Converting Audio Mp3 To Flac - Track Order And Metadata?

[asrose]

Problems with converting an already ripped audio CD. Original MP3 rip preserved original track order and most metadata. When I up-covert to FLAC using Toast 11, the track order is lost as is any metadata. Is there a way to have Toast preserve this when converting MP3 to FLAC??

[tsantee]

My guess is the source mp3 files have digits such as 01, 02 at the start of their file names when viewed in the Finder but Toast removes those when the tracks are added to Toast. The digits in the file name keep the order because mp3s are organized alphanumerically. So one thing you can do is manually enter those digits in the file name so they become part of the FLAC file name.

 

As for the metadata, I just did a test and the resulting FLAC file when added back to Toast had the album, artist, track and track artist names. What else do you need? One thing to check is after adding the mp3s to Toast select a track and choose Get Track Info... from the Toast Disc menu. Click the "Disc" tab to see if the album and album artist info is present. If not, enter it before converting to FLAC.

 

I'm curious what the purpose is of converting from mp3 to FLAC.

[asrose]

Thanks. I have been manually adding the numbers to the FLAC file. I was trying to find out if the was a method to do have Toast do it automatically. Up-converting to FLAC since its a lossless audio format, similar to Apple Lossless Flies, and should produce better audio quality when played through a high-end high resolution stereo system.

[hermie54]

I sincerely doubt you will get better audio quality because the damage has already been done while creating the lossy MP3. Converting to FLAC or Monkey's Audio cannot make the already lost data magically reappear. The proof is in the spectrum.

[tsantee]

I sincerely doubt you will get better audio quality because the damage has already been done while creating the lossy MP3. Converting to FLAC or Monkey's Audio cannot make the already lost data magically reappear. The proof is in the spectrum.

That's what I was thinking. Having a lossless copy of an mp3 track is no different from playing the mp3 itself, and a lot less hassle.

[asrose]

All correct. I'm back to re-ripping the CDs (all 600) to FLAC format. Oh well.

[hermie54]

Using XLD I hope, the closest to Windows EAC. It has a batch mode if I remember correctly (never used it myself) and when in doubt you can Google for the best settings.