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Level 1

95 points

How to transfer ALAC music from iMac to my iPad?

I have ripped hundreds of my CDs I have purchased over the years onto my iMac's Music App. I am not an Apple Music streaming service subscriber; nor do I want to be. I simply want to sync my music library from my iMac to my iPad, and have the music that is synced to my iPad be in ALAC lossless format. I don't see how I can do that. In the sync Finder window, the only option I get is "Convert high bit rate songs to:" And the highest I get is 256 AAC. Isn't there a way I can sync ALAC over to my iPad?

Posted on Mar 5, 2022 8:54 PM

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Level 7

28,429 points

Posted on Mar 5, 2022 11:32 PM

Hi,

You don’t need to use convert option. This is for use where you need to save space and copy higher bit rate tracks at lower bit rates.

Using finder, you should be able to sync ALAC tracks as is.

Jim

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3 replies

Top-ranking reply

Level 7

28,429 points

Mar 5, 2022 11:32 PM in response to Jdub_3d

Hi,

You don’t need to use convert option. This is for use where you need to save space and copy higher bit rate tracks at lower bit rates.

Using finder, you should be able to sync ALAC tracks as is.

Jim

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Level 1

95 points

Mar 6, 2022 10:49 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

So by leaving that unchecked, it brings over the file "as is"? If so, I did just bring over one song as a test. And I can see the song in my iPad. But I can't find a way to see what file type it is nor the size.

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Level 9

62,858 points

Mar 7, 2022 9:33 AM in response to Jdub_3d

J Dub,

If you had the "convert higher bit rate..." unchecked, then it just copied the file without modification. However, the Music app on iOS does not have the equivalent of "get Info" to explore the properties of the file.

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How to transfer ALAC music from iMac to my iPad?

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