AIFF: A Container for High-quality Audio on Computers and Audio Devices

When playing your favorite songs or creating a remix on DAW or other media platforms, you may often notice ".aiff" as the file extension. So what does it really mean? How is it different from .wav and other audio formats? Read this post for more information and you can learn many useful tips for AIFF conversion.

Part 1. What AIFF is

AIFF, referring to Audio Interchange File Format in full, is an audio file format to store audio data, loop point data and sample musical notes with high quality. AIFF files are uncompressed in most cases and thus are capable of producing lossless sound effects for output. It also has file extensions such as ".aif" and ".aifc" if the file gets compressed for many other applications and devices. Developed by the Apple company in 1988, it emerged on the basis of IFF (Interchange File Format) by Electronic Arts company. With the update of the macOS system, there are also variants like AIFF-C/sowt for different byte orders. For its better capacity for more audio data and higher quality, AIFF is famous for many Mac users to create stereo and other audio files.

Part 2. Compare AIFF with Other Formats

AIFF VS WAV

WAV, the full name of which is Waveform Audio, was developed by Microsoft and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation). To tell the difference from their developers, the users for AIFF and WAV files would vary on the Mac and Windows system. Although they both support uncompressed audio format for excellent sound effects and quality, WAV would be storage-saving with less metadata in the disk.

AIFF VS FLAC

FLAC refers to Free Lossless Audio Codec. Unlike the uncompressed file in the AIFF file extension, FLAC is a compression-based format for lossless audio files. It enjoys great popularity for no quality loss, less storage space and open source for more multimedia players, online websites and computer systems. However, AIFF files still gain an edge in keeping the original data and information without compression.

AIFF VS MP3

MP3 is short for MPEG-3 and widespread on many hardware players and media platforms. Due to its compressed and lossy file features, it is a good choice for streaming audio files online quickly. But when it comes to the quality loss of the source file, especially on advanced facilities and mobile devices, you should take into account AIFF rather than MP3 as a better option since the gap would be larger for the output file.

Part 3. How to Open and Play AIFF

Due to its currency and compatibility with media players at present, you can enjoy the excellent quality and original data with AIFF files. For Windows users, you can use the built-in Windows Media Player to open and play your AIFF files. While for Mac users, you can also use QuickTime Player and iTunes bundled with the operating system. Third-party platforms like DAW, Adobe Audition and so on would also be your choice.

Part 4. How to Convert AIFF from/to Other File Formats

After you have a deeper understanding of AIFF files, you can balance their merits and select an ideal format for your audio files. If you desire more storage-saving formats or want to convert other formats to AIFF, we recommend ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate for you. Here you can enjoy over 300 video and audio formats for conversion, including MP3, MKV, FLAC, AAC, DS, MKV, OGG and so on. What's more, the super fast speed will never let you down.

Three Steps to Convert AIFF Files

Besides you can read the list below for the conversion between AIFF and other popular file formats. Go through it and make your final choice!

Convert AIFF to Other Files

• AIFF to MP3
• AIFF to FLAC
• AIFF to WAV
• AIFF to WMV
• AIFF to AAC
• AIFF to WMA
• AIFF to OGG
• AIFF to M4A
• AIFF to DSD
• AIFF to FLV
• AIFF to ALAC
• AIFF to VOB
• AIFF to TS
• AIFF to MXF
• AIFF to M3UB
• AIFF to WAV
• AIFF to AVCHD
• AIFF to VHS
• AIFF to ARF
• AIFF to SWF
• AIFF to MKV

Convert Other Files to AIFF

• MP3 to AIFF
• FLAC to AIFF
• WAV to AIFF
• WMV to AIFF
• AAC to AIFF
• WMA to AIFF
• OGG to AIFF
• M4A to AIFF
• DSD to AIFF
• FLV to AIFF
• ALAC to AIFF
• VOB to AIFF
• TS to AIFF
• MXF to AIFF
• M3UB to AIFF
• WAV to AIFF
• AVCHD to AIFF
• VHS to AIFF
• ARF to AIFF
• SWF to AIFF
• MKV to AIFF

Part 5. FAQs about AIFF

• Is AIFF obsolete?

  Although there is a stopped extension and support for AIFF by Apple company, you can still create and convert audio files from AIFF on other multimedia platforms.

• Does converting FLAC to AIFF lose quality?

  Converting FLAC to AIFF will bring no quality loss because FLAC and AIFF are both lossless audio formats. And you can use ArkThinker Video Converter Ultimate to assist you in the conversion.

• What's the suitable use of AIFF?

  If you are asking for high quality and original data information about the source file, AIFF would be a good choice for you, especially for Mac users.