FLAC files on NAS to iTunes / iPhone

[sbearden1]

Currently I store all my music on a NAS (approximately 900 Albums / 13,000 Songs) and stream my music on my home network using Minimserver music server software and a Linn DS player.

All of my music was ripped from CD to FLAC with minimal/no compression using dBpoweramp; except for the 24-bit Studio Master Albums I've purchased from HDtracks.com

So it breaks down to approximately:

Total Music Library Size = 632 GB
Ripped CD Music = 660 Albums / 9,882 Songs
Studio Master Music = 240 Albums / 3,118 Songs

I have been hoping that the new iPhone 8 / iOS 11 would allow for native playing of 16-bit & 24-bit FLAC music files via iTunes, that way I could just import my entire FLAC library directly into iTunes. This still may happen but I am going to assume it will not happen; so I need to figure out the best way to covert my FLAC music into something that will work with my iPhone / iTunes.

My gut tells me to convert everything to Apple Lossless (ALAC) but the 16-bit FLAC should be converted to 16-bit ALAC; and the 24-bit FLAC should be converted to 24-bit ALAC. Is this recommended?

Is there an easy was to perform a batch conversion that automatically recognizes whether the music is 16 or 24 bit and then to automatically output to the same in ALAC ?

[Spoon]

Re: FLAC files on NAS to iTunes / iPhone

ALAC is the way to go. Conversions automatically preserve 16 or 24 bit, no options to set.