# Flac Conversion to 320kbps mp3?



## TheRH

Is there are way I can convert all Flac folder to 320kps MP3 that does not use foobar? I would also like the software to be free and work on a windows machine.

 Thanks


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## Grr, Argh!

Hi,

 dBPoweramp Music Converter will do the job for you, it has a batch converter which you can leave on the go. The software does cost $20 odd but if you are going to do this one off all in one go then you can download the free trial and that will be fine 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I use dBPoweramp for all my ripping and converting.

 Please excuse that this is my first post, I only got confirmed as a member today! Now off to post about the potential decisions I've made on an amp & dac from all my lurking!

 Best of luck.


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## krmathis

LameDropXPd should do the trick.


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## DayoftheGreek

I use the LAME codecs and Exact Audio Copy.


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## UNHchabo

Please excuse the fact that I just registered, too; I've been lurking Head-Fi for a while now. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If I may shamelessly plug: I wrote a free and open-source program that sounds like it will suit your needs perfectly:
FlacSquisher | Get FlacSquisher at SourceForge.net

 Run the program, select MP3 encoding, change the command-line to "-b 320", and you're good to go.

 Personally, I rip to FLAC with EAC, and listen to the Flacs when I'm at home, then I use FlacSquisher to convert the Flacs to Oggs so I can listen to them on my Rockbox'd Sansa.

 I hope it helps!


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## TheRH

Will it do batch conversions?


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## UNHchabo

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *TheRH* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Will it do batch conversions?_

 

Yes, you select a source directory (where your Flacs are), and a destination directory (where you want your Oggs or MP3s to go), and hit the "Encode" button. FlacSquisher will look at every Flac file, see if there's an equivalent Ogg or MP3 that's already been encoded, and encode one if there hasn't been. So the first time you run it, it will encode every file. In my case, when I rip a new CD to my Flac folder, I run FlacSquisher, and only the new files get encoded.


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## fenixdown110

Why mp3 320? You can encode in AAC 320 at the same file size and with better results.


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## TheRH

I want to 320 M3 due to the face the Sony Walkman's do not accept AAC.


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## TheRH

Wow it tranfers the album art as well, that is amazing.


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## UNHchabo

Yeah, you can customize that in the Options window, if there's album art in a different format that you want copied over, or if you have other files that you don't want copied over or encoded (cue files, logs, etc).

 If you have any feedback on FlacSquisher, feel free to let me know; I'm running out of ideas on how to improve it.


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## MomijiTMO

Neat program!


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## TheRH

Ok UNHchabo, this is The program I have been looking for. Great work, very good work, this program does everything that I have been looking for.


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## UNHchabo

Glad to hear you like it.


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## TheRH

Now, can some one tell me how to separate my FLAC and MP3 files in Media Monkey? I Want to keep them separate to that I can transfer the MP3's to my Sony Walkman and play the FLAC files on the computer.

 Thanks


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## UNHchabo

I've never used Media Monkey, but based on my experience with other media players:

 Since you have the Flacs and MP3s in different directories, what about creating different playlists for them? Have a "listening playlist" containing your Flacs, and a "sync playlist" containing your MP3s.

 Sorry I can't help more; since I use Rockbox, I just drag-and-drop my music onto my Sansa.


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## TheRH

Hmm, that sounds like a plan, I will have to experiment with that Media Monkey has the capability to rearrange and customize.


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## tisb0b

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *TheRH* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hmm, that sounds like a plan, I will have to experiment with that Media Monkey has the capability to rearrange and customize._

 

I have 2 separate folders one called Music FLAC and the other called Music MP3 with all my **** in them.


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## apnk

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tisb0b* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I have 2 separate folders one called Music FLAC and the other called Music MP3 with all my **** in them._

 

Same here, I also have a ALAC Music folder for my iPod lol. I may be a bit late, but I use Xrecode II. It converts to any format you want from any format, it saved me when converting my FLAC files to ALAC when I bought my ipod classic, I thought I would have to re-rip everything or convert to mp3.


