A Modest Construct

Oct 10 2006

Audio Utilities

Last update: 1 August 2007

CDex: License: Open Source; Description: CDex is a small utility whose primary purpose is ripping CD audio to MP3s. CDex’s magic comes in its extras, however. It has the ability to rip to WAV files, rip partial WAVs/MP3s, and do audio conversion. It’s completely customizable, as well, and you can add as many different encoders as you like. In 2006, the project went under active development again after a long period of inactivity.

Exact Audio Copy: License: Freeware; Description: EAC is a very customizable CD ripper for Windows. It only uses external compressors. It is significant slower than CDex or Audiograbber, but with better error correction. This is ripper most serious audiophiles use. I recommend the Ogg Vorbis 1.1.1 encoder.

GX::Transcoder // GermaniX Transcoder: License: Freeware; Description: GX::Transcoder is a freeware utility that can mass convert files from one type to another, ostensibly while retaining tags (similar to the advertised function of dbPowerAmp). The latest version still uses v3.93 of LAME, but otherwise it’s well-maintained and supports a wide variety of codecs. This project has ostensibly split into the older Gx::Transcoder, which has a lot more functions, and the new GermaniX Transcoder, which is merely a transcoder.

Audacity: License: Open Source; Description: Audacity is the de facto standard for *nix audio editing, and it’s available for Windows as well. Use instead of programs like SoundForge.

VioLet Composer: License: Open Source; Description: VioLet Composer is not a general audio editor, but rather a studio for writing music from scratch. As such, it’s really only for hardcore techies, but I include it here anyway.

EasyTag: License: Open Source; Description: EasyTag is an open-source program that can write detailed audio tags to a wide variety of formats. It can do mass tagging, pattern-based tagging, and a whole host of other features. It requires the GTK+ runtime.

Mp3Tag: License: Freeware; Description: Mp3Tag, despite its name, can tag just about any kind of audio file you’re likely to have. It’s Windows-only, uses native widgets, and is both flexible and powerful.

FLAC: License: Open Source; Description: FLAC is a lossless audio codec which produces a compression ratio of anywhere from 30% to 70%, depending on the media. It boasts the best overall decoding speed, making it suitable for portable devices, and in fact FLAC does have the best hardware support. It is open-source and patent-free.

LAME: License: Open Source; Description: LAME is an MP3 encoder that was originally a patch on the ISO demonstration source, but has removed any traces of patented code. It produces the best quality MP3s of any encoder on the market, and has a well-developed psychoacoustic model. The home page does not offer any binary compilation—just source—because of legal issues, but fresh compilations are always available at RareWares

OGG Vorbis: License: Open Source; Description: Vorbis is a lossy audio codec (comparable to MP3) that uses the OGG container pioneered by the Xiph Foundation. It claims transparency at lower bitrates than MP3, and is royalty- and patent-free. However, it is computationally more expensive to decode than MP3, and doesn’t enjoy the same widespread compatibility.

WavPack: License: Open Source; Description: WavPack is a hybrid audio codec that can make either lossless files, or lossy files with a separate difference file which, when combines with the lossy file, will reform, Voltron-like, the original lossless file. It has compression rates and speeds comparable to FLAC, but enjoys considerably less support from software and hardware makers.