Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Preferred Digital Audio File Type

I am thinking about going to flac myself. I can stream flac files to my denon 3808 so no squeeze box would be needed.

What software is best for ripping cd's to *.flac?

Also, is there anywhere to buy *.flac files online (through some type of subscription service or something)? most online music services only offer mp3 I guess because of file size.

I will need to get a wireless router to use as bridge for my denon since the 3808 does not have built in wifi, but that should be 60 bucks or so

I think the going recommendation for rippers is Exact Audio Copy, which is free. I use Easy CD-DA Extractor, which I like very much, but it costs money.

Thanks all for your thoughts. Terzaghi, there's a good discussion with links for flac ripping software on the squeezebox website, wiki tab I believe. Members at squeezebox seem to think flac is the best choice as well. Have only had a night or two to play with the squeezebox, but I can already see why users dig it - control of your entire music library and internet radio at your finger tips, even with computer off is pretty cool!

EAC works flawlessly but you will need to read the basic FAQ or so to set it up. By set up, I mean setting all your desired parameters for ripping. flac is easier than MP3 as you might have to mess with the field where text parameters are handed of to Lame or whatever other MP3 encoder you use. Lame, etc. is a separate download unless you have it already. I think you also have to download the separate FLAC encoder as well. EAC is really just a gui front end for these encoders.

Hope that doesn't sound intimidating. The faqs guide you through it pretty well well and once it's done, it's done.

The Squeezebox supports three lossless formats, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and WMA Lossless. Any one would probably be fine but FLAC has the advantage of being open. One great thing about lossless formats is that you can convert it to something else without having to rerip your entire cd library. Also, some programs (e.g. Windows Media Player) will automatically convert media files depending on which portable device you're managing.

The best place that I've found about ripping and encoding audio is at the Hydrogen Audio Wiki. There are also forums for more information.

If you're into live concerts, you can download all of the FLAC files you wish for free from the Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/etree

Only bands that have given written permission are available to download.

I've found a lot of good music and new (to me) bands here. Note that some concerts are available in only flac, or only shn, or both.

Excellent referral, Eno. I've downloaded a whole bunch of Derek Trucks Band and String Cheese Incident from there; it is an amazing resource.

tomt...

I've been a cheesehead for many years now. They are currently my favorite live band. Just started listening to their final concert appearance; excellent quality recording.

Also like the live Trey Anastasio Band shows.