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Topic: Aiff to Flac? (Read 5769 times) previous topic - next topic
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Aiff to Flac?

Well I got a AIFF collection I converted via iTunes before I switched to Flac. How would I go about converting my Aiff libary to flac?
What program would I need?

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #1 –
Quick search here on term = aiff to flac; brings up Foobar as an option.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #2 –
...and if you're running OS X, XLD.
"Not sure what the question is, but the answer is probably no."

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #3 –
I use dBpowerAMP's music converter for anything like this. But as mentioned above. there are a few other equally capable programs. If you're using OSX XLD would likely be your best option as mixminus1 already pointed out.

It seems any one of these apps would fit your needs. I like dBpA because it makes good use of multi-threading on my i7.
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #4 –
foobar2000 will multi-thread as well, though I don't think it's that great an idea, personally, because of fragmentation and because flac is already very fast when compressing with reasonable settings using modern processors.  When I say reasonable settings, I mean something like -6 which will typically provide a level compression that is less than 1% off from -8.  A cursory test on a random file revealed a difference of just 0.1%.

Perhaps I'm mistaking the way dbpa works, however.  IIRC, foobar2000 will encode several files at a time rather than use multiple threads on the same file like this one.  Can you tell me which way dbpa does it?  If it's the later then fragmentation shouldn't be a concern.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #5 –
dBpA doesn't multi-thread when converting an image or converting multiple files to wave.

I'm guessing it's essentially the same as F2K...I've never converted anything with that app thus far. Didn't know it did as well...my bad. I don't get the fragmentation issue. Is this a problem with NTFS? I usually defrag my drive on a regular basis anyway.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Edit: I should say "decompressing" multiple files to wave, I guess.
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Engelsstaub on
I don't get the fragmentation issue. Is this a problem with NTFS?

From what little I've read, files still get fragmented with NTFS, just that there isn't the performance hit that there is with older file systems.

I wonder about wear and tear on your drive, though but this might only be FUD on my part.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #7 –
That's quite probably a legitimate concern (at least in the long run. I use a lot of Guttman secure deletion on certain files. That probably isn't helping HDD longevity so much either.)

For most people I don't think multi-threaded transcoding or conversions is really all that important. IME the time it takes to convert, say, an entire FLAC album to ALAC is only reduced by 66% (30 seconds vs. 1:30) or so.

If one uses the unpaid version of dBpA the multi-threading function expires with the trial anyway.
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: greynol on
What is the difference in encoding time if you use -6 on your system?


Sorry, I guess I'm not following...you mean FLAC level 6?
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #11 –
To what do you want me to compare it to? FLAC lvl 6 -to- ...
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #12 –
Just repeat the same timing experiment that you did giving you a 66% improvement in speed using level 6.  Now I'm assuming that you used level 8, but if you did level 6 or lower, then shy of seeing your raw data, my question is moot.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #13 –
I can't actually find an option to make the app work on a single thread. If you're just looking for the differences between FLAC lvl 8 (bottom) and lvl 6 (top) they are:





Level 8 compressed to 548 Mbs for this album while Level 6 compressed to 550.

I could re-rip the CD as a single-file. That would force dBpA to do it on one thread.

Edit: I converted the same album here twice from ALAC files in my iTunes library.
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #14 –
Converting a single-file AIFF (or wave, it doesn't matter) should be fine.

It is already commonly known that the relative difference in encoding speed between -8 and -6 is substantial and that the gain in compression using -8 over -6 is trivial.  What I'm getting at here is that I believe you are going to see numerical data that will show you that all the extra energy required to save a minuscule amount of space and the fragmentation resulting from the desire to do it quickly simply isn't worth it.  Just because you can doesn't mean you should, you know?

So I guess all that's missing is the encoding speed for -8 and -6 using one thread/single-file image on your system.  Then we can compare all four numbers.

Relating this back to the original post (no I haven't forgotten), is whether multi-threading is all that important.  It's already been shown that fb2k and dBpa do multi-threading the same way.  With fb2k (which is free of charge) I am quite certain that it can be configured it to use multiple threads or just a single thread.

Aiff to Flac?

Reply #15 –
[a href="http://img689.imageshack.us/i/lvl6.jpg/" target="_blank"] The time and resources it takes to get lvl 8 compression seems not a worthwhile trade off.

I guess if what you're saying about F2K is correct, all things considered, I'd recommend it over dBpA to a user who doesn't want or need the other stuff that comes with the dBpA purchase. I personally like and use dBpowerAMP, but I try to be impartial and recommend what I think will fit someone's individual wants or needs. (I talked my older brother into getting a Mac Mini, though I'm a Windows user, simply because I knew it would suffice for his uses. And I got tired of providing free tech-support on a weekly basis...like removing viruses that he can't seem to avoid.    ) I guess I should stop sounding like such an evangelist, as I know I often do, when it comes to recommending certain apps.

In converting the single file/album from FLAC lvl 8 to ALAC it took 1 minute and 59 seconds. I'm not completely sold against multi-threading with results like that. I guess it depends on the CPU. Mine was likely overclocking to get that.

Edit: I improperly identified the image on the bottom as lvl 6 when it was 8.
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.