes with 192 kbps MP3.
Support is excellent across Apple devices, modern Android, Windows and every streaming SDK. The one historical caveat: iTunes Store music bought before 2009 carried FairPlay DRM; everything since (and everything you record yourself) is DRM-free.
+Strengths
- ✓Better quality than MP3 at the same bitrate
- ✓First-class on Apple and modern platforms
- ✓ALAC variant covers lossless needs
!Limitations
- −Very old feature phones and players miss it
- −Pre-2009 store purchases may carry DRM
About the TAR format
TAR (tape archive) is Unix's fifty-year-old answer to bundling: it concatenates files with headers into a single stream, preserving POSIX permissions, ownership and symlinks — but compressing nothing. It is the container half of the classic .tar.gz pairing and the native format of Linux source trees and backups.
Being pure bundling, TAR pairs with a compressor: gzip (the classic), bzip2, zstd. Alone, a TAR is the same size as its contents. Windows 10+ ships bsdtar, so even Windows can unpack it now — permissions aside, where NTFS has no room to be faithful.
+Strengths
- ✓Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks
- ✓Streamable: works over pipes and tapes
- ✓The standard of Linux distribution and backup
!Limitations
- −No compression by itself
- −No built-in encryption
- −Permissions meaningless on Windows filesystems
Why convert M4A to TAR?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: Very old feature phones and players miss it TAR sidesteps that — Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this M4A to TAR 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 M4A to TAR?
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 M4A to TAR reduce audio quality?
If TAR is lossless, the output contains everything the M4A file contains — no further loss is added. If TAR 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.