I understand that Apple's m4a files sound better than mp3s. First of all, is this true? And what is the best program to convert lossless FLAC files to m4a (AAC) files? Sound quality is the most important thing to me. Thanks.

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Level 1

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I understand that Apple's m4a files sound better than mp3s. First of all, is this true? And what is the best program to convert lossless FLAC files to m4a (AAC) files? Sound quality is the most important thing to me. Thanks.

Re: Converting FLAC to m4a: I understand that Apple's m4a files generally sound better than mp3s. First of all, is this true? And what is the best program to convert lossless FLAC files to m4a (AAC) files? Sound quality is the most important thing to me. Thanks.

iPod touch, Windows XP Pro

Posted on May 4, 2011 4:36 PM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

63,718 points

May 4, 2011 4:55 PM in response to BeatleMick

AAC (which uses the file extension .m4a) is not an Apple format, It is an industry standard. At 128 kb/s it sounds noticeably better than MP3, but above about 192 they are considered equivalent.

FLAC, unlike AAC, is a lossless format. If sound quality is important, do not convert your FLACS to AAC. Rather, convert them to an iTunes compatible format such as Apple Lossless. dbPowerAmp is among the programs that will do this:

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

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Answer 2

BeatleMick Author

Level 1

5 points

May 4, 2011 10:32 PM in response to ed2345

Thanks so much for your answer. I understand what you are saying, but I should have said I want to use the AAC format to save on file size (I assume converting to Apple Lossless will likely create a file as large as the original FLAC file). I should have asked which program does the best job of converting FLAC to m4a? (I cannot seem to get the dbpoweramp / Nero codecs to work for this no matter what I do - it's very confusing - so I've been stuck with converting my FLAC files to mp3 using a program called 'Switch"). Am I right to assume converting from FLAC to m4a will create a "better sounding" file than converting from FLAC to mp3? (I should mention I usually convert to 192 kb/s - I find this to be good trade-off between file size and sound quality.)

Thanks again. You are very knowledgeable!

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Answer 3

ed2345

Level 9

63,718 points

May 5, 2011 4:22 AM in response to BeatleMick

Beatle Mick,

Just use Switch! Set the "output format" to ".aac" instead of ".mp3"! You probably didn't notice it since you were looking for ".m4a". ;-)

Most opinions say that at 192, AAC and MP3 sound pretty equivalent. But don't take anybody's word for it. Take 2-3 example song files (of differing styles) and use Switch to create an MP3 and an AAC out of each. Listen to them and decide what you like. Then do all the rest of your FLACs that way.

Cheers,

Ed

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Answer 4

ds store

Level 7

30,855 points

May 5, 2011 5:54 AM in response to BeatleMick

Actually drive and storage is increasing all the time, you can choose a bit rate higher than 192 and use Mp3 as it's cross compatible with a lot of devices, create Mp3 cd's for car stereos and software for manipulation/effects.

Mp3 Cd's hold over a hundred songs per cd, playable on Mp3 cd players.

Makes it a viable alternative instead of iPods for car stereo's, which a lot have been reluctant to include a stereo import port as they can be sued for creating a hazzard as idiots stare at their iPods while driving to switch playlists.

With a Mp3 cd, one can keep their eyes on the road longer, just a quick glance at a cd for a playlist description and stick it in.

Also iPods tend to get stolen out of vehicles, with the many of thousands of dollars worth of content on them, with a visor holder of Mp3's cd's one can have a good dozen or two of 100+ song playlists at their fingertips. If stolen it's no big deal, just burn more.

However you can't do that with AAC format. AAC just provides a better compression for the quality, MP3 provides the best universal use.

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