Converting FLAC files to WAV format for CD burning

This guide shows folks what to do with that great big stack of FLAC files you successfully downloaded from Dimeadozen. Don’t worry – the next guide will give you a full guide to using Dimeadozen, but for the meantime we’ll look at what you do with the files you’ve ended up with, assuming you successfully completed a download.

There are two methods discussed here, one simple and one slightly more complex. I do recommend if you want to upload gigs to Dimeadozen in the future you follow the more complex route. However, if all you want to do is get those FLAC files into a playable format as quickly as possible, then follow the first method, which is quick :)

METHOD ONE – dBPowerAmp Music Converter 10.1 and dBPowerAmp FLAC codec

(i) Get the main software

dBPowerAmp Music Converter is a great little program, and one I have used for a great many years now. Unfortunately, despite always being free, earlier this year they suddenly clamped down on the conversion to MP3 feature, restricting it to just 30 days before you had to exchange groats for the privilege of using it beyond that limit.

Luckily, some clever sod :whistle: managed to grab the last free release, and believe me it works fine – grab it by right clicking with your mouse on this link and selecting the ‘save as…’ option. new link 22 Nov 05 to replace duff Fallshop one

You should end up with a little executable file:

METHOD ONE – dBPowerAmp Music Converter 10.1 and dBPowerAmp FLAC codec

(ii) Install the software

You need to click on the little icon called dMC-r10.exeand install the program on your computer. Tell it where to install itself (the default setting is usually fine) and which language you’d prefer to converse with :



The usual blurb comes up, so click on next, and the program installs :



The next screen tells you how the program will act. I thoroughly recommend you leave the default settings as are – the top one adds a handy ‘Convert to’ shortcut which appears when you right click on an audio file, the next one down results in a very useful yellow info screen popping up every time you highlight a music file – very useful, both these tools. I’d also recommend, if you have a powerful computer, selecting the Professional Frequency Conversion (not that you’ll be using it for this exercise)



Select your preferences in the final screen (audioCD relates to its CD ripping facility – we’ll talk about ripping in another FAQ)



The program will automatically open up an information window in your internet browser program – certainly a useful info page, but let’s not mess about here. This is supposed to be a quick guide, right ? You can safely delete the file on your desktop called dMC-r10.exe now

The next thing we need to find is the FLAC codec, which will enable dBPowerAmp Music Converter to convert FLAC files to WAV files.

To grab this, visit this page and download the FLAC Audio Codec.

You’ll end up with another executable file which looks very similar to the last one :



Click on it and up pops a similar window to last time – make sure that the folder you are installing the codec to is the same as the last one you installed…



The same old legal gubbins that nobody ever reads….click on Install :



And yer done – the codec is installed. You can delete that file named dBpowerAMP-codec-flac.exe now.

METHOD ONE – dBPowerAmp Music Converter 10.1 and dBPowerAmp FLAC codec

(iii) Get stuck in

Oh, how easy is this bit…..very.

Right, first find the folder with your FLAC files in, open it up and press CTRL and the A keys together – this highlights all the files (as dBPowerAmp Music Converter hasn’t quite mastered transferring text files to WAV files, just press CTRL and then at the same time left click on any non-FLAC files) :



Next, right click any of the FLAC files you highlighted so that the menu options appear:



Note Convert to is the second entry down, under Play – select it. Up pops a window :



Note how all the files are ready to be converted. In the pull down window at the top, select Wave. Ensure the next readings are 16 Bit (CD), 44100 Hz (CD) and 2 ‘stereo’ (CD) (you may need to fiddle with the pull down menus).

Select where you want the resulting files to go (usually easiest to send them to the folder from whence the FLAC files came), and if you are running short of disc space, and don’t expect to share the files on Dimeadozen again, then you can safely check the box marked Delete source file(s) after conversion. You should end up with a window like this :



Make sure the settings are identical, and if you’re happy, press Convert :



Note you’ll get a time estimate. On an AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 20 files took just under 90 seconds to convert.

And, er, that’s it…..



Click on Finished, the dBpowerAmp interface disappears, and you end up with a folder which should look like this :



A folder full of Wave files, which you can now burn to an audio CD using the FAQ here.

Easy, huh ?

