Another helpful file conversion tip.
FLAC is a lossless audio codec that is very popular on Linux and on Windows. However, it’s virtually non-existant on the Mac, which is a problem if you have a library of music that you have encoded in FLAC and you want to upload to your iTunes library.
There are various command-line solutions out there on Windows, but very few available for Mac OS X.
XLD is the answer.
The “X Lossless Decoder” offers super fast conversion of various lossless formats on the Mac, with a decent GUI, and better yet, drag-and-drop conversion.
XLD supports the following formats:
- (Ogg) FLAC (.flac/.ogg)
- Monkey’s Audio (.ape)
- Wavpack (.wv)
- TTA (.tta)
- Apple Lossless (.m4a) [10.4 and later]
- AIFF, WAV, etc
Other formats supported by Libsndfile are also decodable. XLD uses not decoder frontend but library to decode, so no intermediate files are generated. All of the supported formats can be directly split with the cue sheet. XLD also supports so-called ’embedded’ or ‘internal’ cue sheet.
Currently you can choose output format from WAVE,AIFF and Raw PCM. In addition, you can choose Ogg Vorbis (aoTuV), MPEG-4 AAC (QuickTime/CoreAudio), MP3 (LAME), Apple Lossless, FLAC and HE-AAC (aacPlus v1/v2) in the GUI version.
Hope this helps you audiophiles out there converting to the Mac. I converted entire albums from FLAC to Apple Lossless in just minutes on a PowerMac G5.
Psychohistory 
Thanks for introducing the app! Neat little application..
Another option is to use the Fluke (http://earpick.cubicfruit.com/2008/05/15/fluke-play-flacs-in-itunes) program that installs flac support into iTunes, however it relies on the sometimes unstable XiphQT plugin, so I just import the files into iTunes, select them, and right-click and choose convert to AAC.
People are pimping Fluke – SWEET =)
After going through dozens of website and trying many other solutions, it is a pleasure to find this little but amazingly useful applications! Kudos to the developer!! Hasta luego, plusungood
Thanks! Great application, just what i needed.
Hey man, I appreciate this post very much.
Your link to XLD does not work. Could you update?
The link to XLD still works for me. Is the website blocked from your machine for some reason?
Thanks for this. Worked a treat
Good little app. Can you tell me how to transfer tags when converting FLAC to iTunes? Not sure if the cuesheet is what I need to use.
Thanks.
FINALLY, a sensible app for FLAC conversion on Macs. Thanks for the tip!
Great job you just made it super easy. Thanks for your time and effort!!
I could not find a link to download X Lossless Decoder on your link. But I found another place to DL it (this version is only for Windows and Linux however). http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Audio-Converter.aspx?type=GoogleImageAds&gclid=CPCfw63MsaACFQk65Qod4ULrUA
Oops i’m an idiot. I got distracted by an ad for a different converter. Real URL:
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Audio/X-Lossless-Decoder.shtml
And it’s actually only for Mac. Dammit.
try http://www.oggconvert.com
nothing to download, all online
You can also go to http://www.oggconvert.com/ to convert OGG files to MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, WAV online. I hope its big help.
Dude, this is the easiest to use. Just what I needed. I know lots of people use your advice but don’t comment, so here’s my big thank you!
You can convert WAV files with:
http://www.wavtools.com
You can convert MP3 files with:
http://www.mp3filetools.com
You can convert WMA files with:
http://www.wavtools.com
For an audio cd you can use this:
http://www.audiocdtools.com
Is there a way to automate the discovery and conversion on a file server?
I have thousands of mp3’s and FLAC files in the music folder and subfolders and I want to automate the discovery of all the FLAC files on there and convert them to Apple Lossless…
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For Flac to MP3 Mac can extract audio from video formats AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB, HD video and convert to any audio formats.
http://flac2mp3converter.com/flac-to-mp3-mac.html
Bigasoft FLAC Converter can convert flac to apple lossless. I found this step by step guide on how to convert flac to apple lossless
http://www.bigasoft.com/articles/how-to-convert-flac-to-apple-lossless-audio.html
Bigasoft flac converter also convert flac to lossless AIFF, WAV and convert flac to lossy mp3, ac3, ogg and more
http://www.bigasoft.com/flac-converter-mac.html
Just google search Step by Step Guide on How to Convert FLAC to Apple Lossless, you will find a powerful flac to apple lossless converter as well as a detailed guide