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People who switched your library from MP3 to FLAC how did you go about doing it?

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Hdtracks/7digital are good sources if you are looking to purchase replacement but if you are anything like me, I really didn't want to spend extra to purchase albums AGAIN. So I second the suggestion @Jimbob54 made.

Switch to streaming services!! Qobuz is my preference. Discovering new music became do-able for me when I quit limiting myself with my physical albums.

There was a time when i was living the struggle and couldnt afford qobuz/Tidal so i had to make free trials every month with a new email lol.

Also there are tools/applications for intercepting or ripping FLAC files that you stream with a streaming service account. But if you are going this far you might as well torrent the albums haha. Don't do that tho. Support the music industry please.
Phew, that's expensive! 24 USD for an album?

I admit I haven't bought a CD in decades but I remember they cost the equivalent of 15-16 USD.
 

alexanderino

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CUETools works pretty well for format conversion on Windows: https://github.com/gchudov/cuetools.net

This is the correct suggestion. Once you have ripped a CD to a lossless format (and preserved the cue sheet), the hard work is done. From there on, load the cue sheet into CUETools to convert to another lossless (or lossy if desired) format. CUETools will transfer/convert existing tags, cue sheets, logs, and cover art, while also offering the options of downloading cover art and tags from MusicBrainz and/or Discogs. Finally, it will verify the rip is accurate; if there are errors (up to a certain threshold), those will be fixed.
 
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esowden

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EDIT: You don't need to reply and tell me you cannot "convert" and MP3 into FLAC and get back the lost audio. I am aware of that. I said "convert" when I should have said "replace". As in replace by downloading.

So I have been building my MP3 library since I got my first PC in 1996. I started out by ripping all of my CDs to 160k MP3, then at some point I reripped all of my CDs using Exact Audio Copy and stored it in lossless .APE because .APE had a higher compression then FLAC.

Eventually smart phones became a thing and drives became bigger so I switched my .APE to FLAC because FLAC requires less CPU to decode and on mobile that means better battery life.

I have other random MP3s floating around, some still in 128k I got from various online sites. I also have some random .OGG files back from the mid 2000s when people said .OGG was going to replace MP3.

Has anyone taken the time to replace every last .MP3/.OGG you have to FLAC? How did you do this exactly?
Bit bullet and re-ripped my 300+ CDs to FLAC files using dbPoweramp. Took the better part of 3 months to complete. I keep a backup copy of the files on a separate SSD so I never have to go through that experience again. LOL!!!
 

Philbo King

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EDIT: You don't need to reply and tell me you cannot "convert" and MP3 into FLAC and get back the lost audio. I am aware of that. I said "convert" when I should have said "replace". As in replace by downloading.

So I have been building my MP3 library since I got my first PC in 1996. I started out by ripping all of my CDs to 160k MP3, then at some point I reripped all of my CDs using Exact Audio Copy and stored it in lossless .APE because .APE had a higher compression then FLAC.

Eventually smart phones became a thing and drives became bigger so I switched my .APE to FLAC because FLAC requires less CPU to decode and on mobile that means better battery life.

I have other random MP3s floating around, some still in 128k I got from various online sites. I also have some random .OGG files back from the mid 2000s when people said .OGG was going to replace MP3.

Has anyone taken the time to replace every last .MP3/.OGG you have to FLAC? How did you do this exactly?
I never bothered to do so. Still on MP3 and loving it.
 

pablolie

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I have re-ripped several albums. On occasion I had to buy them again.

Back when I started ripping stuff (2004 if I recall correctly), storage was not quite as ridiculously cheap as it is today. That said, I'd also venture to say 90% of recordings out there don't deserve to be ripped to FLAC, but that's a different topic. In any case, in 2004 I set up a rule (classical and jazz are Flac *and* 320k MP3 CBR, the rest are 256 t0 320k MP3 depending on how much I liked them at the time I ripped) that didn't hold 100% over time. That said, it probably was probably just 30 or 40 albums I revised (I have a very large library).
 

JCM800

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Two thoughts since the first time I responded to this thread...

1. Qobuz has a great download store: If it's on their service, you can buy it, lossless, DRM-free, no subscription required. And if you are a subscriber, their top tier takes a big discount on high-res titles, usually putting the cost below the CD quality download.

2. I don't intentionally replace MP3s for the most part, but it's satisfying when I do, even though it rarely sounds any different (unless it's a different master, in which case I keep the MP3s).
 

recycle

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Yes, it's a constant evolution: a long time ago I started ripping CD's in MP3 / WMA 96k (obviously also downloading mp3s in the same format). Over time I replaced these low quality files with higher bitrate mp3s: 128k, then 192k, 256k... With the innovation of Flac I replaced the best albums in my collection once again.
It's not over: lately I've been replacing the Flac 44/16 with the more performing 96/24 or with the DSD. I believe it is a constant process and updating the library is an act of love towards music
 
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