Convert to Apple Lossless using different bitrates?

That is a strange one.

The import preferences for ALAC do not allow any settings other than "automatic," so there is no way to force a certain sample rate.

Do the WAVs you are starting with have a 44.1 kHz sample rate?

Since conversion from WAV to ALAC only puts a "wrapper" around PCM audio data, without altering content, I would assume that the source WAV files were encoded at 96khz.

hhgttg27 wrote:

Since conversion from WAV to ALAC only puts a "wrapper" around PCM audio data, without altering content, I would assume that the source WAV files were encoded at 96khz.

HH,

That statement is true for AIFF (which is a wrapper around PCM audio), but is not true for ALAC. ALAC, like FLAC, actually does a lossless compression, which is why it results in noticeably smaller files.

Indeed. The point I was trying/failing to make was that ALAC encoding/compression doesn't alter information content of the PCM stream.

Ainsley and HH,

It is quite unlikely that the Apple Lossless "Automatic" setting causes a change of sample rate. Therefore, if you are getting 96 kHz ALAC, you are probably starting with 96 kHz WAVs.

As a workaround, use iTunes to create 44.1 kHz WAV versions. This can be accomplished via the WAV "Custom" settings in Import Preferences (see below). Then convert those to Apple Lossless.

Interesting that the ALAC conversion keeps the same bit-rate, though.

It doesn't keep the same bitrate. The bitrate should be quite a bit less, or else there would be no point to Apple Lossless! However, it does keep the same sample rate, unless you do something to re-sample the audio, as you did when you forced it using the WAV custom settings.

Thanks for the responses. I figured out that the original files were indeed at 96khz so i used Ed2345's method and converted to wavs.

You are welcome. Glad it worked out.