2024 Updated 10 Best M4A Players for Computer and Mobile

M4A stands for MPEG 4 audio and is a file name extension used to represent audio files. However, it is coming in far behind the vastly more popular MP3. M4A was developed and released by Apple for Mac and iOS devices. iTunes, for example, is a dominant force in digital music distribution. It is able to convert music to M4A and transfer M4A files from computer to iPhone, iPad or iPod. Not all media players are compatible with M4A outside the Apple environment. That is why we identify and share top 10 best M4A player applications for PC and Android.

Part 1: Top 5 M4A players for Windows and Mac
Part 2: Top 5 M4A player apps for Android and iPhone
Part 3: FAQs of M4A player

Part 1: Top 5 M4A players for Windows and Mac

Top 1: AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is the No.1 M4A player software for Windows and Mac computer. It is best for those beginners that want to listent to M4A music with all the basic controls.

Pros

Play M4A music on computer with the original quality.
Support almost all audio formats, including MP3, M4A, etc.
Completely control the music playback with the built-in menu bar.
Adjust audio quality and other parameters with the custom options.
Available to Windows 11/10/8/7/ and Mac OS 13/12/11, and earlier.

Cons

This M4A player is a paid media player, so you need to purchase it after the free-trial.

Free Download For Windows

Secure Download

Free Download For macOS

Secure Download

How to play M4A on PC and Mac

1.Import M4A into the best M4A player

Download and install AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player on your PC. There is another version for Mac. Then launch the media player and click the Open File button to import the M4A music you want to listen to.

2.Control the playback

After loading, you will be presented the playback controllers at bottom of the window, including Stop, Pause, Play, and more. Click and expand the Audio menu on top ribbon and you will get all custom options related to audio.

Top 2: iTunes

iTunes is the built-in tools for Apple devics. It is all-in-one data sync and media player. Surely, it can play M4A player on your Apple devices. It is best for those who own an Apple device.

Pros

Play M4A on Windows and Mac simply.
Sync music between iOS device and computer through USB cable or Wi-Fi network.
Convert MP3 to M4A for playback on iPhone.
Free of charge without ads, virus or malware.
Edit music files on iTunes directly.

Cons

The M4A player takes up more and more space with every update.
It will not play copy-protected music and video files.

Top 3: 5KPlayer

5KPlayer is a free M4A music player on Windows and Mac computer. Built-in AirPlay & DLNA, you can play M4A files on computer and mobile phone easily. This M4A file player is best for those need a free and functional media player.

Pros

Play any audio files with M4A file extension for free.
No require extra audio codecs or software.
Integrate a concise interface with several playback controllers.
Support Dolbys, RStereo, DTS multi-channel surround sound.
Control the playback with hotkeys simply.

Cons

This free M4A player lis not easy to use for the beginners.
It has buiilt-in other features that are hard to use.

Top 4: MusicBee

MusicBee is the all-in-one M4A music player and manager. It is compatible with Windows 10, 8, and 7. It is best for those who have thousands of M4A songs to manage.

Pros

Import music libraries from iTunes, Windows Media Player and more.
Organize M4A music collection in the simple way.
Search and fill the missing metadata of M4A audio tracks.
Support numerous plugins to enhance the M4A playback.

Cons

The M4A player uses quite a lot of CPU and slows down your PC.
Podcasts handling is limited and only offers a few custom options.

Top 5: Foobar2000

Foobar2000 is a free M4A audio player on Windows. As a old branded music player, it offers all the basic features you need. It is best for those who have a nostalgic feeling of the music player.

Pros

Lightweight and integrate a clean minimalistic interface.
Play the majority of popular audio formats, including M4A, OGG, WMA, WAV, FLAC, etc.
Grab the missing meta-data from the internet automatically.
Let you organize music library and audio tracks by genres, time, and more.

Cons

Advanced features in this M4A player are a bit difficult for beginners.
The add-ons need to installation.

Part 2: Top 5 M4A player apps for Android and iPhone

Top 1: VLC for Android

VLC Media Player is a cross-platform media player freeware on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and more. It is best for those who do not need any advanced features, but only listen to M4A files.

Pros

Play M4A and other music files on Android phone and tablet.
Support almost all audio formats, like M4A, MP3, WMA, etc.
Sync music files with iCloud, iTunes, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, One Drive, and more.
Download and share multimedia files via a Wi-Fi network.

Cons

This M4A player for Android needs extensive permissions, like read USB storage, full network access and more.
It is not stable on Android devices.

Top 2: MortPlayer Music

MortPlayer Music is a simple M4A player for Android phone. It is best for those who want to categorize thounsands of songs by tags.

Pros

Support for playlist, folder-based navigation and customizable interface.
Control M4A playback by swipe gestures simply.
Flexibly play, stop or pause at any spot or switch to repeat modes
Completely free to download from Play Store.

Cons

The interface looks old and the layout is not reasonable.
The icons are not straightforward at all.

Top 3: PowerAMP

PowerAMP is a powerful M4A player for Android and iOS. Its updated interface and features can meet the demands of everyone. It is best for those needs more customizability options.

Pros

Offer both a free and a paid version for listening to music on mobile.
Support M4A and other popular audio formats.
Search for and display music art automatically.
Control the audio playback with gestures.

Cons

The advanced features in this M4A player is only available to paid version.

Top 4: Player dreams

Player dreams is another free M4A audio player for Android. It comes with tag editor, search feature, and more. It is best for those need a lot of widgets.

Pros

Listen to M4A and other music on Android devices for free.
Create playlists to enjoy music smoothly.
Manage music by artist, album, folder and more.
Control audio playback with gestures.

Cons

The interface is not intuitive.
This M4A player for Android is difficult to handle for beginners.

Top 5: Equalizer Music Player

Equalizer Music Player is a trendy and fashional design M4A player for Android. Besides, it can play videos. It is best for those are searching for a music player with high-quality equalizer, bass booster & 3D virtualizer.

Pros

Let you enjoy video and music on Android devices.
Support M4A, MP3, MP4, and other popular multimedia formats.
Create, edit and modify playlists quickly.
Free to download from Play Store and use on Android phone.

Cons

The M4A player lacks some features, such as music library management.
The audio quality is not as good as other best music players.

Part 3: FAQs of M4A player

I cannot play M4A files on iTunes, but QuickTime, how to fix it?

1. The M4A file is corrupted. You have to download or get a complete M4A file.
2. Change the file extension from .m4a to .mp4.2.2.Change the file extension from .m4a to .mp4.

Is M4A the same as MP4?

No. M4A is usually audio only whereas MP4 is the container that holds both video and audio streams.

Can M4A play on MP3 players?

No. M4A is not compatible with all MP3 players. To play M4A files on an MP3 player, you have to convert M4A to MP3.

Conclusion

Based on our reviews above, you should master at least 10 M4A players available to Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android. When testing these media players, we focused on the number of features, the quality of M4A playback, the operation and other measurements. After reading the article carefully, you can pick the most appropriate media player for your device. Now, you should understand that listening to M4A is easier than you thought if you have the right media player. More questions related to play M4A? Please feel free to leave your messages below.