What the best software for convert FLAC to MP3 (better quality)

[rafajuv]

Hi everyone,

What the best software (free or pay), that convert FLAC to mp3 320kbps with this configs:

Encoding settings: -m s -V 4 -q 0 -lowpass

Stereo Separate (not joint stereo)
Constant 320 kbps
Quality 0 (better)

Thanks

[omarijamarija]

LAME?
I don't get what's your point. Why would anyone ever want to encode stereo tracks separately?

[rafajuv]

hi, its dificult to explain but the stereo separate the program encode L and R separately. joint stereo the software joint L and R when the channels produces exactly the same audio, and separate when channels L and R its diferent.

[Talim_]

I use foobar2000. It's especially nice because it copies the tags from the FLAC over to the mp3s and you can configure it any way you want. Fre:ac is another option I used in the past that is also good. Both are free.

[aGGyunit]

No idea why you would want to encode in normal stereo.

Have a read here: wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Joint_stereo

Anyway, I encode with ALL2LAME, it's a LAME frontend and can encode flac/wav to MP3 with whatever settings you want.

[rafajuv]

hi thanks for all answers. i will use fre:ac thats its possible to change all configs of lame.

if someone have a better idea its apreciated to share

i recomended to read this short article to understand the diference of encoding stereo separate (normal) and joint stereo.
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thanks

[aGGyunit]

In the end everyone encodes whatever way they want, we are not bound by rules (like the scene).

I had a read of your blog link.

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 If you have a good media encoder, you may not notice much of a difference between the joint stereo and stereo files.

Current versions of LAME are the best it's gonna get for MP3. LAME has come a long way since the old days.

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 Overall, think about the bitrate size you’re shooting for. If it’s over 256kbps, consider sticking with stereo, but also run your own tests and see which file output works best for you.

Similar to what I have read elsewhere ... just try it out and see if you can spot the difference.
In the end, it's YOUR library, you encode it whatever way you want

If quality if that important to you, why not store it in FLAC?
It will be superior to MP3-320 ... and future proof

[rafajuv]

thanks by your answer
the last version of lame i think is 3.100. its the best version? or not have diference than others like 3.99 or 3.98?

thanks

[Perplexer]

I personally also settled on Foobar2000 which proved to be very customizable and convenient for transcoding directly from FLAC to MP3. You can configure multiple context option settings for different encoders with different parameters. Example screenshots below.

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[omarijamarija]

I find it an immeasurable loss having to abandon Foobar after changing OS to Linux. I used to use it A LOT, not only a great player but also immersive library organizing tool with lots of useful plugins and scripting possibilities.