Convert FLAC to WMA or AAC? Thread

I was thinking of converting all my FLAC files. It's just that I'm not sure which setting is more efficient in preserving the original fidelity while remaining small in size:

AAC 320kbps
AAC 500kbps
WMA8 640kpps
WMA8 320kbps
WMA9.2 VBR

MP3 is not an option for obvious reasons. Sampling rate is set to 48KHz. I've never seen a 96KHz option in any audio converter. I don't know why, but I would like to see it implemented.

Reasons for converting: Free up more hard drive space (later I'm going to convert all my videos to H264 MP4 to save even more space) & support for Windows Media Player's Library (so OGG is out too).

OGG is better than MP3 in compression quality and file size. MP3 compression I hear, OGG I can't so I would recommend this unless you have specific needs (or a very good ear).

Honestly, converting to a lossy format is like photocopying your book collection, then burning the originals with fire. Ogg is good, but WMA has wider compatibility. Then there's AAC, which Ipods use. Me, I use lossless AAC for anything I cherish.

hujan86 wrote: I was thinking of converting all my FLAC files. It's just that I'm not sure which setting is more efficient in preserving the original fidelity while remaining small in size:
[...]
support for Windows Media Player's Library (so OGG is out too).

There is no true fix
You have a big problem, because you will lose the quality of your originals, as stated by Ambient_Malice. Because you need
wmplayer support, you've killed ogg which is the best option in relation to quality, size and fidelity. You obviously won't buy
a new hdd due to the horrific prices on them now (a 2TB would help you al lot)

Ambient_Malice wrote: Honestly, converting to a lossy format is like photocopying your book collection, then burning the originals with fire. Ogg is good, but WMA has wider compatibility. Then there's AAC, which Ipods use. Me, I use lossless AAC for anything I cherish.

AAC by the way is a lossy compression not lossless. There's nothing wrong with using a lossy format. You have to understand how lossy sound compression works (which is why I mentioned you can or can't hear it). You compress frequencies and patterns the average ear can't hear anyways. In my case my ear is better than the average thus I hear the compression of MP3 but I can't hear it anymore with OGG and appropriate settings. He has to find the compression setting where he (the OP) can't distinguish the original from the compressed by listening anymore. At this point the compressed and original file have the same information content according to hearing but one is tremendously larger than the other.

If OGG is out of the picture then yes something like AAC would be next.

Dragonlord,
For me the ogg format is the best when I need to balance sound quality and lossy compression. I usually archive my music files
with flac (using the highest compression level). I've got the sensitive hearing of a sound-engineer; that combined with a deep
affection for music makes me very picky with lossy formats, even when it's only for listening on my mobile player.

What do you hear with other lossy formats? Can you describe the things that annoy you when you listen to them?

Let's hope that hujan86 can find the settings he need to fix his dilemma, at least now he has a valuable tip from you

Two things at the far end of the spectrum. In high tones (like hi-hats or similar) I hear clanking (I can't find a better word, it's like the tone is not clear). In low tones (certain basses for example) I hear something like booming or humming (difficult to find the English word for the German ones, like a plunging of some sort). The high tone artifacts I here much better especially in music pieces that are not too dense (hence little number of simultaneous instruments). Typically with an OGG of compression level 2-4 (depending on the music piece) I can't tell it apart anymore while with MP3 I can. With all the MP3 download stuff though it doesn't help much anyways since you can't re-compress better than what you get. Good thing game music (which I tend to prefer) tends to be OGG so that's less of a problem.

Dragonlord wrote:

Ambient_Malice wrote: Honestly, converting to a lossy format is like photocopying your book collection, then burning the originals with fire. Ogg is good, but WMA has wider compatibility. Then there's AAC, which Ipods use. Me, I use lossless AAC for anything I cherish.

AAC by the way is a lossy compression not lossless. There's nothing wrong with using a lossy format. You have to understand how lossy sound compression works (which is why I mentioned you can or can't hear it). You compress frequencies and patterns the average ear can't hear anyways. In my case my ear is better than the average thus I hear the compression of MP3 but I can't hear it anymore with OGG and appropriate settings. He has to find the compression setting where he (the OP) can't distinguish the original from the compressed by listening anymore. At this point the compressed and original file have the same information content according to hearing but one is tremendously larger than the other.

If OGG is out of the picture then yes something like AAC would be next.

Apple Lossless AAC is an option for itunes encoding. SUPER analyses the files and declares them "Apple Lossless Format (Similar to FLAC)"

Interestingly, one reason many games use .ogg is because of the legal conundrum that other audio formats present.

I heard about 60% compression with this Apple AAC veriant (not proven by the sources). That's kinda piss poor. You could directly use 7z or something similar to achieve the same.

hujan86 wrote: support for Windows Media Player's Library (so OGG is out too).

Newbie: Windows Media Player 11 & Ogg Vorbis?, Direct Show Filter and Media Library

Dragonlord wrote: OGG is better than MP3 in compression quality and file size. MP3 compression I hear, OGG I can't so I would recommend this unless you have specific needs (or a very good ear).

I second this. My music library is mostly OGG format. I'll swear by that codec any day.

Is OGG = FLAC but only more smaller in file size?
Can you guys tell me where I can find an audio converters that support AAC lossless?

Hujan: read above replies about the ogg format

A lossy format can never be equal to a lossless format

They can if you properly define the meaning of "equal" (aka what frequency domain and what error threshold). Lossless makes only sense for discrete data files where every bit counts. In all frequency based data files lossless is more of a marketing slogan than anywhere useful.

Okay, thanks for pointing that out. My bad. (>_<)