Can I use vlc on Linux to convert an audio file to m4a to be played on iPad/iPhone?

I have been working and researching this question for much of the day. I found some online advice and changed an FFMPEG preference (strict conversion to -2) and added an AAC output option. I was able to convert a FLAC file to AAC. But, the file will not play on my iPad. It just says "Loading" and never completes loading.

I am on Arch Linux 64-bit. My vlc is version 2.2.2

The videolan wiki says converting audio to AAC is supported, but gives no real details. Is this even possible?