i have been testing FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) as a compression method for a special itunes library of lossless audio and in case anyone is interested i have found a couple of bits of mac freeware that seem really good : xAct and Fluke.

xAct is an audio compressor which encodes and decodes FLAC and a number of other codecs. you drag the files, straight out of the CD if you like, into the programme’s icon and away it goes. once the tracks are encoded you fire up Fluke and it imports them into itunes for your listening pleasure, retaining the FLAC encoding of course.

the first CD i did was at 4 am jetlagged and discombobulated and if i can do it in that state anyone can. appropriately enough it was Entertainment! by the Gang of Four (1979) = 50 minutes of music = 317Mb and worth every bit and byte : i am no audiophile but the record sounds wonderful through my little KingRex CLASST+U amplifier which sucks the digits right out of my USB hole.

amazingly crisp, cold and hard - yet … warm and sweet.

better than on CD?

possibly!