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FLAC On A Mac

I know this topic appears here often but it seems to change every time I try to do a download.
I have a 7 year old MacBook Pro that i recently changed to OS to El Capitan after endless badgering from Apple to do so.  I previously had both XLD and Decibel on my OS for converting FLAC to Mac Compatible formats for the few downloads that I had ordered from HD Tracks.  
  I hadn't listenedto these downloads since the afore mentioned conversion.  i just ordered a new download (24 bit) from Presto Clasical and now I am getting messages that both programs will not work because they are from unknown developers.  Why these developers have become strangers to Apple after happily coexisting with them is another story but can someone tell me what the current best program for playing these files is>  My Internet search is unhelpful as everything seems to be recommending these two programs
mahler123

Showing 8 responses by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
If you drag the XLD icon to the bar at the bottom of your screen it will stay there all the time. Then whenever you open Finder and drag a file down to the icon at the bottom, XLD will open and start converting. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Check your settings in XLD PREFERENCES>GENERAL tab and make sure you have it set to AIFF. If it's set to FLAC, it will bounce because there would be nothing to convert going from FLAC to FLAC. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Since Apple has legal interest in AIFF and some companies don't pay any fees to Apple they get uncomfortable mentioning AIFF compatibility. Ran into that with a few portable digital players too. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
"Oppo will play WAV, not AIFF." That is not correct. I owned an Oppo 105 and 105D and both play AIFF fine. I did this using the digital inputs on both the front and the back with no issues. Seen many other Oppo owners do the same.  

What do you mean by "monitor"? Hardware, software? The only monitor I know of is a pair of small speakers used in a studio.

For mac music software, Audirvana+, Amarra & Pure Music are the top ones. You can trial them all & decide for yourself. JRiver was made for Windows, and just recently released for Mac to mixed reviews. I haven't heard it so no opinion. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
ALAC isn't compatible with every music playback software, and I refuse to let Apple control the agenda in my listening when they pretty much exemplify the big brother character in their famous "1984" ad. Their software also sound lousy and their operating systems strategy and constant upgrades do their best to plan obsolescence of their hardware. I used to love Apple for their design and apparent simplicity of GUI. Then I woke up and although I still must say that I love my iPad, I am more often than not in the anti-Apple camp. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
iTunes sounds lousy, period.
A+ sounds relatively lousy running in iTunes integrated mode vs. standalone mode.
A+, Amarra & PureMusic sound about the same with some folks feeling more strongly about one or the other, all on Macs.
IMHE, getting the disk-spinning CD player, mac or pc out of the equation entirely is the big leap forward. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Probably because top sound quality isn't Apple's goal. Selling you more stuff is. So they are always trying to lure you into their store, run multiple background processes that use more voltage, etc. & generate more noise.
All the other software sounds better. 
iTunes also frequently creates duplicate listings in its library and exhibits other quirky behavior like splitting songs from the same into two albums whenever a guest artist is "featured" on a track or two. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
@randy-11 

Randy, even with changed options in iTunes, album splitting still occurs on some albums and other software doesn't have this annoyance.

You'd have to ask Apple about all the processes running in their O/S and iTunes. If you read the hundreds of pages on CA written by Damien the author of Audirvana+ or by the HQ Player guy, Miska, they comment at length on some aspects of that. I am not going to repeat it all here for you. It's long, technical and some of it is over my head.

I have no interest in wasting my time detailing my listening protocol for you. It's pretty clear that you are skeptical of my claims and that's fine with me. Try the free demoes of the suggested software with your own ears, rig & listening protocol and decide what's best for you. I'm here to help people not get into a pissing match over Applelove or whatever. Cheers,

Spencer

  
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