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## TheRH

I will have to look at Xrecode II as well as the FlacSquisher, as you pointed out, I do not want to re-rip all my music as mp3 again.


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## khaos974

Just one question, why do you want a software other than foobar? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 For such a task, it does the work quite well. And it's actually simple.


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## TheRH

I'm not a fan of the interface, and I get frustrated trying to customize it.


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## khaos974

LOL, that's a perfectly valid reason, I went through that phase too, trying to make foobar look good, until I abandoned and simply chose to have a functional interface.

 Finally I got this with is very fonctional, best of all I only need one plugin (foo_facets) and everything else is foobar config without scripts... if you want to try simply use the attachments.


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## cheeba

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *UNHchabo* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_If you have any feedback on FlacSquisher, feel free to let me know; I'm running out of ideas on how to improve it. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Make a Mac version so I can run it on both my computers


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## TheRH

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *khaos974* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_LOL, that's a perfectly valid reason, I went through that phase too, trying to make foobar look good, until I abandoned and simply chose to have a functional interface.

 Finally I got this with is very fonctional, best of all I only need one plugin (foo_facets) and everything else is foobar config without scripts... if you want to try simply use the attachments._

 

That is a bit amusing as I have customize Media Monkey to look similar to Media Monkey and best of all, no scripting. The other reason I use it is that you can choose the exact audio device and uses those setting only including ASIO.


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## sonci

If you use MM then its really easy to tranfer files to mp3 player, easier than Foobar, 
 Why you want to have 2 directories of the same music, in flac and mp3?
 What if your music library grows too much?
 usually I tranfer files to my Zen VisionM, with MM, which decode on the fly flac to mp3, 
 attach ipod to pc, start MM, click the icon of your ipod on MM, smt you can see it as an external hard disc, just input the supported format, for zen are mp3 and wma, every other format will be converted, configure the way it should be, I use MP3 vb, there you go, of course you have to configure this only one time,
 rightclick on some files "send to" the drive corresponding mp3 player,
 I use Foo for music, but MM is just better for tranfering to mp3 player, especially if dont use any apple player..


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## Dunceiam

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *UNHchabo* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Please excuse the fact that I just registered, too; I've been lurking Head-Fi for a while now. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If I may shamelessly plug: I wrote a free and open-source program that sounds like it will suit your needs perfectly:
FlacSquisher | Get FlacSquisher at SourceForge.net

 Run the program, select MP3 encoding, change the command-line to "-b 320", and you're good to go.

 Personally, I rip to FLAC with EAC, and listen to the Flacs when I'm at home, then I use FlacSquisher to convert the Flacs to Oggs so I can listen to them on my Rockbox'd Sansa.

 I hope it helps!_

 

I hate to necropost, but I must say thanks for this app. Managed to convert a total of 750 FLAC files to 320Kbps MP3's in about 30 minutes. (8 threads on a i7 920). One of the fastest I've seen.


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## stang

Yup. i7 is pwnage 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Got mine with HT on (8 threads) at 4.2ghz.


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## TheRH

I know that app is crazy awesome and I love it, especially since it keeps artwork that has been tagged.


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## UNHchabo

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Dunceiam* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I hate to necropost, but I must say thanks for this app. Managed to convert a total of 750 FLAC files to 320Kbps MP3's in about 30 minutes. (8 threads on a i7 920). One of the fastest I've seen._

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 When I get the chance I'll fix a few bugs that were filed on Sourceforge; let me know if you have any other feedback.


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## Deep Funk

If you do intent to convert FLAC to MP3 320 kbps why don't you copy the FLACs and convert the copies? If you already did sorry. Anyway using that method saves your original FLACs.


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## RallyMaster

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *UNHchabo* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Please excuse the fact that I just registered, too; I've been lurking Head-Fi for a while now. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 If I may shamelessly plug: I wrote a free and open-source program that sounds like it will suit your needs perfectly:
FlacSquisher | Get FlacSquisher at SourceForge.net

 Run the program, select MP3 encoding, change the command-line to "-b 320", and you're good to go.

