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FLAC Decompression software?

post #1 of 9
4/18/10 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
Hey fi'ers,

Well I finally loaded up rockbox on my IMOD. Now I am able to
listen to FLAC files. Now I hear through the grapevine, and I could be wrong,
but there may be software that decompressed the FLAC file so there is very little to no compression left, thus making minor tweaks to the aural pleasure we are looking for on this journey towards nirvana.

Anyone have comments, suggestions?

Skoog
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post #2 of 9
4/18/10 at 5:57am
I don't really know what you're trying to say, but, I'm going to dive in like this.

FLAC, being that it is a lossless codec, should offer you the EXACT same sound as an uncompressed copy of the same track. The way you encode and decode shouldn't matter, as long as there are no outstanding errors, or anything involving lossy formats. (IE: You can't compress a WAV to an MP3, then to a FLAC, and expect it to sound like the original. It will sound like the MP3.)

So, here's how it goes. As long as your FLAC files were made from appropriate source material, you don't need to worry about anything else.
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post #3 of 9
4/18/10 at 6:15am
The FLAC binary allow you to both decode and encode FLAC files.
Get it here -> FLAC - download

For "little compression" just use the "-0" flag, as opposed to "-8" which compress noticeable tighter.
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post #4 of 9
4/18/10 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 
Hybrys thanks for your explanation. I understand that FLAC is directly from the source. But i also heard that there is a little compression going on and that you can change that. As Krmathis so kindly pointed out this is done by using the -0 flag. By George I think that is it!!!

Thanks for your quick replies gentleman.

Skoog
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post #5 of 9
4/18/10 at 7:09am
It's worth it to note that all levels of compression in FLAC end up with the same sound, just a tighter file size. I'd recommend 6-8 at all times.
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post #6 of 9
4/18/10 at 9:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hybrys View Post
It's worth it to note that all levels of compression in FLAC end up with the same sound, just a tighter file size. I'd recommend 6-8 at all times.
Right on - thanks!
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post #7 of 9
4/18/10 at 10:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by skoog5600 View Post
Hybrys thanks for your explanation. I understand that FLAC is directly from the source. But i also heard that there is a little compression going on and that you can change that. As Krmathis so kindly pointed out this is done by using the -0 flag. By George I think that is it!!!

Thanks for your quick replies gentleman.

Skoog
It won't matter what you do the songs will sound exactly the same whether you do -0 or -8. The compression is lossless so when you play the file it de-compresses it on the fly, and comes out with the same song every time. You don't lose anything in the compression like mp3's, etc. You actually want a compression of -8, otherwise the number of songs you will be able to fit on your DAP will go way down.
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post #8 of 9
4/18/10 at 10:53am
The compression setting just specifies how extensive a search the tool does to find a function to accurately describe the original input. With todays CPUs the 8 setting is faster than the read speed of your optical drive, so there's no reason not to use it. Also using -8 has no effect on decompression speed.
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post #9 of 9
4/19/10 at 3:13am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the follow ups!!!
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