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How To Convert 24bit high res to 16/44.1 files


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I have never considered doing this before but I would like to convert (transcode?) about 140 24 bit high resolution files to 16/44.1 for use with a wireless system (Sonos?) that doesn't support 24 bit. I use XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac for my CD ripping and occasionally transcoding FLAC into AIFF files but I am not aware if either of them can convert 24 to 16 or how you would do it?

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
Frank Zappa
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In dbPoweramp (Windows) there is a batch conversion capability. Maybe Mac has it too. Regardless, once you pick your files go to "convert" and choose aiff or wav (assuming they are flac to begin with, for example). Then you will get two pulldowns (bit depth, and sample rate). Choose 16 and 44.1. If needed, convert back to FLAC (at 16/44) next.

 

Why does wireless preclude 24 bit? Many of us do DSD128 wirelessly.

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In dbPoweramp (Windows) there is a batch conversion capability. Maybe Mac has it too. Regardless, once you pick your files go to "convert" and choose aiff or wav (assuming they are flac to begin with, for example). Then you will get two pulldowns (bit depth, and sample rate). Choose 16 and 44.1. If needed, convert back to FLAC (at 16/44) next.

 

Why does wireless preclude 24 bit? Many of us do DSD128 wirelessly.

 

Other than the NAD Bluesound system it was my understanding that the self contained wireless systems I am looking at (Sonos, Denon HEOS, Polk, Definitive Technology, Bose etc) do not support 24 bit. The NAD is of interest because of its 24/96 support but it is not truly a self contained "wireless" system to me since the speakers require traditional connection and another part of the system requires an ethernet connection.

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
Frank Zappa
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For 24 to 16 bit conversion very willingly use dithering that minimally as possibly impact to useful audio content.

 

What about audible quality you can compare demos of conversion software.

AuI ConverteR 48x44 - HD audio converter/optimizer for DAC of high resolution files

ISO, DSF, DFF (1-bit/D64/128/256/512/1024), wav, flac, aiff, alac,  safe CD ripper to PCM/DSF,

Seamless Album Conversion, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, DSF metadata editor, Mac & Windows
Offline conversion save energy and nature

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I have never considered doing this before but I would like to convert (transcode?) about 140 24 bit high resolution files to 16/44.1 for use with a wireless system (Sonos?) that doesn't support 24 bit. I use XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac for my CD ripping and occasionally transcoding FLAC into AIFF files but I am not aware if either of them can convert 24 to 16 or how you would do it?

 

XLD can do this easily

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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XLD can do this easily

 

I guess I just need to look around in XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac and figure it out then. At least I now know it can be done.

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
Frank Zappa
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I have never considered doing this before but I would like to convert (transcode?) about 140 24 bit high resolution files to 16/44.1 for use with a wireless system (Sonos?) that doesn't support 24 bit. I use XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac for my CD ripping and occasionally transcoding FLAC into AIFF files but I am not aware if either of them can convert 24 to 16 or how you would do it?

 

You could also transcode the files to ALAC, AIFF, or WAV in XLD. For those output formats (but apparently not FLAC), you can click on the "Option" button in Preferences -> General and choose your preferred sample rate and bit depth. It's really a matter of taste/convenience as to whether you use dBpoweramp or XLD.

 

--David

Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details)

Office: Mac Pro >  AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305

Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5

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Does Switch really not do Apple Lossless, or is that just an omission on the website?

 

--David

Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details)

Office: Mac Pro >  AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305

Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5

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I have never considered doing this before but I would like to convert (transcode?) about 140 24 bit high resolution files to 16/44.1 for use with a wireless system (Sonos?) that doesn't support 24 bit. I use XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac for my CD ripping and occasionally transcoding FLAC into AIFF files but I am not aware if either of them can convert 24 to 16 or how you would do it?

If you go to ALAC, you can use XLD: In Preferences, choose output format as ALAC, and the Options will let you select 16/44 output. Since you're a mac user, I would recommend this over FLAC - your files will be usable in iTunes directly, and most players will play those downsampled files (except arguably HQPlayer but you have your FLAC or AIFF originals for that!).

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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It doesn't convert to Apple Lossless, indeed. I convert from FLAC to WAV when XLD fails (rarely).

 

Hi LLZZ,

 

What is the fails? Crash or format understanding?

 

Best regards,

Yuri

AuI ConverteR 48x44 - HD audio converter/optimizer for DAC of high resolution files

ISO, DSF, DFF (1-bit/D64/128/256/512/1024), wav, flac, aiff, alac,  safe CD ripper to PCM/DSF,

Seamless Album Conversion, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, DSF metadata editor, Mac & Windows
Offline conversion save energy and nature

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I have never considered doing this before but I would like to convert (transcode?) about 140 24 bit high resolution files to 16/44.1 for use with a wireless system (Sonos?) that doesn't support 24 bit. I use XLD and dbPoweramp for Mac for my CD ripping and occasionally transcoding FLAC into AIFF files but I am not aware if either of them can convert 24 to 16 or how you would do it?