METHOD TWO – FLAC 1.1.2 installer & FLAC Front End 1.7

(i) Get the main software

To kick off you first need to download a piece of free open-source command line software called FLAC Installer 1.1.2. You download that from this page – it depends upon which Operating System/computer type you have, but all bases are covered so Mac/Linux users keep those chins up. For the purposes of this tutorial, and somewhat predictably, I’ll be focussing on the Windows version – sorry 

Click on the link that reads FLAC 1.1.2 for Windows with installer and the webpage redirects to an automatic download (I use Firefox by the way, so if you use Internet Explorer you’ll get the usual download box up) :

METHOD TWO – FLAC 1.1.2 installer & FLAC Front End 1.7

(ii) Install the software

You should end up with a little executable file on your desktop which looks like this :



Click on it and the interface kicks in. The first thing that happens is that a little message pops up telling you that WinAmp supports the playback of FLAC files and would you like to install it. It’s up to you – if your main aim is to convert FLAC files to an audio CD, or to MP3s, I wouldn’t bother meself, but I leave that up to you.

Turning to the installation itself, watch out for the garish green background which appears :lol:

You get the ubiquitous message about agreeing to Gawdknowswhat, click on Continue



Next up comes a list of components associated with the installation – if you don’t want WinAmp uncheck the bottom one, otherwise leave it all as is :



Press Next and it whirrs away installing stuff on your PC – note that this program contains no spyware. A message comes up with a warning you may need to reboot to see the icons – I’ve never had to do this on XP, but those on older operating systems may need to. Incidentally, I never bother to read those Read Me files – do you ? ;)



You can now safely delete the flac112a.exe file

The next thing you need to do, unless you like working with old fashioned Windows command lines (if so, you’re on your own !), is download a life-saving utility called FLAC Front End. What this does is make the program you just downloaded even easier to use, with a dead easy Graphical User Interface (GUI).

To grab that go to this page

This is a tiny little program, again free, which arrives in the form of a zip file :



If using Windows XP you should just be able to click on it and the in-built zip decompressor program should kick in. Failing that or if using another Windows operating system, grab the excellent and free WinRAR and unzip it using that.

You should end up with three files – these all need cutting from where they landed (usually your Desktop) and pasting into the same folder as the FLAC program you just installed – it’s usually located on your C drive, in the Program Files directory (look for a folder called FLAC)

Once the files are in there, you can then kick start the FLAC Front End program by clicking on the file named FLAC frontend.exe – this is your shortcut into a world of painless conversion !

You can now safely delete the FLAC_frontend.zip file.

METHOD TWO – FLAC 1.1.2 installer & FLAC Front End 1.7

(iii) Get stuck in

Okay, you should now have installed the FLAC program and codecs, plus the FLAC Front End GUI so you are ready to convert those lovely files you grabbed from Dimeadozen. Here’s what you do.

First off, fire up the FLAC Frontend by clicking on Start > Programs > FLAC > FLAC Frontend. Up pops the window below :



Don’t panic – it’s far easier than it looks, as a lot of the stuff relates to converting (encoding) files to the FLAC format. All we are interested in doing is decoding the FLAC files we grabbed from Dimeadozen.

The first thing we need to do is locate the files we downloaded – only you will know the mysteries of where you stashed these on your hard drive, so no PMs asking me where I can find them – I cannot, you can ! Click on Add Files, and this opens a window which allows you to search your computer. Don’t let my window be a guide – I have partitioned my hard drive so all my documents are on one ‘drive’ (D), programs etc on the other © :



Hold down your CTRL key and then click each file so they are all highlighted like so :



And click on Open – lo and behold they all move over into the big window in the FLAC Front End program :



It does not matter what order they appear in the list, by the way (for some bizarre reason the last file I highlight appears as the first file in my lists – daft, these computers, sometimes).

Next you need to tell the FLAC Front End program what to do with the converted files, so click on the button marked … under Output Directory. Another browser window opens up. In my case, I am sticking the converted files into the same folder from whence they came :



One final trick to save a little time. If you are running short of disc space, and don’t expect to share the files on Dimeadozen again, then you can safely check the box marked under General Options marked ‘Delete input files’ thusly :



And that’s it – you’re ready to go ! Click on the button marked Decode, and watch the horrible Windows command line program come into life :



It’s generally quite quick, dependant upon your processor speed. I have an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2 Ghz) which does the job in under a minute….Once it’s done you’ll get a message at the bottom of the command window :



Do as it says, press any key….the command window disappears. You can now safely exit out of the FLAC Front End program. Then navigate to the folder you asked the program to send the converted files and, knock me down with a feather :



You got it – they’re all WAV files, ready to burn to your audio CD – see my FAQ here for instructions on what to do next.

Well done – you’ve reached the end. There, it wasn’t that bad at all was it, really ?

Phew :rollover:

When is the paperback version coming out, are you related to Stephen Hawkins?

