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If you think about it, just a decade or so ago, file formats were really important. People were discussing the differences between various file compressions and you often had to install an app extension if you wanted it to run a certain file format.

It seems that everything changed with the iPhone gaining mainstream popularity. Since all files were now hosted within apps, we never came across any incompatibility issues. Similarly, with more of our work moving to the web, it’s stored within appropriate software right away, so we don’t have to deal with file formats.

Still, occasionally, you might encounter a file that you can’t open or that you’d like to convert an audio file to another format. One of the most frequent issues for Mac users, for example, is dealing with M4A files, which you often want to convert to MP3s. So let’s discuss briefly what is M4A format and where you can find the best M4A to MP3 converter today.

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What Is M4A And How To Use It

You might be more familiar with M4A files if you think of them as MP4s, which they essentially are — the only difference is that an MP4 file can handle video while .m4a is for audio only.

MP4 (also known as MPEG-4) is in turn based on QuickTime File Format (QTFF) and, in some sense, was developed to replace MP3. M4A files, for example, are generally smaller in size and can store audio in better quality than MP3s. Their only downside is that M4A players are much harder to find, whereas MP3 is one of the most universal audio formats out there.

So where can you stumble upon the .m4a format? Mostly in Apple’s own iTunes Store, as it’s the default file extension for song downloads, which is then encoded with AAC for reduced file size or ALAC for lossless audio. However, copyrighted songs might also come in the .m4p format, which is a variant of .m4a.

All this leads us to the question of how do you play M4A vs MP3 on Mac and what’s the easiest way to convert file to MP3?

How to play M4A files on Mac

As already mentioned above, a lot of the M4A files you’d come across are from the iTunes Store, so naturally you’d be able to play them on iTunes as well (or the Music app from macOS Catalina onward). You can drag and drop any M4A file into Music and it’ll be added to your library.

In addition to Music, or iTunes, M4A files also work with QuickTime Player (since they are based on QuickTime File Format), which is one of the default apps you can find in your Applications folder. While QuickTime is mostly used for playing movies, it has a standard audio playback functionality built into it as well. But what if you’re after a great .m4a audio experience?

Play M4A on Mac

With Elmedia Player, you don’t have to convert your M4A file to other formats. Just hit the play button.

Elmedia Player is one of the most versatile audio and video players out there. Not only can it easily play a variety of M4A files and MP4 formats, it lets you stream content directly from the web and watch online videos (e.g. from YouTube) without ads as well. What’s more you can stream to any smart TV or AirPlay-enabled device and completely control the way subtitles are displayed.

How to convert M4A to MP3 using iTunes

While there are quite a few M4A players available on Mac, whether via default or third-party apps, you might often need to convert M4A to MP3 iTunes format to make it more widely available — so you can easily port music or audiobooks to virtually any device.

Surprisingly, there’s a way to use iTunes as an audio file converter, although not many people know about it, since it’s not that straightforward. Regardless, here’s how you can convert file to MP3 using iTunes:

1. Launch iTunes (or the new Music app)

2. Open Preferences (⌘ + ,)

3. Navigate to Files ➙ Import Settings…

4. Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder ➙ OK

5. Drag and drop your M4A file into iTunes

6. Select it and then go File ➙ Convert ➙ Create MP3 Version

7. Find the new file created in your library (the old file will still be intact)

In a similar fashion, you can change the default iTunes encoder to create WAV, lossless, AIFF, and AAC files. Overall, iTunes is a good enough M4A converter and general file converter to MP3 if you only need to convert one or two songs occasionally. For more regular conversions, there are much more efficient apps out there.

A better way to convert M4A to MP3 on Mac

If iTunes can be a decent M4A to MP3 converter, you might also wonder what other specialized apps can do an even better job?

Permute is a pro-level and truly universal media converter. This blazing fast app allows you to drag and drop any number of files into it and get converted results in seconds. Transform audio, video (or video to audio), images, and more — possible combinations are nearly endless! You can even merge two videos into one or add a subtitle track on the fly.

