Handling Lossless Audio

Essential Software

Mac

• xACt

  Key features: Decoding/encoding FLAC/SHN, checksum, shntool frontend, fixing sector boundary errors (SBE), tagging, lossy compression, batch rename

Windows

• AddaWav

  Key feature: Combining WAV files

• CD Wave (not free, but no limitations on unregistered version)

  Key features: Creating/deleting split points in WAV (supports 24-bit and surround audio), splitting WAV, read/write CUE, encode FLAC/OGG/MP3

• dBpoweramp Music Converter (not free)

  Key features: Convert to MP3, FLAC, Apple lossless easily; also great for downsampling 24bit/96kHz audio to 16bit/44.1kHz audio.

• Exact Audio Copy

  Key feature: Best Windows software for burning error-free CDs

• Medieval CUE Splitter

  Key feature: Easy tool to split MP3s into tracks via CUE sheets

  Warning: Use only for splitting long MP3s. Not recommended for splitting FLAC/WAV as it reportedly introduces sector boundary errors (SBE) into audio. For splitting WAV, use CD Wave

• Trader's Little Helper

  Key features: Decoding/encoding APE/FLAC/SHN, checksum, fixing SBE, tagging, lossy compression, batch rename, torrent creation

Mac & Windows

• Audacity

  Key feature: General audio editing

• shntool

  Key features: Command line data processing and reporting utility for WAV files, with ability to handle other formats such as APE/FLAC (must install helper programs to do so)

  For Mac, the easiest installation method is via Homebrew

• FLAC

  Key features: Most common lossless audio compression format, with large repository of tools capable of handling the format

  For Mac, the easiest installation method for the command line tool is via Homebrew

• Clementine

  Multiplatform music player that plays FLAC and accurately plays FLAC tracks from cue files

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Sector Boundary Errors?

  See detailed answer here