How to tunr FLAC into Apple Lossless

Hello,

The various forums describe the process from simple to impossible. Here is one idea I found :

(Foobar is a free download - google it ... )

No need to re-rip. Use Foobar's batch converter to convert all the files to WMA Lossless, then import them into iTunes. iTunes will convert the WMA Lossless files to Apple Lossless. This way you keep all of your tags.

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I have not tried this myself but what I might suggest is do some experimenting : Copy 4-5 of your FLAC ripped CD's into a test folder and give it a try. Seems to be issues with getting the ID3 tags imported. You don’t want to loose that information. Double check after the two part process and make sure the tags came through. I would also test the fidelity on something besides an iPod.

Depending on how much music you have ripped I would consider a cheap 500 gig USB backup drive and keep a copy of your FLAC files on it just to be safe. Then convert your collection maybe 5-10 gig at a time. Fully test it and when your 100% sure it's all good - delete the FLAC files. I would consider hanging onto the FLAC files anyway - you never know Apple may eventually get on the bus OR someone may write a better front end to the Ipod (I personally cant stand the way Apple iTunes manages music) There are other front ends out there but I hear they are not that great.

Good luck - let me know what you try ... I am interested.

Thanks....FLAC files are safe on seperate HDD, and no, I don't plan on deleting them. I haven't played around much with ITunes...is there an easy way to find out what type of file Itunes has imported? --- so that I know it is in fact Apple Lossless, or should I just rest assured it will be if it imports them as WMA. BTW, I didn't know Foobar converted to WMA. But I did use Foobar to go from WAV to FLAC at one time and it worked great!

I'll let you know how it goes..

If you go to the "Preferences" dialog box in iTunes (under the Edit menu), click on the 'Advanced' tab, then on the 'Importing' tab you'll see the choices for importing files. The possiblities are AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3 and WAV.

If you import WMA files into iTunes, and you have set the iTunes preferences to use Apple Lossless as the import format, iTunes will convert the files on import, after asking your first.

In the "View options" dialog box under the "View" menu you can click on "Kind" and the file type will show up as one of the columns you see alongside each song that's been imported, a nice feature if you have a mix of file types because you can use that column to sort the songs.

MAX can convert FLAC into AIFF and import them into iTunes in one operation and that is what I use. I then convert AIFF into Apple Lossless using iTunes and delete the AIFF tracks to save space.

BTW, MAX saves the converted AIFF files in Music directory, to save space, you need to delete them as well.

Not sure if this will work with your Mac ( OS X 10.4.9 or later).
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/audio/toolplayer.html
I was surprised with the quality and versatility for a freeware download.
Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for your help! I'll experiment a bit to find which one works best.

Max is the way to go, I use flac on my pc at home and apple lossless on my mac at work. My 8 way mac pro processes 8 songs at a time and can rip through gig's of files in a flash. The best part is that unlike some programs on the pc side max transcoded files are compatible with itunes sharing so you can listen to them on other computers or a itv.

Is AIFF a lossless format or is that full size like WAC files? I ask becasue if it is not lossless, I'm not sure I have the HD space to do the conversion, unless I do a few at a time I guess.

I meant WAV..

AIFF files are 'full size.'

Apple Lossless files take up about half the space of AIFF or WAV files.

Ok, thanks.....one more question--When choosing AIFF as the encoder, does it matter if I choose linear PCM 16 bit or linear PCM 24 bit under encoder settings?

Encoding (FLAC to AIFF to Apple lossless) is coming along without a hitch using the Max program. I decided to select 16bit linear PCM for better or for worse. Files were originally ripped to FLAC using EAC. Once encoding is completed, Max places a copy in the Itunes library. All tags are correct and accounted for. Process is very smooth. Thanks again for the suggestions/instructions.

All tags are correct and accounted for

Tags that you created with EAC may sometimes differ from the itunes ones. Itunes usually has less typos and more artist/composer information.