Convert A-law audio files (ALAW) online for free
The converter easily converts your ALAW audio files to various formats - free and online. No Audacity or other Audio software needed.
To convert other file formats to the "Compressed Audio Format" file type, you need software like Audacity or a similar tool.
The .ALAW file format contains audio compressed using the A-law algorithm, a foundational element of the ITU-T G.711 standard. Primarily used for digital telecommunications and voice systems in Europe and internationally, it compresses 16-bit linear PCM audio down to 8 bits. This aggressive compression technique optimizes the dynamic range of human speech for low-bandwidth telephone networks. Software like Audacity or the command-line tool SoX (Sound eXchange) are typically required to read or manipulate these files.
While highly efficient for 1970s telephone networks, the .ALAW format is practically obsolete for modern multimedia. The primary disadvantage of a raw .ALAW file is that it often lacks a standard file header. Without header metadata, standard media players cannot determine the sample rate or bit depth, causing the file to either fail to open or play back as deafening white noise. Furthermore, the 8-bit compression provides poor audio fidelity, making it strictly suitable for voice recordings rather than music.
To make these files usable, conversion is mandatory. For universal playback across web browsers, smartphones, and computers, convert to MP3 or AAC. If you need to edit the voice recording or archive it without further quality loss, convert to a standard uncompressed WAV file. Drag and drop your file to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.
Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your ALAW file.
Users also converted WMA, GLS and ZPA files.
If you want to convert ALAW file to , you can use Audacity or similar software from the "Telephony Audio Compression" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to ALAW, try Audacity or another comparable tool in the "Telephony Audio Compression" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our ALAW converter.