Grid M4a |top| - Off The

| Source | Method | Off-Grid Friendly? | |--------|--------|--------------------| | | Download in M4A (AAC) or ALAC (Apple Lossless) | ✅ Yes – keep the files forever | | CDs | Rip using iTunes, EAC, or XLD → encode as M4A (256kbps AAC) | ✅ Yes – physical media | | 7digital / Qobuz | Purchase and download M4A or FLAC (convert to M4A) | ✅ Yes – download once | | Your own recordings (field, voice memo) | Save as M4A natively on iPhone/Android | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Avoid: Streaming downloads (Spotify offline mode still requires periodic online check-ins – not true off-grid). Step 2: Converting Your Library to M4A If you have FLAC, MP3, or WAV files, convert them to M4A for space efficiency.