What Encoding Level is Best for FLAC?

Starsky5000 · 08-19-2006, 18:24

Hi everyone. I would like to know what Flac level should I encode my music?

I am not concerned about space but the quality of music I get.

I am getting all my music off my cd's.

Also is Flac truly lossless?

Is their another lossless format you believe is better than Flac?

I encoded all my music at level 5 using Flac onto my pc hard drive then onto my Cowon IAudio U3 but every now and then I would sense a skipping in songs...It doesn't happen often but it happened several times. Both when I play my songs off my pc and my U3.

Please...your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx.

notguilty · 08-19-2006, 21:39

What level depends on what you're playing it back on. Some players aren't going to handle -8, but most do.

No other lossless format has better traction than FLAC, even though at least one (Wavpack) is technically superior in every way.

vinnie97 · 08-20-2006, 03:29

^^ Ditto what he said, plus....

The quality will be the same no matter what encoding level you use, only the size of the resultant file and the power requirements for decoding said file will be different (the more compressed it is, the more CPU power is needed).

FLACs are indeed lossless. If you reconvert a FLAC to WAV, you should get a bit-identical copy of the original WAV you encoded. Think of it as zip compression for digital audio.

(and Rar, 7zip, etc., are equivalent to the competing lossless audio formats like OptimFrog, Ape and the aforementioned Wavpak).

08-19-2006, 18:24	#1
Starsky5000 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bronx, New York...USA Posts: 62	What Encoding Level is Best for FLAC? Hi everyone. I would like to know what Flac level should I encode my music? I am not concerned about space but the quality of music I get. I am getting all my music off my cd's. Also is Flac truly lossless? Is their another lossless format you believe is better than Flac? I encoded all my music at level 5 using Flac onto my pc hard drive then onto my Cowon IAudio U3 but every now and then I would sense a skipping in songs...It doesn't happen often but it happened several times. Both when I play my songs off my pc and my U3. Please...your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

08-19-2006, 21:39	#2
notguilty ...not known as cerbie... Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 543	What level depends on what you're playing it back on. Some players aren't going to handle -8, but most do. No other lossless format has better traction than FLAC, even though at least one (Wavpack) is technically superior in every way. __________________ PC: Philips PSC805/17 "Aurilum" \| Portable: I5 1GB \| Amp: Xin Supermini-3 \| Cans: E3c, KSC75, KSC35 Supermini-3 reference card

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08-20-2006, 03:29	#3
vinnie97 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mesquite, TX Posts: 247	^^ Ditto what he said, plus.... The quality will be the same no matter what encoding level you use, only the size of the resultant file and the power requirements for decoding said file will be different (the more compressed it is, the more CPU power is needed). FLACs are indeed lossless. If you reconvert a FLAC to WAV, you should get a bit-identical copy of the original WAV you encoded. Think of it as zip compression for digital audio. (and Rar, 7zip, etc., are equivalent to the competing lossless audio formats like OptimFrog, Ape and the aforementioned Wavpak).