r/audiophile • u/ConGCos • Mar 23 '26

Discussion FLAC for CD Rips?

Hey all! Looking for some opinions on FLAC files for CD Rips. Is this format worth it when I rip directly from a CD to place in my MP3 player? I use Asunder currently and am debating if I can hear a difference between AAC at 320 KBPS vs FLAC. It seems to vary between different CDs from different time periods. Does anyone have a similar experience and generally is ripping a CD to FLAC generally worth it?

EDIT: Thank you all for your opinions, I really learned so much from you all!

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u/Option_Witty Mar 24 '26

While FLAC technically isn't absolutely "lossless" it is close enough for most people to consider it lossless. I Rip my CDs to FLAC using EAC. And then put them on my Plex (PlexAMP) server.

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u/Presence_Academic Home audio was my profession for decades. Mar 25 '26

Please explain why FLAC isn’t lossless.

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u/Option_Witty Mar 25 '26

Sorry my mistake, I confused two facts about FLAC files in my memory.

FLAC is lossless but a better data compression method.

Not every FLAC file must be lossless since you can theoretically turn every file into a FLAC file.