FLAC QUESTIONS - Is FLAC quality as good as the original CDA? What do I need to play FLAC? Can I use Winamp?

[RedRhino]

thank you

 

[AmberClad]

You need the FLAC plugin for Winamp.

 

[svi]

1. Yes, if the rip is performed properly.

2. You only need the appropriate decompressor for the codec.. plugins are available for Winamp. This should do the job.

 

[imported_toot]

Yep, flac is 100% as good quality as a wav rip, and usually 50%-60% of the size.

Just copy the in_flac.dll you get with a flac 1.1.2 exe or zip file in to Winamp\Plugins, and you're away

Another link for the download

 

[vailr]

Foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org

 

[Gooberlx2]

flac CAN be played in WMP as well, google search "illiminable".

I'm not sure if there's any way to read the flac-tags for the WMP media library though.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: vailr
Foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org

There needs to be a Foobar Howto for dumb@sses guide, because I've always wanted to seriously try that program, but never had the patience to figure it out...or atleast to figure out how to make it not look like the whole inteface is designed in ASCII.

Plus media library, plus folder monitoring, etc...maybe a video plugin....

 

[MDE]

Since question has already been answered and someone has attempted a threadjack, tet me be the first to say THIS WAY to the Software forum.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: MDE
Since question has already been answered and someone has attempted a threadjack, tet me be the first to say THIS WAY to the Software forum.

good point.....this never had anything to do with hardware in the first place.

Mods, please move to software forum.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: vailr
Foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org

There needs to be a Foobar Howto for dumb@sses guide, because I've always wanted to seriously try that program, but never had the patience to figure it out...or atleast to figure out how to make it not look like the whole inteface is designed in ASCII.

Plus media library, plus folder monitoring, etc...maybe a video plugin....

they're too elitist ok, only a few of them.. but yeah, for a non-technical person... hell, even for a technical person.. it's just not worth my time to set up and configure.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

FLAC is a "lossless" codec, which means that, yes, it is exactly the same quality as the source file (or CD).

There are several ways to play FLAC files, but my favorite is as follows...

Winamp 5 + FLAC plugin for Winamp

You can encode and decode FLAC files using this simple guide.

 

[RedRhino]

why are my FLAC files not as loud as my mp3s?

 

[ecvs85]

Good Quality doesn't mean it's louder o.o
Good quality means it is of higher fidelity where there are no audio artifacts, such as mid-high frequency blending, too-much-bass or whatever (hit me if you want cos I'm still a noob xD )

 

[Pariah]

Originally posted by: RedRhino
why are my FLAC files not as loud as my mp3s?

Probably the fault of the encoder. The MP3 encoder is likely performing some form of normalization on the audio.

Another good audio player alternative to Winamp, is Coolplayer. It hasn't been updated in ages, but it plays pretty much everything with proper plugins, has a "normal" interface unlike Foobar, and is audibly better sounding than Winamp.

It can be found here for those interested.

 

[T9D]

Originally posted by: RedRhino
why are my FLAC files not as loud as my mp3s?

It's because the songs have more dynamic range. Mp3's are so compressed that it makes them louder. Look at your equalizer when playing an mp3 and you'll see it pegged more and the bars a lot higher more often. That's the effects of compression at work.

Anyway I prefer WAV files for everything. Especially with my new x-fi sound card and some good headphones. The difference between mp3 and WAV is very noticable.

 

[imported_toot]

There is a feature with FLAC called ReplayGain.. if you use that while encoding, it will put a tag in the file to bring the volume up a bit if needed when playing back (as long as your player supports it, and has it enabled - winamp does support it). You can also use Album ReplayGain, which increases the whole album the same amount, rather than each track differently.