 Personally, I rip to FLAC with EAC, and listen to the Flacs when I'm at home, then I use FlacSquisher to convert the Flacs to Oggs so I can listen to them on my Rockbox'd Sansa.

 I hope it helps!_

 

Very useful little program. I used it just tonight to convert some FLAC files to V0 MP3. Excellent job. Saved me the $36 that I would have paid for dbPowerAmp's converter with a bunch of features I won't use. Thanks a bunch!


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## EddieE

I hope this isn't considered ressurecting a thread that had been expired, but this has just been linked to.

 UNCHabo, does your programme convert to LAME MP3, and is there an ubuntu version, or just windows?

 Thanks.


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## UNHchabo

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Deep Funk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_If you do intent to convert FLAC to MP3 320 kbps why don't you copy the FLACs and convert the copies? If you already did sorry. Anyway using that method saves your original FLACs._

 

FlacSquisher does save the original FLACs. You specify the directory that contains your Flacs, and the directory you want the converted files to go. It converts the files while keeping the originals intact. In my case, it means that if a new version of the encoder is released that provides better quality at the same bitrate, I can just delete my lossy folder, hit "Encode", and walk away.

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *EddieE* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I hope this isn't considered ressurecting a thread that had been expired, but this has just been linked to.

 UNCHabo, does your programme convert to LAME MP3, and is there an ubuntu version, or just windows?

 Thanks. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

There's only one version, but since it's a .NET program, you can run FlacSquisher in Ubuntu using the "Mono" package. The main thing is that under Linux you'll have to change the paths to the encoders -- for instance, instead of "C:\Program Files\FlacSquisher\oggenc.exe", you'll need to point it to where oggenc is on your system, like "/usr/bin/oggenc".

 I wrote this up a while ago; the information is out-of-date. That I know of, FlacSquisher no longer crashes in Mono:
FlacSquisher - A Windows Audio Conversion Utility

 However, I still haven't tested whether FlacSquisher will successfully run Lame in Linux. I'll do that soon, along with fixing some other bugs.


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## Deep Funk

I'm tempted by FLAC-Squisher. Is it stable and reliable?


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## UNHchabo

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Deep Funk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm tempted by FLAC-Squisher. Is it stable and reliable?_

 

It's pretty stable; even if something goes wrong, the worst that I can expect will happen is you might have some Flac files that were never encoded. If you do encounter a bug, let me know, and I'll work on fixing it.


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## Deep Funk

I'm still considering using it. My music collection has yet to be entirely ripped to my PC and I have to figure out EAC.


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## CaptainLorax

I asked this question earlier today in a thread called Flac to MP3 - What is the best free software?
  Someone said Foobar. Why not use Foobar? (reading only the OP of this thread I don't understand)
   
  Anyways my main question right now regards converting Flac to 320kbps MP3 using Foobar:
   
  Should I use or downlaod any DSPs?


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## khaos974

No DSP, what would be the point in using a DSP in the conversion? If you need a DSP you can still reapply them during playback, no need to have irremediably tweaked files.


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## CaptainLorax

i don't know, I thought there might be one I could download that is a good all around natural tweak to put on every mp3. i don't know if there is any dsps out there like that (you can download more from foobar's website for instance)


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## khaos974

There is no such DSP, no matter what advertisements tell you. Should you speak to a mastering engineering, there is no recipe guaranteed to get you a good master, it all depends on the original mixed material and the effects you want to achieve. It's about the same when converting to a lossy format, there's no general recipe to improve the result, the best you can do is trusting that the engineers and scientist who developed the format knew psychoacoustics well enough so that the result stays faithful to the original.
   
  If you want a better result, you should just change format, mpc, hybrid wavpack, ogg, and aac are all supposed to give a better result than mp3, no one has managed to rank those reliably at high bitrates though, I would advise using aac since the format is the most widely spread after mp3.
   
