Play M4A Audio Files on Mac for Free

Have you ever found a file with this extension on your computer and wondered how to open M4A on Mac? Perhaps you tried to play M4A on Mac but could not open it.

For those of you that are wondering what is m4a and where did it came from, you should know that the file was popularized by Apple to create a distinction between the MPEG4 video formats and the M4A. No that we know what is m4a format, let’s see what are the programs that you can use to open it. In order to play a file that was save in the m4a format, you will need a M4A file player more advanced than iTunes or Quicktime. Luckily, such a software to play M4A music exists on the market and you will discover all about it in the following sections.

Check out Elmedia Player - a handy M4A player Mac app.

M4A vs MP3: What’s the Best Format?

The M4A format is often refer to as being the new and improved MP3, however, when you but the two formats head to head, you notice some differences. First of all, M4A can better compress audio to deliver the same bit rate and quality in a much smaller file. The M4A also has quite a high standard for bit rate starting at 128kbps and also allowing 192kbps and 256kbps. That’s how much data is processed in a second, kilobytes / second = kbps.

Of course that a higher bit rate will ultimately lead to a bigger file size, however, when it comes to the power of compression, M4A is superior compared to MP3. So, to make things a bit easier to understand, quality-wise a MP3 file with a 256kbps bit rate is the equivalend of a M4A at only 192kbps.

With all these arguments favoring M4A, is curious that MP3 is still the preferred audio format, however, that has more to do with compatibility rather than anything else. In the end, every format has its ups and downs, your needs determine the best one.