Playing FLAC Files in E92

SS32 · 08-20-2008, 11:48 AM

I can play MP3s no problem using a flash drive, but I can't figure out how to play FLAC files, or if it's even possible. Could someone shed some light on this for me? I posted on M3post, but no one seems to know the answer.

gravediggingaditch · 08-20-2008, 11:51 AM

I don't have knowledge but i can't imagine it would play Flac files. . .
usually need some sort of decoder or plug-in for most players anyways. . .
Just decode the flac files to mp3s for your car.

Sick car by the way

tintivilus · 08-20-2008, 12:13 PM

If the file type isn't listed as supported you can't play it. I think the list is: mp3, aac, wma.

What led you to suspect flac was supported?

SS32 · 08-20-2008, 12:16 PM

Someone mentioned it in a flash drive discussion on M3post. They were talking about the speed of the flash drives and one was fast enough to play FLAC files, which made me believe that the car could do it. I really don't have many FLAC files, but I have a few that are very very good quality and my home theater speakers aren't as clear as the ones in the car, so I wanted to hear them in it.

Dolemite79 · 08-20-2008, 01:21 PM

if you are using a hard drive of flash drive you can't play FLAC files, the bit rate is to high for the system to process. Even Mp3's encoded at 320 may not play properly.

The solution?

convert your FLAC files to WMA lossless. WMA lossless is as good as FLAC. I did it with all my music in FLAC and it sounds great in the car and plays without a hitch. DBpowerconverter is a great program to use for this and I use it my self.

If you need any help let me know

SS32 · 08-20-2008, 06:43 PM

Good stuff, I didn't know WMA was as good as FLAC or I would have done that in the first place. Thanks.

Jeff Flowerday · 08-21-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowmoo32

Good stuff, I didn't know WMA was as good as FLAC or I would have done that in the first place. Thanks.

FLAC, WMA Lossless, Apple Lossless they all sound the same. The difference is in file size and processing power required to decode.

PS) The best lossless codec is the one that works on the most hardware in your house/car.

tintivilus · 08-21-2008, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowmoo32

Good stuff, I didn't know WMA was as good as FLAC or I would have done that in the first place. Thanks.

"WMA Lossless" != WMA. They're different codecs, and support for WMA doesn't necessarily imply support for WMA lossless. Same goes for WMA Pro, incidentally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Flowerday

PS) The best lossless codec is the one that works on the most hardware in your house/car.

...which is why I use Apple Lossless and an iPod adapter. It also helps that support for ALAC in third-party hardware is improving.

SS32 · 08-21-2008, 03:38 PM

I have the ipod adapter (tech package) but it still uses the aux input which doesn't sound very good to me. I'll try converting it to WMA lossless and using a flash drive.

tintivilus · 08-21-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowmoo32

I have the ipod adapter (tech package) but it still uses the aux input which doesn't sound very good to me. I'll try converting it to WMA lossless and using a flash drive.

Make sure you let us know if 6FL can decode WMA Lossless. I'm skeptical

SS32 · 08-21-2008, 08:23 PM

Like I said earlier, I'm basing a lot of what I say on what I read on M3post

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcellere

Jason/mods, please don't move this to the Audio section. Being most people don't view that forum, I thought this would help the good amount of people that are getting the iPod adapter.

I started another topic a while back asking about what a good choice for a USB flash would be. After a ton of research, I settled on the Corsair Flash Voyager 8GB. I've had the unit for about three weeks now and can give a brief synopsis of its overall quality.

It's encased in sturdy and firm rubber padding. Tests have shown that you can run it over and it'll remain in pristine quality. This is unlike many earlier USB flash drives that were in normal plastic housings that could break without much harassment.

The unit I bought in particular is the 8GB version, which holds roughly 1,300 songs in 320kbps quality. A main factor in considering a flash drive is it's read speed, and the Flash Voyager is the fastest unit on the market (outside of its more expensive brother the Flash Voyager GT). It's average read speed is 38 mb/s, which is a great deal faster than other drives that average around 8 mb/s. Even if you're sending FLAC quality songs through your amp, there won't be any lag time in requesting the song and it appearing through the speakers.

The MAJOR plus in running a USB flash drive instead of your iPhone/iPod as the host of your MP3s is that iPhones/iPods process the audio signal and they do it in analog only. Flash drives on the other hand don't do any of the processing at all. They hand that task over to the unit installed in your car which in turn does it digitally, thus giving a more pristine representation of the original MP3/WAV's quality.

The Voyager comes with a USB extension cable that allows you to clear the height restriction in our tiny armrests. Overall I think this is the ideal piece of hardware to use with the iPod adapter that many of us will be getting. If anyone's interested, Newegg has a good deal on it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233037

Winston1961 · 08-22-2008, 01:49 AM

WMA Lossless is supported and the sound is very good. You can use the Ipod as an external harddrive, put your WMA files on ite, connected it only through the USB port with the cable that you use to connect the Ipod to your computer.
MP3, WMA an WAV files are supported (AAC is not supported)

slick101 · 08-22-2008, 02:37 AM

it is possible... i have had a couple of FLACC files that i playes in my e92... burned it into a cd and played it.... it worked fine.... the sound was very crispy....

Winston1961 · 08-22-2008, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick101

it is possible... i have had a couple of FLACC files that i playes in my e92... burned it into a cd and played it.... it worked fine.... the sound was very crispy....

