I am using the Apple Music app on my M1 Macbook to rip CDs and although I set the encoder to be "Apple Lossless Encoder" under Import Settings, my resulting ripped tracks are .m4a files.
I was expecting ALAC files or lossless tracks.
Can someone explain why the disparity?
thanks
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.2
Saxguy,
.m4a is the usual file extension for both AAC and ALAC. As dialabrain points out, it is not the extension that makes it lossless. To be sure your files are actually ALAC, look at the "Kind," which will say "Apple Lossless audio file," and at the file size, which will be in the neighborhood of 6 MB per minute of music (as compared with about 2 MB per minute of music for AAC/256).
FWIW, I would use the AIFF Encoder.
I should add, the Apple Lossless Encoder is in fact lossless, regardless of the extension.
Apple Music Import settings not Lossless
