Mass convert WMA to ??

Discussion in 'Mac Apps and Mac App Store' started by JaymeNYC, Jul 20, 2008.

  1. JaymeNYC macrumors newbie

    Jul 12, 2008
    I have a ton of WMA files I'd want to convert but I don't know what would be the best option on a mac. I don't want mp3, because I'll lose some quality so what options do I have so I can play my files in itunes?
  2. Julien macrumors G3


    Jun 30, 2007
    Are they WAV or WMA, and if WMA are they WMA lossless compressed or WMA lossy? Apple Lossless is the only way to keep them lossless and compress them for iTunes. If lossy you can't convert to another format without losing quality.
  3. JaymeNYC thread starter macrumors newbie

    Jul 12, 2008
    to convert to thse files which do i use? and will it keep everything in the folders they in or do i have to do it folder by folder?
  4. janey macrumors 603


    Dec 20, 2002
    sunny los angeles
    You pretty much have no choice. To rip to a lossless format means you have subpar audio quality in a huge filesize. To rip to a lossy format means you lose quality. Neither are really worth it. My two cents is that if it's really important to you and you can't re-rip your music, convert to high quality mp3.
  5. JaymeNYC thread starter macrumors newbie

    Jul 12, 2008
    Are you saying because im converting from a wma rather than the CD it would be better to convert to a high quality mp3?
  6. ChrisA macrumors G4

    Jan 5, 2006
    Redondo Beach, California
    A lot of what people are saying here is just plain wrong. In general you can convert the format to any format you like and still preserve all the audio quality you want. But doing so will cost you "bits". In other words the converted files will be larger.

    There are two cases to consider. If the WMA files are lossless you can convert to any other lossless format and the audio quality will be preserved exactly and the files will stay at abut the same size. The other is if the WMA files are "lossy" in that case you can in general convert them to a higher bit rate lossy format and preserve quality. How much higher bit rate? You will have to do some testing but I'd guess you'd be hapy with 30% more bits. It depends on your ears and equipment.

    That said, I've found that I don't like any lossy format. After trying 320K MP3 I've decided to use apple lossless format. It takes lots of space but space is cheap.

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