Correct. Out of the box, it only works with WAV. To encode FLAC directly, download the flac zip file from github.com/xiph/flac/releases and, from the Win64 folder in the zip file, extra libFLAC.dll. Copy this DLL to the QAAC folder and it should work. Also, update your BAT file to include FLAC. For example: qaac64 --tvbr 91 *.wav *.flac This will encode all WAV and FLAC files in the directory.
Are there any advantages to doing it this way instead of just using iTunes to convert files to AAC? There is something called Apple Soundcheck Gain, I think what it does is something like normalising the audio, by either removing or adding some gain to the volume, there's no way to turn this off and i'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing but i don't want my files to be touched and with no option to turn it off. I'm starting to consider Opus on the highest settings.
I think using qaac is simpler and more elegant than having iTunes installed, along with services in the background. With this method, particularly the updated script above, one can keep the qaac folder at hand and encode a set of WAVs, any time, without changing a thing. From a quality point of view, there is likely no difference between this and iTunes if the settings are the same. So, it comes down to one's preference of using a GUI or command-line tool. Touching on normalisation, I can't comment on iTunes, but believe that qaac does not normalise unless requested to do so (the -N or --normalize switch). I did a quick search and, apparently, Apple Soundcheck Gain is done during playback, not encoding, so it does not affect the files themselves. Opus is an excellent choice. Listening tests have shown it to be the highest quality. The trade-off will be compatibility: it might not play on older devices.
@@GeoffreyAngapa Thanks for your reply, bro, appreciate it. Regarding Apple's Soundcheck gain, indeed when you do some research, everything just talks about the soundcheck feature within Apple Music whilst streaming music, nothing on audio files converted to AAC using iTunes. When I convert files to AAC or even a couple other formats (I think), the Apple soundcheck gain is embedded into the metadata of the audio file. I've tried implementing your video previously but I think I didn't manage to get it to work or thought that it wasn't necessary, for your information, I don't really know how to work with command lines. I might try it again.
@@moses1440 You're welcome. I remember, back in the day, even LAME wrote "ReplayGain" values in MP3s, and on the other side, players have tended to ignore it. Since the quality is likely the same in both methods, it's best to use what's most convenient for you. If iTunes is already on your PC, then iTunes could be simplest. For my part, I don't like having it installed and have preferred encoding using command-line tools, which give better control. Also, once qaac and the script are set up, that's it: just drop your files and convert. No more work.
Thanks for making this! 😊 It doesn't seem like the CVBR setting is working properly though? Using this method the bitrate ends up exceeding the specified target in the bat script. For comparison, I tried converting the same file with the same settings in iTunes and there was no problem - the files were converted with the correct target bitrate and were always a bit smaller in size. I wonder why that is? Shouldn't the results be the same?
You are quite right. It always does that. Usually, it's about 10-30 kbps higher. After testing it now, it seems to be about 10% more than the specified bitrate. However, if you use --cbr, instead of --cvbr, it will end up with the correct bitrate, whether 96, 128, 160, 192, etc. For my part, I've always used CVBR because it is variable-bitrate encoding---not fully but constrained to the target---and will give better quality, since audio complexity varies throughout a file. CBR, on the other hand, will use a constant bitrate from start to finish. There is also TVBR, or true variable-bitrate mode; but I don't recommend that one because I remember reading years ago, in Hydrogenaudio, that it produced occasional artefacts and seemingly wasn't tuned that well. In short, go for CBR (--cbr) if you need to target an exact bitrate. Otherwise, go for CVBR (--cvbr).
I see, thanks. Well, I don't need an exact bitrate... but regular VBR can be very unpredictable size-wise. I guess I'll just stick to iTunes then (even though I'd rather skip the "FLAC to ALAC step" before I can import the files). Since this method is not hitting the target correctly, I can't help but think that the bit distribution could be different too (and in the "wrong places.") But I'm probably just being paranoid about it haha
Yes, the bit distribution seems to be erring on the side of quality, instead of "under hitting." Apple hasn't done any work on CoreAudio for years, so it probably won't change in the future. I think iTunes is using either the CBR or ABR method. It's all right. I'm also particular about these things at times!
As an update to the script, use the following line to encode _all_ WAV files in the qaac folder:
qaac64 --cvbr 192 *.wav
This is awesome bro. It's exactly what I need!
