flac to wav converter

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ricko01

flac to wav converter
« on: 31 Dec 2012, 10:18 pm »
Spent a little time searching for this subject but couldnt see anything related.

I want to convert some flac files (most 44.1/16 but some at 96/24) to wav files.

Any suggestions on the best software to do this (best meaning provides highest quality).

Dont want to get into a "bits is bits" and "any software that does flac to wav will do" debate...as with any software product... some will be better than others

Thanks,

Peter

WireNut

Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #1 on: 31 Dec 2012, 10:39 pm »


AVS Audio Converter.

Dbpoweramp Music Converter.

Steinbergs wavelab.

JEaton

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Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #2 on: 31 Dec 2012, 11:16 pm »
I'm sorry, but you opened yourself up for this one... Any software that can decode FLAC to WAV will do exactly the same job as far sound quality is concerned. There will be no "better". FLAC to WAV conversion is very well defined - there's no room for improvement and since most tools rely on a standard library to encode/decode, there's little chance that many of them will screw it up, either. As far as the user interface is concerned, "better" is subjective, but some will be easier to use and some more flexible than others.

(I assume you're looking for Windows software. If not, there are comparable programs for the Mac.)

If preserving tagging is of no concern, you can use the FLAC Frontend tool installed with the FLAC software package that is downloaded from the FLAC site at SourceForge.

A better tool may be dbpoweramp Music Converter. I think it will transfer any tagging to an ID3v2 tag in the WAV file. The illustrate/dbpoweramp web site is a confusing mess. There's a paid version of dbpoweramp, but you don't need it to do format conversions. Download the free/trial version (the "Install" button at the link above), which won't expire and will give you all the capabilities you need.

Another good tool is foobar2000, which is both a player and a music library manager that is highly customizable and can perform a thousand different tasks. Many people find the interface to be too customizable and the program to be too all-inclusive, but if Swiss Army knives are your preference, it's a good option.

steve in jersey

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Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #3 on: 31 Dec 2012, 11:23 pm »
+2 to dBPoweramp Music Converter (As far as I'm concerned their CD ripper software has no equal so I have no qualms trusting that any of their other offering are also top rate)

ricko01

Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #4 on: 1 Jan 2013, 01:19 am »
thanks for the info

dbpoweramp seems to be the winner.

Regards,

Peter

steve in jersey

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Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #5 on: 1 Jan 2013, 05:44 pm »
Good choice :thumb:

One suggestion though ; Buy the full version & have the whole suite of "tools/utilities" in a convienent source. (I have to admit that I'm biased as I would'nt be without the ripper & any other parts I've used have also worked very well)

richidoo

Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #6 on: 1 Jan 2013, 06:07 pm »
dbPoweramp has 2 converters, one for small job of 1 record, etc, another for converting an entire library at once, called batch converter.  It is fast, uses however many processor cores you have.

JEaton is correct that there is no "better quality" concern when it comes to flac>wav. The wav file will be identical bit for bit as before it was compressed into flac in the first place.

srb

Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #7 on: 1 Jan 2013, 06:42 pm »
JEaton is correct that there is no "better quality" concern when it comes to flac>wav. The wav file will be identical bit for bit as before it was compressed into flac in the first place.

I also think that "bits is bits" when converting one lossless format to another.  Yes there may be software that is better than others for ripping optical disks or converting to lossy formats, but lossless to lossless is pure elementary conversion with no applicable algorithms.  Unless the software in question has a bug, the conversion should be the same.
 
dBpoweramp would still be my choice for its features and options as a total ripping and conversion suite.
 
Steve

steve in jersey

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Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #8 on: 1 Jan 2013, 09:09 pm »
Peter,

Did'nt know you were going to get a "digital education" did you ! Are'nt you glad there are so many "civic minded" hobbyists to "save" you from going down the path of the misinformed or just plain "delusional" Audio Enthusiasts ! They're looking out for the rest of us even on the New Year holiday !

On a serious note, ...Nah, just go with dBPa & never, ever mention your beliefs on digital theory on an Audio Forum website as many posters are'nt perceptive enough to not educate someone who never posed a question. I think they have a section for newbies they can use if they feel the need to "flex" all their extensive knowledge on "things digital"

Happy New Year to all , (Educators inclusive)

WerTicus

Re: flac to wav converter
« Reply #9 on: 16 Jan 2013, 12:57 am »
foobar 2000 will do it.