[Marbles]

I have downloaded FLAC, how do I set EAC to compress to it, and how do I setup Foobar to uncrompress it?

Thanks

[ted_b]

I rip with EAC (to wav, then do a mass encode to flac later, like choosing the 10 albums I ripped today and having them encode to flac one at a time in batch mode).  Foobar doesn't need to decode FLAC; it reads it natively.  Just make sure (if you do it my way) to go in and change the cue file (the small file with the track listings) to reference AbbeyRoad.flac instead of AbbeyRoad.wav (using notepad, it's the third line in the cue file, referring to the file name...takes 5 seconds).  

Basically, I keep both versions of the cue file; one, unchanged with the ".wav" suffixes in the filename line, in a folder I call "decode", and one in the "f" drive that houses all my FLAC files.  That way when I want to decode a FLAC file (to later burn a cd, for instance), I decode it to the folder "decode" which houses it's .wav-version cue file.  Cue files are very small (1-2k so no problem storing dupes).  Cue files are created when you pick  "copy image and create cue sheet" in EAC.  That action creates one big wav file (per album) and one cue file with the same name.
Ted

[Marbles]

Thanks Ted,

I got it to work, but the FLAC file seems to be down about 6DB from the .WAV file.

Is this normal?

What would cause that?

Thanks

[ted_b]

Not that I'm aware of..  I just ran a test, and both wav and FLAC versions sounded the same, same output, etc.  Did you replaygain one of them?  Otherwise I don't know a valid reason.

Ted

[Marbles]

I don't have a clue as to why the difference..maybe someone else can tell me what I did?

[Marbles]

OK, I found out what the problem was.."replaygain" was checked in FLAC.

Now the volumes are the same.  In some quick comparisons using the first song on Eva Cassidy's Songbird CD, I could not tell a difference.


Right now the process is:

Rip CD to hard drive using EAC.  This puts it in a .WAV
Then I open Flac and encode to Flac.

Is there a one stop deal where EAC rips directly to FLAC?

Thanks

[cryotweaks]

Yes, you can automate the process to rip .wav files then convert them.

You can set this up in the top menu under
EAC> Compression options > External Compression

1. Check the "Use external compression..." box

2.Give the path to the FLAC.exe file, for instance:  C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe

3.  Now you have some options as to how you want the album/artist/track number info to display.  I have the following:

-T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

4. The bit rate, I believe the lower the better in this instance (someone correct me if I am wrong).  This is not resampling the data.

5. Other options.  I have the .wav files deleted after they are converted to FLAC files to save on drive space.  I also have the "Add ID3 Tag" selected.

That's it!

I hope this is helpful.

[zybar]

OK, I found out what the problem was.."replaygain" was checked in FLAC.

Now the volumes are the same.  In some quick comparisons using the first song on Eva Cassidy's Songbird CD, I could not tell a difference.


Right now the process is:

Rip CD to hard drive using EAC.  This puts it in a .WAV
Then I open Flac and encode to Flac.

Is there a one stop deal where EAC rips directly to FLAC?

Thanks

Glad to see that things are working and that you don't hear a difference between FLAC and WAV.

Here is a link to more info on how to setup EAC/FLAC:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=30959

I can't remember who posted it previously or I would give them the credit for gthe link.

George

[Marbles]

Thanks to both of you guys for the link and help, and thanks to mgalusha for some off line help.

I'll try those tips tonight.

[Tirade]

The debate whether to use replay gain or not to use replay gain seems like a popular one lately.

In the end I think its personal preference but when youre using a squeezebox and having slimserver convert from FLAC to WAV then replay gain metadata doesnt matter. Replay gain differences would only be heard if youre playing directly from the flac file and not converting it to wav first.

Tim

Here is some more info.

Q: What's that ReplayGain setting for?

A: Using ReplayGain is an option in flac and other file formats. The idea of Replay Gain is to calculate a volume adjustment that players (hardware and software) can use to even out jarring volume differences between songs.

The short answer on Replay Gain is, it's your call. If you have a fast computer, it doesn't add much processing time. If you do decide to use Replay Gain when you're encoding a show, be sure to use the "Treat input files as one album" option, and encode the whole show at once, to preserve the volume levels of each track relative to others in the show.

If you'd rather, you can safely ignore that option and leave it un-checked. Most people won't benefit from it - it's only used when flacs are played from the flac file, and a quick twist of the volume control does just as well for those listening to a whole show. It's really more use for mixes of single tracks.


P.S. I would have noticed this thread quicker if I wasnt so busy copying all of my music for Ted B (thanks for the paypal Ted).   (Im sure Ted will get the joke).

[ted_b]

Yes, there are many ways to rip directly to FLAC.  There's even a new plug-in called REACT (see hydrogenaudio forums) that rips to anything and changes the cue file names, sets up function keys, etc.  The reason I do a two-step process is that I use the wav files (using daemon) to load into iTunes for my iPod, then after that I encode to FLAC (in batch mode) then I delete the wav files, but not their cue files.  So now I have them in Itunes @ 224AAC, in a separate hardrive in lossless FLAC for storage  (and a separate backup hd as well) and Foobar playback, and have the original wav cue files so I can convert back to wav at any time.

Rob, I mentioned replaygain in my orginal response cuz I thought that's what might have happened.  I've futs'd around with RG but in the end don't use it.

Tirade, I don't get the joke.....

Ted

[Marbles]

, then after that I encode to FLAC (in batch mode) .

When you say bulk mode, I take it you can load several .wav files and have them converted at the same time?

Looks like I'll have to give that a try tonight as well.

[ted_b]

Yeah, in the FLAC frontend just click "add files" and load up any number of wav files for encoding.  Then simply pick the target folder ("output directory") and press "encode".  They'll encode serially.

My Foobar GUI is in my gallery (link below).  All the albums are FLAC.

Ted

[Marbles]

Yeah, in the FLAC frontend just click "add files" and load up any number of wav files for encoding.  Then simply pick the target folder ("output directory") and press "encode".  They'll encode serially.

My Foobar GUI is in my gallery (link below).  All the albums are FLAC.

Ted

VERY NICE!!!  Looks like I have some work to do.

On a positive note, I ordered a Snapstream Firefly that should arrive on Monday as my remote control device of foobar.

[dvdvideo]

I use audiograbber, works great to rip to flac, super easy to use, and the freedb function is priceless.  (gets you song name and artist automatically from the net)