To use Permute as a M4A to MP3 converter:

1. Launch Permute

2. Drag and drop your M4A file onto the app's window

3. Select MP3 in the Audio dropdown

4. Click the Start icon

You can find the MP3 result on your Desktop. Repeat as necessary, and don’t forget that Permute can handle as many files at once as you want — you can use this audio file converter to transform whole albums too.

In the end, most of the time nowadays, we don’t have to deal with file formats and can find the appropriate app relatively easy. In the case with M4A files, you can use iTunes (Music) and QuickTime to play them, but better switch your default media to Elmedia Player altogether. And if you ever need a file converter to MP3, look no further than Permute.

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WMA, a short form for Windows Media Audio, is widely applied on Windows-based programs and music download services. For Windows users, it’s indeed a very helpful audio format due to its high quality.

But the compatibility of WMA is not as good as MP3. You can’t put WMA music or sounds into a website. What's worse for Mac users, it can’t be opened on Mac-based software.

MP3, enough said, is one of the most popular audio formats that are compatible with all devices and platforms including Mac. To enjoy and edit WMA on Mac, you’d better convert it to MP3. Read below to master how to convert WMA to MP3 on Mac.

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The Best Way to Mass Convert WMA to MP3 on Mac

The best method to convert WMA files to MP3 on Mac is to use dedicated and feature-rich software. Cisdem Video Converter is such a tool that will assist you to deal with video/audio-related tasks in the most efficient manner possible.

Not just converting WMA to MP3 without losing quality, it supports almost all the formats for file conversion, including M4A to MP3, MKV to MOV, MTS to MP4, YouTube to MP4, AVI to iPhone, etc.

Moreover, it allows you to download videos from 1000+ video sharing sites and rip protected DVD content to media formats like WMA, MP3, and MP4.

Standout features:

• Support a variety of input and output media formats
• Choose output audio quality, sample rate, bitrate, and sample
• Encode video in HEVC/H.265, while retaining the same visual quality
• Merge multiple WMA audio tracks prior to conversion
• Enhance videos with the inbuilt editor
• Convert DVD to mainstream file formats for playback on portable devices
• Download SD, HD, and UHD videos from YouTube, Facebook, etc.
• Process files in bulk

Step 1. Load WMA files

Install Cisdem WMA to MP3 converter to Mac, and launch it.

On the main interface, drag and drop WMA files to the program. Or you can add files from Media Browser by clicking the button at the upper-right corner.

Step 2. Select MP3 as the target format

Click the format icon, then a drop-down list will appear with tabs of “General Video”, “General Audio”, “4K Video, Apple Device”, “Tablet”, etc.

Go to “General Audio” and choose the MP3 format.

Step 3. Configure encoding settings (optional)

Click the icon placed alongside the output format of your choice, and an 'Advanced Settings' panel will pop up like so, which can control over the output audio parameters.

Step 4. Convert multiple WMA to MP3 on Mac

Click the icon at the bottom right corner and your WMA files will be converted to MP3 formats in batches.

Convert WMA to MP3 on Mac with VLC

VLC is an open-source audio and video-playing program developed by the VideoLAN team.

It supports playing MP4, WAV, WMV, DIVX, MP3, AAC, WMA, etc. on Mac, and also supports converting these file formats to WebM, OGG, ASF, TS, CD, MP4, MP3, FLAC, etc.

Follow the guide to change WMA file to MP3 on Mac using VLC without spyware, ads, and user tracking.

1. Run VLC media player. Hit 'File' > 'Convert/Stream' on the status bar at top of the Mac screen.
2. When a new window shows up, drop the WMA file to a specified area or click the 'Open media' button to add the WMA.
3. Choose 'Audio - MP3' from the format list.
4. Click on 'Save as File' > 'Browser'.
5. Rename your MP3 file (xxx.mp3) and choose a location to save WMA as MP3 on Mac.

However, VLC is mainly for video & audio playback. Its conversion feature is not practical enough. And the functions of VLC are limited, you can’t download & share videos, rip DVD with it. Besides, many Mac users said its interface needs some improvement.

Convert WMA to MP3 on Mac via Free Online Service

There're plenty online audio converters available for you to change WMA files to MP3 without purchasing, downloading and installing software on Mac. If you are looking for these kinds of online services, here are 2 to try.

