Free FLAC to MP3 converter?

Greboth · 7 Oct 2010 at 16:59

Hi there

Pretty much as the title says, looking for a FLAC to mp3 converter to put them on my ipod. Can anyone recommend a, preferably free, one?

Thank, Greboth.

Jamauk · 7 Oct 2010 at 18:00

I'm sure there are better ones available, but I've used Winamp in the past

Hxc · 7 Oct 2010 at 18:17

Any decent media player will do it. Winamp, foobar+lame....

lurkio · 7 Oct 2010 at 18:35

foobar

richb93 · 7 Oct 2010 at 18:39

lurkio said:
foobar

Greboth · 7 Oct 2010 at 20:13

I just used winamp as I had it already installed, didn't know you could use winamp though. Thanks for telling me

jellybeard999 · 7 Oct 2010 at 20:16

I use an older version of dbpoweramp I still have (11.5 iirc).

.Simon · 7 Oct 2010 at 23:11

Open source all the way:

Download the FLAC Frontend
Download the FLAC codec
Download the LAME frontend
Download the LAME codec

Then you can convert FLAC to WAV with the FLAC frontend and WAV to MP3 with the LAME frontend, easy and free.

CaptainCrash · 7 Oct 2010 at 23:49

.Simon said:
Then you can convert FLAC to WAV with the FLAC frontend and WAV to MP3 with the LAME frontend, easy and free.

Why on earth would you faff around doing it that way when foobar2000 will do it in one simple operation, also carrying the tags over?

.Simon · 7 Oct 2010 at 23:59

I'm just offering a tried and tested by me method so he can make a choice.

MrMacca · 8 Oct 2010 at 07:29

Could use:

Format Factory : http://www.formatoz.com/
or
Media Coder : http://www.mediacoderhq.com/index.htm

anything I don't mind · 8 Oct 2010 at 11:13

Buy an mp3 player that is actually half decent that supports FLAC and does not destroy your music collection (itunes).

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB (supports flac, costs £40)

Hxc · 8 Oct 2010 at 11:32

groen said:
Buy an mp3 player that is actually half decent that supports FLAC and does not destroy your music collection (itunes).

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB (supports flac, costs £40)

FLAC on a portable player is nigh on pointless unless the person is willing to spend an absolute fortune on headphones... (I have £100 Atrio M5s and I can't tell the difference between FLAC and 320kbps MP3 on portable players).

Participant · 8 Oct 2010 at 11:52

groen said:
Buy an mp3 player that is actually half decent that supports FLAC and does not destroy your music collection (itunes).

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB (supports flac, costs £40)

Agreed.

Hxc that's great, but not all 320kbps have been ripped in a brilliant way.

Assuming like most people he is someone whose MP3s are not all perfect rips from his own CDs using LAME, then the difference between FLAC and your average 320kbps MP3 should be noticeable to most people with decent ears, and a reasonable player and headphones.

I can't most definitely tell the difference between a FLAC and a poorly ripped 320kbps MP3 file on my Sansa Clip + with some Klipsch X1 headphones.

james.miller · 8 Oct 2010 at 11:56

the possibilities of mp3 rips not being quite up to scratch isnt a valid reason to choose one player over another, imo. if you're worried about the quality of mp3 rips because you didnt rip them yourself (naughty you) then find the flac source instead and convert that. problem solved.

I agree with Hxc's viewpoint.

anything I don't mind · 8 Oct 2010 at 14:54

FLAC on a portable player is nigh on pointless unless the person is willing to spend an absolute fortune on headphones... (I have £100 Atrio M5s and I can't tell the difference between FLAC and 320kbps MP3 on portable players).

I can tell a difference, i have most of my collection in flac and mp3 in various bit rates. Using the supplied headphones, that came with my sansa clip. I can notice the difference with the flac. They have a lot fuller sound and it just sounds better. I did a test by copying the same soad album in mp3 and flac, then played one after each other. It sounded better. Now i just need to buy a 16gb or 32gb microsd card