Fantastic!
I tried converting flac to aac but it did not work. Does this converter only work with wav format?
Correct. Out of the box, it only works with WAV. To encode FLAC directly, download the flac zip file from github.com/xiph/flac/releases and, from the Win64 folder in the zip file, extra libFLAC.dll. Copy this DLL to the QAAC folder and it should work. Also, update your BAT file to include FLAC. For example:
qaac64 --tvbr 91 *.wav *.flac
This will encode all WAV and FLAC files in the directory.
Are there any advantages to doing it this way instead of just using iTunes to convert files to AAC? There is something called Apple Soundcheck Gain, I think what it does is something like normalising the audio, by either removing or adding some gain to the volume, there's no way to turn this off and i'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing but i don't want my files to be touched and with no option to turn it off. I'm starting to consider Opus on the highest settings.
I think using qaac is simpler and more elegant than having iTunes installed, along with services in the background. With this method, particularly the updated script above, one can keep the qaac folder at hand and encode a set of WAVs, any time, without changing a thing. From a quality point of view, there is likely no difference between this and iTunes if the settings are the same. So, it comes down to one's preference of using a GUI or command-line tool. Touching on normalisation, I can't comment on iTunes, but believe that qaac does not normalise unless requested to do so (the -N or --normalize switch). I did a quick search and, apparently, Apple Soundcheck Gain is done during playback, not encoding, so it does not affect the files themselves.
Opus is an excellent choice. Listening tests have shown it to be the highest quality. The trade-off will be compatibility: it might not play on older devices.
@@GeoffreyAngapa Thanks for your reply, bro, appreciate it.
Regarding Apple's Soundcheck gain, indeed when you do some research, everything just talks about the soundcheck feature within Apple Music whilst streaming music, nothing on audio files converted to AAC using iTunes. When I convert files to AAC or even a couple other formats (I think), the Apple soundcheck gain is embedded into the metadata of the audio file.
I've tried implementing your video previously but I think I didn't manage to get it to work or thought that it wasn't necessary, for your information, I don't really know how to work with command lines. I might try it again.
@@moses1440 You're welcome.
I remember, back in the day, even LAME wrote "ReplayGain" values in MP3s, and on the other side, players have tended to ignore it.
Since the quality is likely the same in both methods, it's best to use what's most convenient for you. If iTunes is already on your PC, then iTunes could be simplest. For my part, I don't like having it installed and have preferred encoding using command-line tools, which give better control. Also, once qaac and the script are set up, that's it: just drop your files and convert. No more work.
Thanks for making this! 😊
It doesn't seem like the CVBR setting is working properly though? Using this method the bitrate ends up exceeding the specified target in the bat script. For comparison, I tried converting the same file with the same settings in iTunes and there was no problem - the files were converted with the correct target bitrate and were always a bit smaller in size. I wonder why that is? Shouldn't the results be the same?
You are quite right. It always does that. Usually, it's about 10-30 kbps higher. After testing it now, it seems to be about 10% more than the specified bitrate. However, if you use --cbr, instead of --cvbr, it will end up with the correct bitrate, whether 96, 128, 160, 192, etc. For my part, I've always used CVBR because it is variable-bitrate encoding---not fully but constrained to the target---and will give better quality, since audio complexity varies throughout a file. CBR, on the other hand, will use a constant bitrate from start to finish. There is also TVBR, or true variable-bitrate mode; but I don't recommend that one because I remember reading years ago, in Hydrogenaudio, that it produced occasional artefacts and seemingly wasn't tuned that well.
In short, go for CBR (--cbr) if you need to target an exact bitrate. Otherwise, go for CVBR (--cvbr).
I see, thanks. Well, I don't need an exact bitrate... but regular VBR can be very unpredictable size-wise. I guess I'll just stick to iTunes then (even though I'd rather skip the "FLAC to ALAC step" before I can import the files).
Since this method is not hitting the target correctly, I can't help but think that the bit distribution could be different too (and in the "wrong places.") But I'm probably just being paranoid about it haha
Yes, the bit distribution seems to be erring on the side of quality, instead of "under hitting." Apple hasn't done any work on CoreAudio for years, so it probably won't change in the future. I think iTunes is using either the CBR or ABR method.
It's all right. I'm also particular about these things at times!