WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

[smrybacki]

Not really an expert at audio codecs, but when I ripped all my music, I ripped it to WMA Lossless because at the time FLAC wasn't readily available. Maybe it's still a good choice, but maybe not so since I have space I thought I'd try to move it to FLAC and keep the WMA as well. So my questions:

1. Is it possible to convert these files to FLAC without sound quality (or other) issues?
2. Is FLAC the best choice going forward for the best sound quality, or is there something approaching vinyl sound quality these days?
3. Anything else I am too ignorant to realize at this point?

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

Not really an expert at audio codecs, but when I ripped all my music, I ripped it to WMA Lossless because at the time FLAC wasn't readily available. Maybe it's still a good choice, but maybe not so since I have space I thought I'd try to move it to FLAC and keep the WMA as well. So my questions:

1. Is it possible to convert these files to FLAC without sound quality (or other) issues?
2. Is FLAC the best choice going forward for the best sound quality, or is there something approaching vinyl sound quality these days?
3. Anything else I am too ignorant to realize at this point?

1. Yes. Use dbpoweramp music converter.
2. All lossless codecs have the same "sound quality" unless something is broken in your player. Lossless = Lossless = Lossless. :smile2: This said, I use FLAC myself. All my players (squeeeboxes, foobar2000, sonos, etc. handle FLAC natively).

[smrybacki]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

1. Yes. Use dbpoweramp music converter.
2. All lossless codecs have the same "sound quality" unless something is broken in your player. Lossless = Lossless = Lossless. :smile2: This said, I use FLAC myself. All my players (squeeeboxes, foobar2000, sonos, etc. handle FLAC natively).

Thanks for the reply. I know this is off topic, but I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Sonos? I have maybe 900+ of my own CDs ripped, plus a subscription to Google Play which gives me streaming access to pretty much anything out there, and a full subscription (including Internet) to SiriusXM Radio. Is Sonos a good choice for a take anywhere in the house, remote controllable via Android and iOS apps music source and if so, what components would I need? Just two speakers or would I need a controller/streamer of some sort?

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

Thanks for the reply. I know this is off topic, but I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Sonos? I have maybe 900+ of my own CDs ripped, plus a subscription to Google Play which gives me streaming access to pretty much anything out there, and a full subscription (including Internet) to SiriusXM Radio. Is Sonos a good choice for a take anywhere in the house, remote controllable via Android and iOS apps music source and if so, what components would I need? Just two speakers or would I need a controller/streamer of some sort?

I'm mostly a squeezebox user and only have one SONOS for playing around with a bit. Both work more or less the same way. Can play own music, internet streams, siriusXM, etc. to players. Can play different things to different players or sync multiple players to play the exact same thing at exact same time. All different sorts of players (built in amps/speakers, just player that connects to input on preamp (like a CD player), etc. All controllable via apps on smart phones or tablets or program on laptop.

I much prefer the Squeezebox system,** but the SONOS is good too. Squeezeboxes are discontinued now, so probably not a great option. Read all about it at the sonos website and they have a forum as well that you can browse. SONOS plays 16/44.1 (CD quality) FLAC files just fine and does all the internet streaming you're interested in.....

**I like some of the extra flexibility, but my primary preference for SB is that it doesn't have a library size limit. Sonos deals with 65k tracks at most, less depending on metadata tagging. I have a library of about 81,000 tracks and not done ripping yet!

[smrybacki]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

I'm mostly a squeezebox user and only have one SONOS for playing around with a bit. Both work more or less the same way. Can play own music, internet streams, siriusXM, etc. to players. Can play different things to different players or sync multiple players to play the exact same thing at exact same time. All different sorts of players (built in amps/speakers, just player that connects to input on preamp (like a CD player), etc. All controllable via apps on smart phones or tablets or program on laptop.

I much prefer the Squeezebox system,** but the SONOS is good too. Squeezeboxes are discontinued now, so probably not a great option. Read all about it at the sonos website and they have a forum as well that you can browse. SONOS plays 16/44.1 (CD quality) FLAC files just fine and does all the internet streaming you're interested in.....

**I like some of the extra flexibility, but my primary preference for SB is that it doesn't have a library size limit. Sonos deals with 65k tracks at most, less depending on metadata tagging. I have a library of about 81,000 tracks and not done ripping yet!

I've got a Squeezebox, but as you say it has been discontinued. As I watched the Sonos ad copy, I was thinking it filled a log held dream of mine -- music in every room of the house with different zones. Awesome.

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

I've got a Squeezebox, but as you say it has been discontinued. As I watched the Sonos ad copy, I was thinking it filled a log held dream of mine -- music in every room of the house with different zones. Awesome.

yes. But keep in mind that Squeezeboxes are *also* music in every room of the house with different zones.

[smrybacki]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

yes. But keep in mind that Squeezeboxes are *also* music in every room of the house with different zones.

