Most people know MP3, WAV, or even AAC audio formats, but only some have a basic knowledge of FLAC and AIFF unless they are audiophiles. FLAC and AIFF don’t seem to be regularly and massively used in music streaming, that’s why most people are not very familiar with them. But if you are a newcomer of audiophile and want to take a deep dive into music, and be more informed when it comes to deciding what sort of audio format would best serve your purpose? Read on.


Part 1: FLAC vs AIFF

To know more about FLAC and AIFF, introduction of them are as below. Besides, a table was made for you guys to distinguish the difference between them clearly.

What is FLAC?

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, is a popular lossless musical format that emerged in 2001 as an open-source alternative to the other lossless audio formats such as Apple Lossless(ALAC) and Microsoft's WAV (Waveform Audio Format). FLAC offers bit-perfect copies of CDs with half-size optimized, hence it’s always regarded as a high-definition version of MP3 where the compression codec is added and sizing down the file without loss of audio information.

FLAC is perfect and mostly adopted by those people who would like to store their music CDs collection. Technically speaking, it’s the exact replica of the original music file without loss of musical information. FLAC is superior in terms of sound quality and compression rate to the other lossless audio formats and can be played in various audio players. These days most of the record labels are on board with FLAC format available to consumers on the iTunes store.

What is AIFF?

AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format, is one of the most-used audio formats in the Apple Macintosh operating system, often regarded as Apple’s version of WAV files. AIFF offers studio-grade audio recording, sample rate, and bit depth options as WAV files. Containing the original audio data and two uncompressed channel information (stereo and mono), AIFF has a reputation as CD-quality audio. However, that makes the AIFF file take up lots of space for its large file size, a 10-minute song in an AIFF file can occupy 100MB or even more.

Since AIFF stores data in uncompressed, lossless format, it’s commonly used for audio recording. Audio engineers work with AIFF files to make sure the sound quality is preserved in the mixing and mastering process, and exported in compressed format. With no quality loss, AIFF is pure sonic happiness.

FLAC vs. AIFF

Both regarded as lossless audio formats, you might be wondering what the differences and similarities are in features, and which one is better in terms of use. Here we’ll compare these two audio formats briefly.

FLAC AIFF
Type Lossless Lossless
Compression Compressed, based on the lossless audio codec Two uncompressed channels, based on the interchange file format
Sound Quality Compromised but the high-definition audio quality Not compromised audio quality
Compatibility Apple devices only Apple devices, Android, Mac, and Windows
File size Less than AIFF Take up large storage
Usability Ideal for storing and archiving, designed to be downloaded quickly Store music and audio related projects in their original form

Even though FLAC is a strictly compression-based audio format, with high-definition audio quality guaranteed, it sounds just the same as AIFF. It’s a format designed for users to download easily, not audio editing, whereas AIFF works perfectly fine when processed in audio editing without compromising the quality of the audio.


Part 2: How to Convert FLAC to AIFF via Leawo Video Converter?

Don’t get confused when you hear “video converter” in the recommendation of Leawo Video Converter for FLAC to AIFF audio conversion. Leawo Video Converter is the ultimate solution for audio and video editing. It’s the most professional all-in-one software that allows you to find all your video and audio needs in ONE place. With Leawo Video Converter, you can make video and audio conversion, burn videos and images to DVD/Blue-ray, process audio and video editing within one software. For instance, you can reduce video size without losing qualities using Leawo Video Converter. It’s also capable of downscaling 4K video to 1080P at fast speed with output quality guaranteed.

  • Leawo Video Converter
  • Leawo Video Converter

    1. Convert video and audio files between 180+ formats without quality loss
    2. Support 720P, 1080P and even real 4K video output
    3. Create photo slideshows from photos stored on camera, computer, camcorder, etc
    4. Built-in video editor to trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, etc
    5. 2D to 3D converter with 6 different 3D movie effects available

Leawo Video Converter can convert various key audio files, supporting audio formats such as FLAC, AAC, AC3, AIFF, AMR, M4A, MP2, MP3, etc. It’s the most professional converter on the market with 100% quality reserved and 6X faster than the average converters. Catering to the users globally, the software supports all together 11 main languages: English, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, Armenian, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch. Just pick one that suits you. Now let’s see how to convert FLAC to AIFF with Leawo Video Converter. Before everything else, you will have to download the software and install it on the computer.

