Convert FLAC to MP3
FLAC is a lossless audio codec - the decoded samples are bit-exact against the original master. Wave decodes FLAC to PCM in your browser and re-encodes to MP3 at 192 kbps VBR through libmp3lame. The result is transparent on any consumer playback gear at roughly 40% of the FLAC file's size. If FLAC vs MP3 (lossless vs lossy) is fuzzy, Audio codecs explained covers the map.
What actually changes
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) was released by Xiph.Org in 2001 as the royalty-free answer to Apple Lossless and Windows Media Audio Lossless. Its compression is bit-exact reversible: the samples that come out of the FLAC decoder are the exact samples the encoder was given, and the file size lands at typically 50-60% of the equivalent WAV. That combination - lossless like WAV, roughly half the size - made FLAC the standard for music archiving, high-resolution audio downloads, and CD ripping over the last two decades.
The conversion is always a re-encode. FLAC and MP3 share no bitstream compatibility - FLAC is lossless, MP3 is a lossy perceptual codec - so Wave decodes the FLAC file to PCM samples through the libavcodec FLAC decoder and hands them to libmp3lame at 192 kbps VBR (LAME -q:a 2). Everything audible in the source is preserved in the MP3; what LAME strips is content the human auditory system can't detect at that bitrate.
FLAC files often carry high-resolution audio - 24-bit / 96 kHz or 24-bit / 192 kHz downloads from Bandcamp, Qobuz, HDtracks, Native DSD Music, and similar high-resolution audio stores. LAME handles higher bit depths and sample rates transparently through its internal float pipeline; the MP3 output resamples to 44.1 or 48 kHz as appropriate and drops the bit-depth headroom to 16-bit-equivalent perceptual precision. On consumer playback (any speaker or headphone rated for consumer listening), the extra bit depth and sample rate produce zero audible benefit anyway; the MP3 preserves everything a human ear can detect.
Because Wave's pipeline runs on your device, the FLAC files people usually convert - private music libraries, high-resolution downloads they paid for, or ripped CDs they own - stay entirely local. This matters more than for smaller audio files: a full CD-quality FLAC album is 200-400 MB, and the multi-hour concert recordings audio enthusiasts collect run into the gigabytes. Uploading them to a converter round-trips potentially hours of bandwidth; Wave skips the upload entirely.
Three steps.
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Step 1
Drop the .flac file onto the card.
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Step 2
Wave inspects the source and confirms Decode-and-re-encode - FLAC to MP3 is always a lossy re-encode.
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Step 3
Convert. Save the MP3.
Answers, specifically.
Is the MP3 lossless like the FLAC?
No - MP3 is a lossy format by definition. But at 192 kbps VBR (LAME -q:a 2), the difference from lossless is below the audible threshold on any consumer playback gear. Critical listening on studio monitors is the only scenario that reliably distinguishes them, and even there, the material has to be tonally dense.
How much smaller is the MP3?
The MP3 is typically 30-40% of the FLAC's size. A 300 MB FLAC album becomes a 100 MB MP3 album; a 600 MB 24-bit 96 kHz FLAC download becomes an 85 MB MP3.
High-resolution FLAC (24-bit 96/192 kHz)?
Yes. Wave decodes at native precision; LAME encodes to MP3 at 192 kbps VBR. The extra bit depth and sample rate exceed the audible threshold for human hearing, so the MP3 preserves everything an ear can detect.
Do FLAC tags carry over?
Basic tags (title, artist, album, track number, year) transfer to the MP3's ID3v2 frame. Album art doesn't transfer through the current pipeline - use a desktop tag editor if you need the artwork.
FLAC files with embedded cue sheets (whole-album single files)?
Wave converts the entire FLAC to a single MP3 file. If you need the album split into per-track MP3s, use a desktop tool like fre:ac or Xiph's flac + shntool to split by cue sheet first, then convert each piece with Wave.
Ogg FLAC vs native FLAC?
Both work. Native .flac (Xiph's own container) is more common; some archives use FLAC-in-Ogg (.oga). Wave decodes both through the FLAC decoder.
Multi-channel FLAC (surround-sound audio)?
Downmixed to stereo before the MP3 encode using the standard SMPTE fold. FLAC doesn't typically carry explicit downmix metadata; the result preserves dialogue centering and approximate effects positioning.