Another option that might work: Set up minimserver and minimstreamer and have minimstreamer transcode to 16/44 wav on the fly. Play the DLNA source off of SONOS.

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Sometimes, there is an error message such as : "error in the decoder" (something like that, I have the french version).

 

XLD usefully checks for corruption in FLAC (by means of checksum embedded in FLAC), and refuse to complete the decoding if corrupt. Some (possibly most) converter apps will blindly convert a corrupt FLAC to another file containing corrupted audio.

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Another option that might work: Set up minimserver and minimstreamer and have minimstreamer transcode to 16/44 wav on the fly. Play the DLNA source off of SONOS.

To be clear, if you tell minimstreamer to do:

 

flac:wav16;44

 

it will transcode your flac files on the fly to wav 16/44 before uPnP streaming.

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Sometimes, there is an error message such as : "error in the decoder" (something like that, I have the french version).

 

For certain files? Or repeated converting finished successfully?

I want understand: it certain file content issue or random bug?

 

Sometime in files possibly meet non-standard metadata or header content.

AuI ConverteR 48x44 - HD audio converter/optimizer for DAC of high resolution files

ISO, DSF, DFF (1-bit/D64/128/256/512/1024), wav, flac, aiff, alac,  safe CD ripper to PCM/DSF,

Seamless Album Conversion, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, DSF metadata editor, Mac & Windows
Offline conversion save energy and nature

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For certain files? Or repeated converting finished successfully?

I want understand: it certain file content issue or random bug?

 

Sometime in files possibly meet non-standard metadata or header content.

 

 

 

Below is a screenshot of XLD detecting corruption in a FLAC. You'll see for yourself by using a hex editor to deliberately change a byte of the audio data in a FLAC file, then trying to convert the corrupted file to some other file with XLD.

 

 

XLD detects corrupt FLAC.png

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Below is a screenshot of XLD detecting corruption in a FLAC. You'll see for yourself by using a hex editor to deliberately change a byte of the audio data in a FLAC file, then trying to convert the corrupted file to some other file with XLD.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18466[/ATTACH]

 

If it is matter of file integrity corruption, here possibly general trouble of standard FLAC library. I suppose same behavior must be for any FLAC software for this case.

AuI ConverteR 48x44 - HD audio converter/optimizer for DAC of high resolution files

ISO, DSF, DFF (1-bit/D64/128/256/512/1024), wav, flac, aiff, alac,  safe CD ripper to PCM/DSF,

Seamless Album Conversion, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, DSF metadata editor, Mac & Windows
Offline conversion save energy and nature

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If it is matter of file integrity corruption, here possibly general trouble of standard FLAC library. I suppose same behavior must be for any FLAC software for this case.

 

A file can be corrupted after its creation; for example, through degradation of storage media. FLAC contains checksums of the contained audio data to help detect such corruption. Some programs, e.g. XLD, make use of the checksums when decoding a FLAC file, and prevent propagation of corruption. Unfortunately, some programs, e.g. Max, do not use the checksums, and they propagate corruption to files which they derive from a corrupt FLAC file.

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A file can be corrupted after its creation; for example, through degradation of storage media. FLAC contains checksums of the contained audio data to help detect such corruption. Some programs, e.g. XLD, make use of the checksums when decoding a FLAC file, and prevent propagation of corruption. Unfortunately, some programs, e.g. Max, do not use the checksums, and they propagate corruption to files which they derive from a corrupt FLAC file.

 

Goldsdad,

 

Thank you for information. I will learn it more.

AuI ConverteR 48x44 - HD audio converter/optimizer for DAC of high resolution files

ISO, DSF, DFF (1-bit/D64/128/256/512/1024), wav, flac, aiff, alac,  safe CD ripper to PCM/DSF,

Seamless Album Conversion, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, DSF metadata editor, Mac & Windows
Offline conversion save energy and nature

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For certain files? Or repeated converting finished successfully?

I want understand: it certain file content issue or random bug? Sometime in files possibly meet non-standard metadata or header content.

I had some trouble with minimserver once, with a bunch of AIFF files that did not quite adhere to some (odd) requirement of byte count. I solved this problem by retagging with Yate - basically not changing anything but forcing a file resave. This cleared the issue for thousands of files in my library.

 

I wonder if your checksum error might be fixed by something like this. Quite possibly the FLAC encoder you used wasn't careful about the checksum - and I wonder if it is possible to fix like I did with Yate.

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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