Is FLAC really lossless? / Do compression settings make a difference?, [Was “Question Regarding Conversion of WAV/AIFF to FLAC”—TOS#6—Ask it] Options

[xdesirex22]

Hello everyone, i have recently started converting all of my WAV/AIFF files to FLAC to save space, as i have read from various sources that FLAC is indeed true lossless. I am using XLD on Mac, with the settings seen here in this image:


XLD by tstirling7, on Flickr

Will these settings yield a true lossless conversion? I need to confirm because at some point i am going to be deleting my WAV/AIFF files, and i want to be completely sure that i am not making a mistake when i do this. I was listening to both the AIFF and FLAC of a track today, and i could've sworn the AIFF sounded a little bit louder and punchier, but i can be a bit paranoid (for lack of a better word) at times about things like this so i could've been hearing things.

Also, i have a second question. I read on a forum somewhere that audio conversion programs aren't perfect so with each conversion comes a small (possibly inaudible) loss in quality. This made sense to me. but my question is, How much does this loss in quality really matter? Is this even true with a program like XLD? thank you for your time.

[db1989]

Some people don’t want, or care, to use a non-default setting to gain what might be a negligible saving of space but also a sizeable increase in the processing power and time required. It’s a game of juggling numbers.

Have a look at the tests others have previously done, or—better—test a few files for yourself, assessing whether the additional time is worth the reduction in space.

It’s no more complex than that, certainly not a case of there being some shady reason for the choice. (Analogy: the option to read audio CDs at different speeds was recently invoked by a woo-wizard as evidence of this having some bearing on quality [in non-exceptional cases].)