Have you ever wondered what file format truly gives you CD-quality music for your precious headphone rig? Welcome to the world of lossless audio codecs! This compares two leading uncompressed formats—ALAC and FLAC—to help you choose the right one for your listening needs and devices.
Why Care About Lossless Audio?
Let’s first understand the core need here. Music files can eat up storage space quick. Compressed formats like MP3 solve that by shrinking sizes drastically through “lossy” compression. But this irreversibly sheds audio data, impacting fidelity.
Lossless codecs lose no audio quality while compressing files by 50-60% by eliminating just superfluous bits. The uncompressed sound can be perfectly reconstructed from such “smartly shrunk” files. No wonder lossless records have become the gold standard for archiving music or enjoying high-resolution songs uncompressed!
Now, on to the formats that get you this magic of “smaller sizes, CD-quality sound”…
Introducing ALAC and FLAC
ALAC or Apple Lossless Audio Codec is a proprietary format fittingly developed by Apple in 2004. As the name suggests, it was built to integrate lossless audio into their iTunes and iOS ecosystem.
On the other hand, FLAC or Free Lossless Audio Codec is an open-source format created in 2001 by Josh Coalson and the Xiph.Org Foundation. Its royalty-free nature has led to widespread adoption beyond just music.
But can either give you that high-fidelity listening nirvana? Let’s decode their lossless compression first…
How Lossless Audio Compression Works
Lossless encoders analyze the waveforms to identify repetitive patterns and statistical redundancies without compromising sound data. The algorithms get complex but broadly work like this:
As you can see above, repetitive sound waves are stored just once then referenced to reconstruct identical patterns subsequently. Additional musical parameters captured aid precise decompressing while still cutting down sizes substantially.
The beauty lies in absolutely no loss of detail. Those efficient “smarter” files retain the sampling depth and rate to deliver identical, uncompressed sound when decoded during playback!
Let’s see how our two formats compare on technical capabilities:
| Audio Codec | Max. Sampling Depth | Sampling Rate | File Size Saving | Time to Encode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALAC | 24-bit | 192 kHz | 50-60% | Very Fast |
| FLAC | 32-bit float | 655350 Hz | 50-55% | Moderate time |
Key Insight: FLAC supports incredibly high sample rates for archiving but practically ALAC and FLAC both retain original CD-quality perfectly when compressed.
I don’t know about you but my ears can’t really tell 16-bit from 32-bit audio! So while FLAC wins on technical prowess, both achieve functional lossless performance.
File Size Savings
On average expect 50-60% file size reduction for both formats relative to uncompressed records like WAV/AIFF. Here are two examples:
The Beatles – Abbey Road (24-bit/192kHz album)
- Uncompressed WAV – 1.3 GB
- ALAC – 579 MB (~55% smaller)
- FLAC – 563 MB (~57% smaller)
Michael Jackson – Thriller (16-bit/44.1kHz album)
- Uncompressed WAV – 396 MB
- ALAC – 193 MB (~51% file size savings)
- FLAC – 182 MB (~54% file size savings)
As seen above, FLAC edges out ALAC slightly when compressing further without compromising CD-quality audio reproduction. But average music lovers are unlikely to differentiate compressed from original no matter what format they use!
Hardware and Software Compatibility
This is a key consideration in deciding between the two lossless champions! Let‘s break down format support across devices:
| Device/Software | ALAC support | FLAC support |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Ecosystem | ||
| iOS devices | Yes, native support | Not supported |
| macOS/iTunes | Seamless integration and playback | Needs conversion to play in iTunes |
| Entertainment Hardware | ||
| Android Smartphones | Limited compatibility | Supported natively in most Androids |
| Gaming Consoles | Partial support on PS5/Xbox | More compatibility via DLNA/USB playback |
| Streaming boxes | Needs format conversion | Better native support on Roku/Fire TV/Nvidia Shield |
| Audio Players and Software | ||
| Windows/macOS media players | Limited without iTunes installed | Excellent player support like MusicBee, VLC etc |
| Audio apps on iOS/Android | Apple Music and others play ALAC | Apps like UAPP, Neutron better for FLAC playback |
Key Insight: ALAC reigns supreme on Apple devices while FLAC offers cross-platform flexibility
As seen above, ALAC and FLAC compatibility vary significantly across playback scenarios even though both are lossless:
- For iPhone/iPad/Mac users deeply embedded in Apple’s ecosystem, ALAC offers seamless integration across devices via iTunes Match and iCloud Music libraries
- Beyond iOS devices, limited player/app support for ALAC means format conversion may be needed before enjoying songs
- FLAC‘s open royalty-free nature instead enables excellent cross-platform support on Windows, gaming consoles and streaming devices via DLNA and USB playback
- While FLAC can‘t natively play on iPhones, wider hardware support makes it a flexibile archival format for high-resolution music libraries
So weigh your personal devices and audio software needs as well when picking between the two.
Sourcing Lossless Music Online
- Where can you buy songs and albums in lossless quality online? Here are top options with ALAC and FLAC availability:
Purchasing Lossless Music
- HDtracks – Extensive catalog with albums in 96kHz/24-bit available as ALAC & FLAC
- 7digital – Large music library with songs for purchase encoded in either format
- Bandcamp – Directly from artists! Expect more niche/underground stuff here
Lossless Music Streaming
- Tidal – Offers lossless CD-quality streams playable on ALAC/FLAC supporting devices
- Qobuz – Higher resolution streams (up to 192 kHz/24-bit) playable as ALAC or FLAC
- Plexamp – Plex server app letting you stream personal lossless files
Key Insight: All leading lossless music sources offer both formats! Check your streaming device capability before subscribing.
Based on your listening hardware, you can source lossless music accordingly from the above sources that offer extensive ALAC + FLAC options.
Converting Losslessly Between ALAC and FLAC
You may need to transcode files between formats to enhance device support. Fortunately, this interconversion between ALAC and FLAC happens without any quality loss!
On Windows, free software tools like XLD or fre:ac enable smooth ALAC to FLAC conversion and vice versa. For Mac users, Max convertor app lets you transcode into your preferred lossless codec. Alternatively, right click > Encode the file into your target format.
Online audio converters like CloudConvert also allow interconversions retaining 100% lossless quality. Their parallel processing can speed up bulk file format shifts from ALAC to FLAC or back based on listening needs.
So feel free to transcode existing music libraries into your optimal lossless format without compromising audio fidelity at all!
Summarizing the Lossless Face-Off!
- For archival & desktop listening, FLAC is more flexible
- If deeply invested in Apple ecosystem, ALAC makes more sense
- On high-end gear, lossless files sound indistinguishable during playback
- You can switch seamlessly between formats without any quality loss!
Finally, don’t get obsessed over differences unlikely to be audible. Instead, pick the right file format based on your personal devices and listen to sublime lossless music as the artistes intended!