Step 1. Import Source Files

Launch Leawo Video Converter by clicking “Video Converter” icon in the main interface of Leawo Prof. Media. Click “Add Video” on the top menu to add source FLAC file; alternatively, you can directly drag and drop source audio file to the main screen.

Step 2. Set Output Format

Click the drop-down menu “MP4 Video” next to the green convert button, and click the “Change” button.

The “Profile” interface will appear and look for “AIFF” from the “Format” menu, or you can search it from the box on the left.

Step 3. Set Output parameters

On the main screen, you can click the “Edit” button on the drop-down menu to go to the “Profile Settings” interface to adjust audio parameters like audio codec, bit rate, channel, sample rate, etc.

Step 4. Start Conversion

After setting up, go back to the main screen and click the big green “Convert” button on the top right and you’ll see the sidebar pop up. Change the output directory if necessary and click the convert button at the bottom to start conversion.

That’s it for the FLAC to AIFF conversion with Leawo Video Converter. It’s extremely easy to use, and the conversion is far faster, beyond expectation.


Part 3: How to Convert FLAC to AIFF via AVS Audio Converter?

You can use AVS Audio Converter to convert FLAC to AIFF. AVS Audio Converter is capable of converting and editing all key video formats; It can also convert the video in batch mode for time-saving and you can create audio files for purposes such as audiobooks and ringtones. Let’s see how to convert FLAC to AIFF via AVS Audio Converter. First off, you will need to download the software from the official site and install it on your computer.

Step 1: Add Audio Tracks

You can add audio tracks in three ways: “Add File”, “Grab from CD” and “Import from video”.

Step 2: Set Output Format

After files added and loaded, you can choose the output format as you like on the main screen.

Step 3: Set Parameters

You can set output parameters in the drop-down list of the “Profile” field. You can use the default profile if you are new to audio conversion.

Step 4: Select Output Directory

Look for the “Browse” button at the bottom, click it to set for output directory.

Step 5: Start Conversion

Click the “Convert Now!” button to start the conversion, the converted file will be ready in the designated folders.


Part 4: How to Convert FLAC to AIFF Online?

Zamzar is a powerful online converter that makes file conversion easier. With Zamzar, you can convert files like documents, images, videos, and audios up to 1200+ formats. You don’t have to download software. Just pick a format to convert to and away you go. Zamzar also guarantees fast conversion that tasks would be converted in under 10 minutes. It’s pretty easy to use Zamzar to convert FLAC to AIFF. Here’s how to do it.

  • 1. Go to website of Zamzar; click “Add Files” to import the source file, or you can simply drag and drop. Please mind the maximum file size is up to 50MB.
  • 2.Click “Convert To” to select the target file format.
  • 3.Click “Convert Now” to start conversion, the file will pop up below for you to download.

If you just google, there are plenty of tools like Zamzar that can help you with file conversion. The benefit of Zamzar is that you don’t have to download software and install it on the computer which might be convenient for some people. But the limitation is rather obvious as the maximum file size is only 50MB, which makes it impossible for a lot of audio or video conversion, as audio and video can be large size files in most cases.

If you don’t mind downloading software, Leawo Video Converter and AVS Audio Converter are both good choices. AVS Audio Converter allows you to edit and convert the key audio file formats with bulk conversion available. However, AVS Audio Converter is an audio-only editing tool which makes it rather limited compared to Leawo Video Converter. With Leawo Video Converter, you can not only edit and convert audio and video into different formats but also burn images and videos into DVD/Blue-ray. It’s the most professional all-in-one software available currently offers speedy conversion that is 6X faster than average converters. So if you want to convert FLAC to AIFF, Leawo Video Converter is here to help. It’s the best converter that can guarantee the output quality in conversion.