Skip to content
All audio conversions

RA to AIFF converter

Convert RA to AIFF in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I want AIFF
Advanced 4
sec

Leave both at 0 for the whole file.

sec
Channels

Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

Related conversions

Other ways to convert RA

Convert other formats to AIFF

Read more about the RA format and the AIFF format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert RA to AIFF?

Only when software insists on AIFF. It stores the decoded RA perfectly, but the detail the RA discarded is already gone, so the AIFF is bigger without sounding better.

AIFF also plays in more places: Macs, iPhones and pro audio software; some Windows and web apps prefer WAV.

RA is streaming audio from the dial-up web; AIFF is uncompressed audio, Apple’s equivalent of WAV. Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

RA and AIFF compared
Property RA AIFF
Compression Lossy Uncompressed
Typical quality 8–64 kbps 16-bit PCM
Support A legacy format Opens almost everywhere
Best for Nothing today; convert old archived broadcasts Audio production on Macs, and importing into Logic or GarageBand
Introduced 1995 1988

How to convert RA to AIFF

  1. 01

    Add your RA

    Drop your RA file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to AIFF. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the AIFF

    Press convert and save the AIFF. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when RA becomes AIFF

Bigger, not better

AIFF can’t restore what RA compression removed. It does make editing easier and stops further loss, which is why editors and some broadcast systems ask for it.

Who needs AIFF

Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

A one-time engine download

RA is decoded by FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, a 31 MB download the first time. After that it is cached, and the conversion never leaves your device.

Expect a much larger file

AIFF is far bigger for the same content. Choose it because something needs AIFF, not to send or store the file. RA: Very small, sized for modems. AIFF: About 10 MB a minute at CD quality.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of RA and AIFF, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Recordings are often private: interviews, voice notes, unreleased music. Your browser can decode and encode audio itself, so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the RA. A .ram file is only a text link to a stream, not the audio itself; you need the .ra or .rm file it points to.
  • About the AIFF. AIFF stores samples in the opposite byte order to WAV; tools that assume WAV turn it into loud static.
  • MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus and FLAC are converted by your browser directly. WMA, AMR, APE, AC3 and the other specialist formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does converting RA to AIFF lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to AIFF, though it can’t restore what the RA already discarded.

Will an AIFF play in my car or on my phone?

AIFF opens almost everywhere: Macs, iPhones and pro audio software; some Windows and web apps prefer WAV.

Other tools