flac in itunes without Amara or Pure Music

[mariuscmorar]

I use a mac and I would like to play flac in iTunes without having to buy Amara or Pure Music. Is that possible? I looked for forums on this topic but I couldn't find any relevant information.

 

Thank you!

 

[Audio_ELF]

There is a plugin called Fluke which allows iTunes to play back FLAC - it only works for 16/44.1 files though.

 

Alternatively use XLD or Max to convert FLAC to AIFF (or ALAC).

 

Eloise

 

[mariuscmorar]

I don't want to convert them because most of my music is in flac.

 

I tried fluke in itunes 10 like this

 

http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/12/how-to-play-flac-files-in-itunes/

 

but after I told it to open the file in itunes through fluke, itunes would open but the files would not be there. So, I cannot open the file in itunes even with fluke. I don't know whether is something with the 10th version of itunes or I don't do something right.

 

I just bought a Benchmark DAC1. Would I be able to use itunes to stream 24/96, bit transpared to the dac, usind toslink?

 

I'll eventualy get a software but I'm on a tight budget now and I'd rather buy a HD650 first.

 

Thanks!

 

[Audio_ELF]

Have you tried Play (from sbooth.org) or Songbird as alternative to iTunes if you're not prepared to convert the files (which is best option for iTunes IMO).

 

Eloise

 

[mariuscmorar]

I am currently using vlc player to listen to my flacs. But I'm looking for a way to stream into my DAC via toslink and I know itunes can do that that is why I was shooting for itunes.

 

Is Play or Songbird able to stream bit transparent via toslink?

 

Thanks!

 

[Audio_ELF]

Play certainly is, and I think Songbird is bit transparent. VLC should be too.

 

Eloise

 

[mariuscmorar]

So, in your opinion I should be able to use vlc to fed my dac?

 

If these softwares do the job, then what is the advantage of paying for Pure Music, for example, if the only thing that I use the software for is to feed digital data to the dac?

 

Thanks!

 

[roscoeiii]

If you are using toslink then you should be able to send any sound from the toslink output of your computer to your DAC. If you are doing this vis an Airport Express, sending the signal wirelessly to the Airport Express which has a toslink output, then you will need the program Airfoil, which will send any audio to the Airport Express, not just from iTunes.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[wgscott]

@I don't want to convert them because most of my music is in flac.

 

FWIW, xld can be set to work recursively. In other words, set it to convert your entire music library, have it automatically load apple lossless into iTunes, store the converted files temporarily in /tmp, push the button, go to bed, and when you wake up three hours later to take the dog out or check your Apple stock portfolio, you'll be good to go.

 

[4est]

I do not understand why it is that you do not want to convert your files to a more Mac friendly file. Do you hear a difference in flac vs alac or aiff? Sort of seems like swimming up stream...

 

As stated previously, the conversions are simple and free. Better yet, they are reversible. I prefer the sound of Play over the sound of iTunes, but the interface is not as nice

 

[mariuscmorar]

Thank you guys! You are solid gold.

 

I was not aware of XLD and the possibility to convert my whole library automatically. I initially was resilient because I have 5000+ albums 95% of which are in flac and to do that manually would take forever. My music is organized in folders by styles, composers/ artists, albums. Will XLD replace the flac with apple format and keep the same folder structure?

 

Thanks again!

 

[wgscott]

Yes, there is an option to do that. (Just to clarify, it won't delete your flac files.) I've never used it, because when I download a flac album, I just let xld convert it, I tell it to drop the apple lossless files into the (hidden) directory /tmp, and then tell it to automatically load into iTunes. So I let iTunes organize the apple lossless files the way it sees fit. The copies I keep in /tmp disappear with the next reboot.

 

If I wanted to keep two copies of the apple lossless files, (one that iTunes makes, and one that xld makes), I could set it to (a) put the files in the same directories as the flac files, or (b) put it in new directories, with an option to create and preserve the same directory hierarchy. But I've never actually tried (b) as there was no need, and (a) annoyed me.

 

[roscoeiii]

Can anyone who has tried both Max and XLD comment on the pros and cons of each?

 

[Guest]

You can use the free NCH audio converter (Switch) for this purpose.

 

Jos van Geffen

Netherlands.

 

[Codifus]

The DAC1 resamples everything it receives to 110 Khz, so there is no bit transparency. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you.

 

CD

 

[Bob Stern]

One advantage of XLD is that it will warn you if the file you are attempting to convert is corrupted. Max will blithely produce a purported converted file notwithstanding the corruption.

 

I discovered this when 2 or 3 tracks I purchased from Linn were corrupted.