Audio converter for DJs
Convert WAV, FLAC, AIFF, M4A and MP3 files to MP3, WAV or AIFF without uploading anything. Tags, BPM, key and cover art come across, so the new files still sort and search properly in your DJ software. The tool also tells you when a conversion cannot improve the sound.
Your files never leave your computer: your browser decodes and encodes them locally. Nothing is uploaded. MP3 encoding uses LAME (via lamejs, LGPL).
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Swapping these into your Serato library?
Serato treats a converted file as a new track, so your crates keep pointing at the old one. Once the originals are gone, Crate Cleaner’s Library Repair finds the new copies by artist, title and length and relinks your crates. Five repairs a day are free.
Free plan, no card required. Mac only (macOS, built for Serato DJ Pro).
Which format to pick
- MP3 320 kbps: about a quarter the size of a WAV and plays on every DJ player, laptop and phone. The usual pick for USB backups and big libraries.
- AIFF: lossless, so it sounds identical to the source, and it holds tags and artwork well. The usual pick for a Serato or rekordbox library on a Mac.
- WAV: lossless and sounds the same as AIFF. Tag support in WAV varies more between apps, so choose AIFF if you rely on tags for sorting and searching.
Leave bit depth and sample rate on Original unless a player needs something specific. Converting 24-bit to 16-bit or 96 kHz to 44.1 kHz makes the file smaller, with no difference you will hear in a club.
Converting for CDJs and older players
Pioneer CDJs before the CDJ-2000NXS2, and many older controllers and media players, cannot play FLAC or ALAC files. If a USB stick has to work on whatever is in the booth, convert FLAC and ALAC to AIFF or WAV at 16 or 24-bit and 44.1 or 48 kHz, or to MP3 320. All three play on older Pioneer gear.
What converting cannot do
- It cannot add quality. An MP3 converted to WAV or AIFF sounds exactly the same as the MP3, at four to ten times the size. The converter warns you when a file is already lossy. To find out what a file really is first, run it through the MP3 quality checker.
- It cannot raise a bitrate. Saving a 128 kbps file as 320 kbps creates the fake 320s DJs try to avoid. The converter flags this too.
- Re-encoding lossy files costs a little each time. MP3 to MP3, or M4A to MP3, loses some detail. If you have the lossless original, convert from that.
What comes across, and what does not
Title, artist, album, album artist, genre, year, track number, BPM, key, comment, composer, label, grouping and cover art are read from the source file (ID3 tags in MP3, WAV and AIFF, FLAC comments and M4A tags) and written as ID3v2.3, the tag format DJ software reads on MP3, WAV and AIFF files.
Hot cues, loops, saved beatgrids and track colors do not come across. Serato and other DJ apps save those against the original file, so the converted copy starts without them. Ogg and Opus tags are not copied either.
After converting: relink your crates
If you swap converted files into your library and remove the originals, Serato shows the old entries as missing and your crates point at nothing. Crate Cleaner’s Library Repair finds the new copies by artist, title and length, then relinks your crates to them. It works because the converter keeps your tags. For the manual route, see why Serato tracks show up as missing.
Free plan, no card required. Mac only (macOS, built for Serato DJ Pro).
Limits
- Speed: MP3 encoding runs on your computer, so speed depends on your machine: a five-minute track takes about 10 seconds on a recent Mac, and a batch converts three files at a time. WAV and AIFF take about a second.
- Size: files over 600 MB, such as long recorded mixes, are too big to convert in a browser tab.
- Browser support: WAV, AIFF, FLAC and MP3 work in every modern browser. M4A (AAC and ALAC) and Ogg depend on what your browser can decode.
FAQ
Is this audio converter free, and does it upload my files? It is free, with no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded. Your browser decodes and encodes each file on your own computer; the audio never leaves it.
Does converting WAV to MP3 lose quality? Yes, a little: MP3 is a lossy format. At 320 kbps the loss is very hard to hear, which is why 320 kbps is the standard for DJ downloads. Keep your WAV or AIFF masters if you have the space.
Will converting an MP3 to WAV or AIFF make it sound better? No. The detail the MP3 encoder removed is gone for good, so the WAV sounds exactly like the MP3, at four to ten times the size. The converter warns you when a source file is already lossy.
Does it keep BPM, key and artwork? Yes. Title, artist, album, genre, year, track number, BPM, key, comment, composer, label, grouping and cover art are copied into the new file. Hot cues, loops, beatgrids and track colors saved by your DJ software do not come across.
Which format should I use for CDJs? AIFF or WAV at 16 or 24-bit and 44.1 or 48 kHz, or MP3 320. Pioneer CDJs before the CDJ-2000NXS2 cannot play FLAC or ALAC, so convert those if your USB has to work on older players.
Which file types can I convert? WAV, AIFF, FLAC and MP3 work in every modern browser. M4A (AAC and ALAC) and Ogg depend on what your browser can decode. Output is MP3, AIFF or WAV.
Keep your crates pointing at the right files
Crate Cleaner finds missing tracks in your Serato library and relinks them, along with duplicates, fakes and broken files.