Convert M4A to MP3 on Mac – Easy Guide

I. What are M4A and MP3 formats?

1. What is the M4A format?

M4A is the file extension for MPEG 4 Audio files encoded with Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). These lossy compressed files are the successors of MP3 and were originally used for audio design and as layer 3 in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video files.

2. What is MP3 format?

MP3 is a popular digital audio coding and lossy compression format. It reduces file size while maintaining quality. For instance, a 3-minute WAV file of 30MB can be converted to a 3MB MP3 file with a 90% compression rate.

After understanding what M4A and MP3 formats are, let’s take a look at the method of converting M4A to MP3 on the Mac system.

II. How to convert M4A to MP3 on Mac system?

1. Use Convertio online format conversion tool to convert M4A audio to MP3

Convertio is a free online tool that allows you to convert various media formats including audio, video, image, document, and e-book formats. One of its features is the easy conversion of M4A to MP3 format. Here are the specific steps to perform this conversion using Convertio online tool:

Open the online operating website of Convertio online format conversion tool through a browser: https://convertio.co/m4a-mp3/, and then click the (Choose Files) button to import the M4A files that need to be converted to this web server, or you can add files directly via Dropbox, GoogleDrive or URL. After the file is uploaded, the (Convert) button will appear on the page. If there is no need for batch conversion, just click the (convert) button to start executing the command to convert the file in M4A format to MP3 format, which is very fast. After the format conversion is complete, you can click the (Download) button on the interface to save the converted file locally, or to GoogleDrive or Dropbox.

2. Use Zamzar online format conversion tool to convert M4A audio to MP3

Zamzar is a free online tool for converting M4A files to MP3 format. The process is simple, with the following steps:

Step 1: Enter https://www.zamzar.com/convert/m4a-to-mp3/ in the browser to open the M4A to MP3 format page of the Zamzar website. Then click (Add Files…) to upload the M4A file.

Step 2: After uploading the M4A file, click the (Convert Now) button.

Step 3: After the conversion is complete, click the (Download) button on the redirected page, then download the converted MP3 file and save it locally.

III. Extended information: How to convert M4A files to MP3 in Windows system

If you are using Windows system and want to convert M4A files to MP3 format, you can use Renee Audio Tools to convert M4A audio to MP3 format for free. Let’s take a look at the detailed function introduction and operation steps of Renee Audio Tools .

1. What is Renee Audio Tools?

Renee Audio Tools is an all-in-one audio recording and editing tool. It allows you to record computer or microphone sound, and then optimize and adjust the audio using various editing functions. These functions include cropping music clips, setting fade in and fade out, adjusting playback speed and volume, converting male/female voices, merging audio files, editing music file tags, transferring music to iTunes, and burning music to CD/DVD.

After completing audio editing, you can convert the audio to different formats as needed. This software supports a wide range of audio formats including MP3, MP2, M4A, WMA, ACC, AC3, FLAC, WAV, AMR, OGG, APE, MKA, and others. It also supports converting video formats to audio formats.

2. How to use Renee Audio Tools to convert M4A audio to MP3?

Step 1: Run Renee Audio Tools after downloading and installing software, click the (Converter) option on the main page.

Step 2: Next, find the (Add Files) button and import the M4A file that needs to be converted into Renee Audio Tools.

Step 3: Add the audio file, choose MP3 as the output format, select the save location, and click the Start button to convert the M4A audio to MP3. This process is fast and convenient.