  PS: to convet to aac with foobar you need to download the nero encoder, it's freeware for personal use.


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## OnlinePredator

Quote: 





unhchabo said:


> Please excuse the fact that I just registered, too; I've been lurking Head-Fi for a while now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Awesome thread + post, I'll check this out.


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## ArchieFunker

Used Flac Squisher today, awesome little program.  It was just what I was looking for, thanks!


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## SonusFab

I have tried to "squish" my flac library three times and I have come up with errors each time. I think the program is fantastic, and I probably just need the command to fix it, but I have several artists/.albums with folders within subsequent folders (folder inception), and I think flacsquisher gives up looking for flac files after two folders, and leaves the flac files it didn't find as flac format. So the folder I made for converted flac still has tons of flac along with the Mp3's it made. Is there something I can enter into the command line before I encode or is this something you could add as an improvement? Maybe I am way off, how do I get this 8000 file library of flac into 320kbps Mp3?


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## CaptainLorax

Flacsquisher is great
 Let me ask this though
 If my Flac is 44.1 kHz, would it be bad to convert to 48 kHz when making 320kbps mp3?


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## CaptainLorax

> If my Flac is 44.1 kHz, would it be bad to convert to 48 kHz when making 320kbps mp3?


 
  
 ne1?


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## yeahx

captainlorax said:


> ne1?


 

 Wouldn't make it better.


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## TheJniac

Hello from the future! Just downloaded the program. Excellent job, did not see any documentation, not that I looked very hard.


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## izuz

> If you have any feedback on FlacSquisher, feel free to let me know; I'm running out of ideas on how to improve it.


 
 Please make it portable!


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## crashnburn

unhchabo said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Deep Funk* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> ...


 
 I do not wish to keep Flac and Mp3 copies on Disk. I can use Flac via MusicBee via PC etc, but lets say I want small MP3s on iOS or other devices e.g. Automotive/ Portables mp3's take less space and are more universally playable. 
  
 So, an on the fly converter that does this fast & free / inexpensive would be great. - It would be better if it worked from within MusicBee as an add-on  
  


captainlorax said:


> I asked this question earlier today in a thread called Flac to MP3 - What is the best free software?
> Someone said Foobar. Why not use Foobar? (reading only the OP of this thread I don't understand)
> 
> Anyways my main question right now regards converting Flac to 320kbps MP3 using Foobar:
> ...


 
 Interesting. I wish things were less complex


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## UNHchabo

Sorry for the delayed responses everyone...
  
 Quote:


sonusfab said:


> I have tried to "squish" my flac library three times and I have come up with errors each time. I think the program is fantastic, and I probably just need the command to fix it, but I have several artists/.albums with folders within subsequent folders (folder inception), and I think flacsquisher gives up looking for flac files after two folders, and leaves the flac files it didn't find as flac format. So the folder I made for converted flac still has tons of flac along with the Mp3's it made. Is there something I can enter into the command line before I encode or is this something you could add as an improvement? Maybe I am way off, how do I get this 8000 file library of flac into 320kbps Mp3?


 
  
 Chances are FlacSquisher hit a bug that caused the encoding thread to crash. I've fixed a few bugs since the time you posted this, so maybe it'll work now? If not please give me details about the first item it didn't encode.
  


captainlorax said:


> Flacsquisher is great
> Let me ask this though
> If my Flac is 44.1 kHz, would it be bad to convert to 48 kHz when making 320kbps mp3?


 
  
 You'd gain no benefit, so I don't see the point. Maybe if your MP3 player was buggy and couldn't handle 44.1kHz correctly. For sound quality though, you're best off leaving the sample rate alone.
  


izuz said:


> Please make it portable!


 
  
 By default Sourceforge will direct you to the installer, but you can find a standalone file in each release. For instance, in the 1.3.6 release you can get the file FlacSquisher-1.3.6.exe. Combine that with the proper encoders, and you have a portable version. Alternatively, you can take the installer and unzip it using a program like 7zip that can decompress installers.


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