#1 Online Audio Converter

Online Audio Converter is a sleek and easy-to-use web app, deeply loved by music collectors.

It currently supports 8 output formats including MP3, WAV, M4A, AMR, MP2, M4R (for iPhone ringtones), OGG and FLAC.

Meanwhile, it lets you convert multiple WMA files simultaneously in batch and preserve them in a ZIP archive.

1. Visit the website - https://online-audio-converter.com/.
2. Add WMA files from local Mac folder, Google Drive, Dropbox, or URLs.
3. Select MP3 as the output audio format.
4. Edit WMA files with quality, advanced settings, and track info.
5. Hit 'Convert' to initiate the process.
6. Download converted or compressed audio in MP3.

#2 CloudConvert

CloudConvert is a cloud-based WMA converter for Mac with the ability to convert WMA to MP3, AAC, AIFF, M4A, WAV and more.

It also works with video, document, image, eBook, spreadsheet, etc. formats. But the free account has certain limitations.

The input file can't exceed 1GB (not suitable for converting video files) and it only supports 5 concurrent conversions.

1. Head to https://cloudconvert.com/ in your browser.
2. Press the “Select File” button to import the WMA file.
3. Select MP3 as the desired format.
4. Click “Convert”.
5. Check the converted audio track and download it.

Merits of online WMA to MP3 converters for Mac are apparent: free, saving much time & space, no need installation, etc.

On the other hand, the drawbacks can’t be ignored. So many online sites may:

• Put rough-and-tumble ads on pages and mislead you to download malware
• Merely offer few type and number of formats
• Rely on the Internet. If your network is poor or not steady, it will be tough to convert WMA to MP3 online.
• Limit the maximum upload size
• No extra functions for video and audio
• Leak audio information

Transcode WMA to MP3 through FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a powerful library to record, stream, and transcoding media files. It's capable of converting an audio or video from one format to another.

Plus, it supports batch conversion, changing codecs, adding subtitles, etc. You need to revise the commands flexibly.

But if you don’t know anything about code technology, then you are not recommended to try FFmpeg.

Let’s see how to use it to make conversion.

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1. Navigate to http://ffmpeg.org/ to install FFmpeg
2. Once finished, drag-n-drop FFmpeg into the Terminal program.
3. Type the command: -i xxx.wma -map 0 xxx.mp3 or -i xxx.wma xxx.mp3.
   Note: The WMA is the input audio, and you can give any name to the output MP3 file, like sample-audio.mp3.
3. Press 'Enter' on keyboard to beginning transcoding, and the converted MP3 is stored in your home directory on Mac.

People Also Ask

1) Can I convert WMA to MP3 Mac using iTunes?

No, you can’t.

As I mentioned in the first part, WMA can’t be imported into Mac-based software, like iTunes, QuickTime, and iMovie.

However, if you have iTunes installed on Windows computer, you can convert WMA to MP3. By default, Windows iTunes will convert files to M4A, not MP3. So you need to change your iTunes preferences first.

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2) Can Audacity convert WMA files to MP3 on Mac?

No, the original Audacity can't do it and only MP3, WAV, and AIFF can be added.

But you are able to install the FFmpeg library to expand a wider range of audio formats like WMA, AC3, AMR, etc. for import and export. FFmpeg partially supports WMA, but may not support some variants of WMA files, e.g. DRM-protected WMA.

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Download FFmpeg from https://lame.buanzo.org/#lameosx64bitdl.

Also, it's best to install the LAME MP3 encoder at the same time.

3) How can I play WMA on Mac?

• Install a Windows Media Components - Flip4Mac for QuickTime
• Use an alternative to QuickTime Player, such as Cisdem Video Player and VLC

The Bottom Line

Above are detailed guides for converting WMA to MP3 on Mac with several advantageous tools. Although all of them give certain help to fulfill the task, my favorite solution is to Cisdem Video Converter for Mac. It offers fast audio conversion, and many additional features for video editing/download, and DVD ripping. Start to use the well-received WMA to MP3 converter Mac, you will be surprised by the little fun it brings to you!