Converting FLAC

[mark91]

I'm looking to "upgrade" my music library from 128 kbps MP3 (back when I got my first iPod) to 256 AAC. I'm not looking forward to dusting off CDs and since I've got a lot more space than I did 5 years ago, I'm thinking to store lossless then convert to a "portable" format. So the real question is: do I "lose something" by converting FLAC to AAC as opposed to converting from the CD directly to AAC?

I'm using LameXP and NeroAAC - which IIRC doesn't take FLAC files as an input, which means LameXP is most likely converting to something else before spitting out the AAC file.

I'm wondering if the best bet is to store the CDs as ISO files and skip the initial conversion to FLAC altogether.

[Wolfen]

AAC is a lossy compression so is .mp3 but .flac is not, think of FLAC as a zip or winrar program for zipping the CD down to half it's size with no loss in the quality of the sound, what is on the CD is what you get when you rip it so always rip to flac. If you convert from mp3 to any other format the quality has already been lost when converted to mp3.

[mark91]

I may have misstated my goals a bit. The first goal is storage, so I won't have to dust off my actual CDs the next time I need to convert to a particular format. For the reasons you stated, it'll likely be stored in FLAC.

The second goal is to get AAC files for portable use. Here's where I'm wondering if converting FLAC to AAC is exactly the same as converting straight from CD to AAC.

Your answer kind of points me to it's one and the same, but I just want to be sure that any intermediate step isn't "harmful" to the desired AAC file. *If* it is, then I'll likely find another storage format.

[El Heggunte]

FWIW, FLAC is not the only "free lossless audio compression" available.
You might want to give a try to APE, WavPack, and TTA.
Regarding compression efficiency, both APE and TTA are preferable to FLAC.

[mark91]

Giving me even more options is not exactly helping my cause

[mstone321]

I did something similar as a winter-time project.

Pay the (small$$) and use dBPowerAmp to do the FLAC conversion from the original CDs.

Use BonqEnc (free) for your compressed AAC needs. It has the capabilities to conver ALL the files in a folder (including sub-folders) from one format to another- just start it up and walk away. You won't have to do it track by track.

[mark91]

Thanks. I'm going to go with EAC + LameXP + NeroAAC. LameXP does all the files in a folder - but not sub-folders.

I read in another thread that going from FLAC to WAV gives the exact same file as creating a WAV from the CD, so I'll just store in FLAC so I can start the AAC upgrades. Then if I decide to go from FLAC to another lossless format for storage I'll just go FLAC->WAV->Whatever.