[Ron D]

stupid question from a pc audio noobie...

can one take a hi-rez (24/192) FLAC file and convert it to "WAV" format without altering the file content? If so is there any freeware out there that can do it?

[DaveC113]

Yes, you can convert lossless > lossless without losses. 

I'm pretty sure the free flac program can do what you want:

https://xiph.org/flac/

[dB Cooper]

if you don't use tags or mind losing them

[rbbert]

I don't know about the FLAC front end, but Trader's Little Helper, dbPoweramp and XLD all let you keep tags with file interconversion.

[Bob in St. Louis]

With MediaMonkey, I convert FLAC to mp3 to put on the harddrive I use in my vehicle.
The display screen (head unit) only show artist, album, title, track length, but other than that all the tags remain intact.

I use the free version, so there's no risk involved.

Hope that helps,
Bob

[Vincent Kars]

The WAV standard does support tags like
IART (artist)
INAM (title)
IPRD (product)
IGNR (genre)
ITRK (track number)

Obvious a very crucial one, “Album” is missing. Likewise cover art.

To overcome this limitation, some programs do write ID3 style tags in a info chunk at the bottom of the WAV. This is not a standard.
This convention is supported by
•   dBpoweramp
•   Foobar
•   JRiver Media Center
•   MusiCHI
•   MusicBee (partial)
There might be others but these are the ones known to me.

That is the paradox of WAV, the support  for the audio part is almost universal, the support for the tagging is haphazard.

[Ron D]

downloaded free version of media monkey and the conversion process was quite easy - many thanks for that suggestion. I can verify that the files are the same size and the resolution rate 24/96 matches up. The Marantz cd 6005 (brand new) which touts the ability to handle up to 24/192 files via USB thumb drive won't play these new "WAV" versions. It will play a WAV file 16/44 taken from a redbook cd loaded onto the thumb drive but no go with the hi-rez converted files...

thanks for all your help so far

Ron

[srb]

According to the CD6005 manual, it looks like USB .WAV playback is limited to 16/48.

 

Steve

[Ron D]

taken from product overview on Marantz website:

Front USB Port
Conveniently located on the front panel, the USB port lets you connect a USB memory device, and the port is also iPod and iPhone compatible, with 5V/1A output that lets you charge your device while listening to your favorite tracks. The included remote control also lets you control your iPod or iPhone. A wide range of audio file types are supported, including WAV, AAC, WMA and MP3, with up to 24 bit/192 kHz resolution.

Hence my interpretation of the unit's ability to handle these hi-rez files....