You could also try SoX. It looks like that program could convert directly from
FLAC to MP3, but I haven't tried it.
I have a Sound Devices recorder that supports FLAC, but it doesn't play all
files from external sources. It's great for recording to FLAC, but not so
good for playing files purchased online in FLAC format.
Brian Willoughby
Sound Consulting
On Jun 5, 2016, at 5:28 PM, Frank Esposito <fpesposito at gmail.com>
wrote:> thanks for the info -- for the most part I have been using the LAME
encoder --- generally I rip my files to flac from CD's then via a series
of batch files convert flac -> wav -> mp3 -- it seems to work OK for me
--
>
> I guess if I get a high end player like the FiiO or PONY I might just use
the FLAC files
> directly
>
> thanks again
>
> fpe
>
> On Sun, Jun 5, 2016 at 6:14 PM, Brian Willoughby <brianw at
audiobanshee.com> wrote:
>> Hi Frank,
>>
>> On Jun 5, 2016, at 12:34 PM, Frank Esposito <fpesposito at
gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I have a flac file encode 92/24bit -- what tools are available to
convert these files
>> > to wave 44.1/16 bit so then I can convert to mp3? Thanks
>>
>> MP3 does not encode any frequencies above 20 kHz. Therefore, you can
convert directly from 96 kHz without intermediate Sample Rate Conversion. A good
MP3 encoder will simply handle the SRC for you. iTunes is one example.
>>
>> You absolutely do not want to convert from 24-bit to 16-bit, because
you will add quantization noise. MP3 is equivalent to a variable bit depth /
quantization, so it's always better to start with 24-bit. If you read about
Apple's "Mastered for iTunes" initiative, you'll understand
more. See http://www.apple.com/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/
>>
>> Going from 96 kHz / 24-bit to MP3 involves two adjustments:
quantization and sample rate considerations. Of the two, you should always
retain the 24-bit quantization, but there are some options about frequency.
>>
>> I'm not really sure whether all platforms play 48 kHz MP3 as well
as 44.1 kHz MP3. Therefore, you might gain some sonic advantage by converting
from 96 kHz to 88.2 kHz before converting to MP3. That way, your MP3 should be
44.1 kHz instead of 48 kHz (but I haven't tested every MP3 encoder on this
aspect).
>>
>> Personally, I recommend that you leave the file as 96/24 and look for a
better MP3 encoder if the one you're using doesn't support that. All you
really need is to use flac to decode to WAVE or AIFF at 96/24 and then go
direct to MP3.
>>
>> Brian Willoughby
>> Sound Consulting
> --
> Frank Esposito
>