A Brief History of Dime(adozen) by Clayts :lol:

Many thanks Clayts, I'll print this out and digest it this evening.

Method Two is piss piss easy honest!
Even I can do it.
Worry not.

Excellent work, thanks a lot.

Brilliant, followed instructions and converted stuff to mp3, so can play on my iPod.

Not managed to get them in Wav format though :confused:

I'll try again tonight

Many thanks Clayts :beer:

Nope - can't seem to get them to WAV format :confused:
They go straight from FLAC Frontend to mp3 - am I doing something wrong?

Any ideas

I don't know how you manage that because FLAC Front End cannot convert to MP3, only to OGG or WAV....

Clayts, didn't see the prompt reply, so ignore my PM

Perhaps I should take a patent out on it.

The mystery deepens

:confused: :confused:

Is there more than one type of FLAC Front End. i.e. one that converts to mp3?

I could have downloaded the wrong one :banghead:

After which step do youfind yourself with MP3s rather than WAV files ?

Unfortunately I am at work, so I don't have downloads with me....

..but

I download Dimeadozen stuff into a programme called Azerus.
I then select the gig I want to decode in Azerus, use Azerus's open button and get the FLAC files in their own box; plus usually an Info text file.

I copy these files into FLAC frontend thingy, press DECODE and the black screen comes up like you describe. But the files appear as mp3s not WAVs.

mayeb it's just your computer that's set up to denote sounds files as 'mp3s'. whereas they are in fact wav's.
Check the size of them. if it's around 50 MB's for each file then it's certainly not mp3 files.

Thanks, I'll try that when I get home. having said that they transferred into iTunes easily so I suspect they are mp3 files

Well done Dr Sprtsch!
They are WAV file sneakily disquised with the mp3 symbol Doh! :banghead:

Many thanks :applaud:

Now I have to work out how to get them onto CD

See FAQ 1 ;)

My Nero recognises FLAC & burns directly. Maybe cos I have Flac frontend installed.
Jet Audio is a good media player (free version) which does a great job of converting files from or to wav/mp3/wma/flac... I thin ogg too, but don't use. It also plays dvd's, burns & listens to internet radio, worth having.download page

Unfortunately, the shorten (shn) files are only recognised by Winamp & although I can burn discs with this, it is at x2 only (unless I pay).
Why do people use shn? is there an advantage?

I came across shn for the first time yesterday a PJ Harvey download.
Managed to find a decoding programme - I'm getting good at this.
Burning to CD next - fingers crossed

Ok, so I'm now full of confidence at this computer downloading stuff. :lol: Next question....

Is it possible to convert an mp3 file into a WAV file in order to get it onto a CD that you can play in the car?
If so, how? :confused:

Best method - use Nero - create an Audio CD, transfer the MP3 files across to the compilation, and it will recode them into WAV files :)

Alternatively use dBPowerAmp to convert from MP3 to WAV -v.similar steps to Method 1 above except substitute MP3 for references to FLAC, and WAV for...er...WAV

Sounds too easy.
I bet I can cock it up :banghead:

Watch this space, hope there is nothing on TV tonight

I'm looking forward to this
I'm currently downloading the Brownies 98 gig & my bittorrent thingy says I've got 19 days remaining :wacko:
I can't seem to seed properly either; my share ratio is 0.34 :(

I love you clayts :girly:

Hi, anyone know where else I can get the flac codec for this, when trying to install it it come up with error!!

this is the FLAC download page

just pick one that suits your system

does that solve the problem? or won't one of these install

still fails, dBpoweramp R12 is req'd for flac codec, clayts copy is version 10.

have to have another google

flac > wav
on a mac then xACT
for win, maybe switch
or
traders little helper

thanks !! sorted with switch

Just tried following Mr Clayts guide to "Converting Flac files to WAV format for CD burning (method 1)" and it doesn't seem to work.Dowloaded what I needed to download etc.Do methods 1 & 2 work with Vista? Thought I'd ask before trying method 2.

The version of Roxio loaded onto my new Vista-equipped computer burns CDs directly from flac files. No need to convert them.

:applaud:

i just use winamp to convert my flacs to wav - piece of piss it is too.
a lot less complicated than all this gubbins!!!!

With Burrrn! you can burn FLACs as well as other formats directly onto a CD-R without converting the files.

right-we have new pc and broadband so looking forward to hasslefree downloading-what is the definitive advice about conversions-is dbcpoweramp and flaccodex thingies somehow superior to the easier winamp/roxio/burrn ones?

I use poweramp.

No problems.

gracias