Flac to MP3

top4719

Can anyone recommend a good free Flac to MP3 converter, I was using Rarewares but I cannot get it to work currently its always been fine before.

Jamie

I've not done it for a while but I use Foobar to convert to MP3 if needed.

andy1249

1 for foobar
It will convert anything to anything else and do a good job of it.

Bryn1

2 for foobar

grahamlthompson

Why would you want to convert a lossless codec like Flac to a very lossy codec like MP3.

Convert to WAV (lpcm) retains the full quality.

andy1249

Normally, I have everything in flac, but sometimes you need to convert.

Media players dont always support lossless, especially in cars.

The big issue with wav is tagging.
You cant tag them without breaking the container.

Jamie

TBH I've done some tests with comparing MP3 and at a decent bitrate I'd argue it's virtually indistinguishable to uncompressed music.

Obviously I use FLAC for my own music collection but MP3 is perfect for loading up either the memory stick in one car or the large classic IPod in the glovebox of my campervan. Even with the pretty nice system I've installed in the van (JBL component speakers, an amp and nice little underseat sub) I doubt you'd hear quality differences while travelling if there were any to hear.