Know where I can get some more? I got one

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

Know where I can get some more? I got one

ebay, etc. and one can simply use iPeng app on an old iphone or iTouch connected with a speaker (and this emulates a hardware squeezebox). Lots of other DIY microcomputers that run a piece of software called squeezelite that essentially imitates a squeezebox player. Or even just install squeezelite on to a used $50 netbook and you've got a squeezebox player.

[BrodyBoy]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

....I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Sonos? I have maybe 900+ of my own CDs ripped, plus a subscription to Google Play which gives me streaming access to pretty much anything out there, and a full subscription (including Internet) to SiriusXM Radio. Is Sonos a good choice for a take anywhere in the house, remote controllable via Android and iOS apps music source and if so, what components would I need? Just two speakers or would I need a controller/streamer of some sort?

I've used a Sonos system for years. It can definitely fulfill your dream of a zoned, whole-house system. Here's what you'd need:

• Like all network music players, it starts with your music library. This is typically stored on a NAS or server (handy because they're always on), but could also just be one or more locations on computers where your music is stored. Note that Sonos can also use a wide array of online music sources, including your Google Play and SiriusXM accounts, but I think the heart of most users' systems starts with their personal music library.
  
• Then the system requires that the first Sonos unit (any zone player or their $50 non-player bridge) be hard-wired to your router.
  
• From there, you can build out to as many zones as you like by adding additional zone players.....they can all operate wirelessly after that first hard-wired one, so budget is the only real limitation.
  Sonos makes three types of zone players:
  (1) standalone players that include the amp and speakers in a single unit,
  (2) amped players that can power speakers you connect to them, and
  (3) non-amped players that you connect to an existing audio system (i.e., receiver/amp and speakers).
• Finally, you need controllers. While Sonos still sells their own handheld controller, they offer iOS and Android controller apps that work beautifully, so I'm not sure why anyone would buy the Sonos hardware controller anymore.

I'm currently running seven zones (which include all three types of zone players) and everybody in the house has controller apps on all our various phones, tablets, and computers. It's not inexpensive, but it's very easy to set up & use, and I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to anyone looking for a zoned, networked music system.

While garym's vast music library (of which I'm continually both amazed and envious!) does present some capacity issues, most users will never come anywhere close to the Sonos library size limit. (For example, if your 900+ CDs have the average 12.5 tracks per album...let's just round up to 13....that's stll only 11,700 files. You'd need to add another 4000 or so albums before this becomes an issue...and it's one for which there are workarounds.)

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

While garym's vast music library (of which I'm continually both amazed and envious!) does present some capacity issues, most users will never come anywhere close to the Sonos library size limit.

It's a curse! I just ripped 25 disks yesterday (of newly purchased stuff in the last week, not even older CDs I still need to rerip to FLAC). I'm like a hoarder, but you can't tell from looking at my house because my hoarding is all contained a few harddrives (and CDs in this:

http://www.jewelsleeve.com/cgi-bin/mivavm?/mm5/merchant.mvc

I've recommended SONOS system to family and friends recently, and all that have used have been *very* pleased with it. (none of them suffer from the too many CDs problem). It's all relative of course, but it doesn't seem overly pricy to me either relative to the price of some more expensive networked music players (that won't sync and aren't as user friendly in other ways).

[BrodyBoy]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

Haha! As curses go (they're more commonly known as obsessions, BTW :D), it's a good one to have!

So do you still save all your physical CDs? In recent years, I've found a certain joy in trying to have less "stuff" in my life, but I still go back & forth on whether to finally archive copies and allow all those CDs to move on to another home. I literally never see them again after ripping them, but still can't quite bring myself to bid them adieu....

[garym]

Re: WMA Lossless to FLAC? Possible?

Haha! As curses go (they're more commonly known as obsessions, BTW :D), it's a good one to have!

So do you still save all your physical CDs? In recent years, I've found a certain joy in trying to have less "stuff" in my life, but I still go back & forth on whether to finally archive copies and allow all those CDs to move on to another home. I literally never see them again after ripping them, but still can't quite bring myself to bid them adieu....

True. My only vice. As I tell my wife, I could be into expensive cars and fast women (or vice verse). I'm like you on the physical CDs. I rip them, read through the booklet, then store away, hoping to NEVER see the physical CD again. When I want to read something about the CD later I typically find reading about the album on the band's wiki site to be informative. And I dump the jewel case, etc. to minimize storage space. But like you I can't yet bring myself to actually dump the CDs. I did get rid of perhaps 1000s of vinyl albums about mid 1990s (only keeping a few hundred sentimental favorites or things where there is no CD). We've moved into smaller and smaller houses as we get older (my current home is 1/3 the size of the home I owned 20 years ago) and I do like the concept of smaller and less stuff too. But something about the CDs nags at me and I can't (yet) let them go.