Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

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graveller39
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Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:32 pm

Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

Post by graveller39 »

Hi,

Anyone know the best/easiest way to convert 24/96 or 24/192 FLAC files to 16/44 or 16/48 FLAC format? Or possibly a few to mp3 as well.

I have a few high resolution audio files that I'd like to down-sample for use when travelling - I'd have somewhat limited drive space and would be playing on a stereo that may not get the full benefit from the high-res files (i.e. mini stereo).

Should I be appying dither, and if so, what would be the recommended settings?

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

thanks.
Last edited by graveller39 on Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
admin
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Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:56 pm

Re: Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

Post by admin »

For MP3 it's easy. Just set MP3 as output format, click on MP3 button and set the preferred Preset (V4 is the default value used in Lame encoder, so it's the default here as well). You can google for the absolutely best Lame settings and use them in the "Manual" option. I personally stick with the V4 as it will give you good quality and save the space. The absolutely best quality (I guess) is to use Preset V0, but the mp3 files might be twice as big as with V4. Sample rate will be set o 48KHz (the max one for MP3) and resampling will be perfomed by the Lame.

For other formats, you need to tell which resampler to use. Click on the output format (e.g. "M4A/AAC/Nero), then click "Output Settings", then set the Sample Rate to needed value, Resampler to "SOX" and Quality to "Very High". You might also need to set the Channels to Stereo, if your source audio files have more than 2 channels.
graveller39
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:32 pm

Re: Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

Post by graveller39 »

thanks for the quick reply!

So I see dither doesn't seem to be an option when encoding to mp3 - is it not needed?

For FLAC encoding, there are 3 options for dither: Rectangular, Trianguar, and Trianguar with High Pass - should I use one of these when downsampling to 16/44 from 24/96 or 24/192? or just leave it set to None?

Also, I can't seem to select 48000 kHz with the Sample Rate slider, should I set the Max Sample Rate to 48000 instead of using the slider?
admin
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:56 pm

Re: Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

Post by admin »

Yep, there's no dither options for MP3 as MP3 encoder does it itself.
You can leave dither to none.
You should have the Output options for FLAC like this - https://imgur.com/PlxvuJB
graveller39
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:32 pm

Re: Best way to convert high-res audio to FLAC at 16-44/48kHz

Post by graveller39 »

For what its worth, in what circumstances would one use dither? I thought it was recommended when downsampling...
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