Audio formats: FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF and DSD — which to choose?
The format you choose affects how much space your library takes and how well you can tag it, but not how it sounds when the format is lossless. Here is the quick guide.
Lossless and lossy
A lossless format keeps all the data of the original: when you decompress it, you get exactly the same samples. A lossy format (MP3, AAC) discards information to take less space, and that information can’t be recovered.
The most common formats
- FLAC: lossless, open and supported by many devices. It usually takes about half the space of the uncompressed equivalent and supports full tags. It is the most widespread choice for audiophile libraries.
- ALAC: Apple’s lossless equivalent, in an .m4a container. It works well across the Apple ecosystem.
- WAV: uncompressed. It is large and tag support is poor, so it suits production better than a library.
- AIFF: uncompressed, from Apple, with better tag support than WAV.
- DSD (DSF and DFF): a different encoding method at a very high rate. It needs a DAC that accepts it, normally through DoP.
- MP3 and AAC: lossy. Handy for small space or mobile; not ideal for critical listening.
What “high resolution” means
CD is 16-bit and 44.1 kHz. High resolution is anything above that, such as 24-bit and 96 or 192 kHz. A high-resolution file doesn’t guarantee a better record: it depends on the recording and the master.
What suits you
- If you rip your own CDs, lossless FLAC or ALAC.
- If you buy high resolution, keep the original file without converting it.
- If you mostly use Apple Music and Apple devices, ALAC fits without friction; otherwise FLAC.
Sonora plays FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DFF, AAC, MP3, CAF and Ogg Vorbis, and shows each track’s real format in its signal path. To get the most from your files, see the guide to connecting a DAC.
Try it with your library
Sonora is a native macOS player (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later). Try it free for 14 days with every feature, no card and no sign-up.