FLAC is not supported by 6FL option. I think that de program you used to burn the CD convert the files to WAV.

Meats · 09-22-2008, 12:24 PM

Hey bro,

I just converted my collection to WMA lossless from FLAC using Media Monkey. The car recognizes the files, I can see them when i browse by directory, but when I try to play any of them, they dont work.

Any ideas on things I should try. I really, really, want to have my lossless available in my car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dolemite79

if you are using a hard drive of flash drive you can't play FLAC files, the bit rate is to high for the system to process. Even Mp3's encoded at 320 may not play properly.

The solution?

convert your FLAC files to WMA lossless. WMA lossless is as good as FLAC. I did it with all my music in FLAC and it sounds great in the car and plays without a hitch. DBpowerconverter is a great program to use for this and I use it my self.

If you need any help let me know

Winston1961 · 09-22-2008, 12:38 PM

When using MediaMonkey you have several options for WMA (WMA, WMA pro, WMA lossless, WMA speeach). I have choose WMA lossless and it works fine.
As far as I know, WMA pro is not supported. Maybe you make the wrong choice.

kilmoremick · 09-22-2008, 12:57 PM

Check this link http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html
I always use dbpoweramp music converter to batch convert flac files to mp3/aac etc.- works very well.

Meats · 09-22-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston1961

When using MediaMonkey you have several options for WMA (WMA, WMA pro, WMA lossless, WMA speeach). I have choose WMA lossless and it works fine.
As far as I know, WMA pro is not supported. Maybe you make the wrong choice.

I did WMA lossless and could not get the files to play. They show up in the directory just fine, but when I click on one to play, it never starts up. Previously, my drive in my car had the same # of MP3s on it, never had an issue.

Any ideas on how I can get lossless to work in my car via the USB?

Winston1961 · 09-23-2008, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkurgan

I did WMA lossless and could not get the files to play. They show up in the directory just fine, but when I click on one to play, it never starts up. Previously, my drive in my car had the same # of MP3s on it, never had an issue.

Any ideas on how I can get lossless to work in my car via the USB?

I have no idee about the problems you have. The only thing I can recomend is try knew WMA lossless file on an USB stick. Maybe you have a problem whit the conection, the hard drive or the files.

jonywalker · 09-23-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston1961

I have no idee about the problems you have. The only thing I can recomend is try knew WMA lossless file on an USB stick. Maybe you have a problem whit the conection, the hard drive or the files.

slick101 has said the CD-player does support Flac. It may be true that the HU doesn't play through USB connection because of bandwidth bottleneck. How about APE, another lossless audio codec?

Winston1961 · 09-24-2008, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonywalker

slick101 has said the CD-player does support Flac. It may be true that the HU doesn't play through USB connection because of bandwidth bottleneck. How about APE, another lossless audio codec?

There is no support for Flac or Ape. The only lossless format that are supported are: WMA lossless and WAV.

jml · 12-31-2008, 03:25 PM

What I have found is that the internal HD on the 09 system will not play back Lossless WMA. A USB stick, however, will. Go figure.

08-20-2008, 11:48 AM	#1
SS32 Major 163 Rep 1,427 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Playing FLAC Files in E92 I can play MP3s no problem using a flash drive, but I can't figure out how to play FLAC files, or if it's even possible. Could someone shed some light on this for me? I posted on M3post, but no one seems to know the answer. __________________ V1 DIY - Blinder M45 DIY - Exhaust Cutouts - Removed Clutch Pedal Spring DIY - Fiamm Air Horns
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08-20-2008, 11:51 AM	#2
gravediggingaditch Lieutenant 21 Rep 425 Posts Drives: '08 e92 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami iTrader: (0)	I don't have knowledge but i can't imagine it would play Flac files. . . usually need some sort of decoder or plug-in for most players anyways. . . Just decode the flac files to mp3s for your car. Sick car by the way __________________ BMW 335i - e92 Ordered: 4.23.08 Picked Up: 6.19.08 Blk Saph, Black Lthr, Alum, 230s, Man, Prem Pkg, Sprt Pkg, Navi, Prk Dst, CA, iPod, Cstm Pedals, Pntd Reflctrs, GP Thundrs, 30% Huper Optik Tints / 60% Wndshld, Euro Fogs
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08-20-2008, 12:13 PM	#3
tintivilus Lieutenant Colonel 26 Rep 1,826 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Lake County, IL iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 E92 335i [0.00] 2003 325i [0.00]	If the file type isn't listed as supported you can't play it. I think the list is: mp3, aac, wma. What led you to suspect flac was supported?
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08-20-2008, 12:16 PM	#4
SS32 Major 163 Rep 1,427 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Someone mentioned it in a flash drive discussion on M3post. They were talking about the speed of the flash drives and one was fast enough to play FLAC files, which made me believe that the car could do it. I really don't have many FLAC files, but I have a few that are very very good quality and my home theater speakers aren't as clear as the ones in the car, so I wanted to hear them in it. __________________ V1 DIY - Blinder M45 DIY - Exhaust Cutouts - Removed Clutch Pedal Spring DIY - Fiamm Air Horns
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08-20-2008, 01:21 PM	#5
Dolemite79 Second Lieutenant 92 Rep 212 Posts Drives: 19 z06 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ft.lauderdale iTrader: (0)	if you are using a hard drive of flash drive you can't play FLAC files, the bit rate is to high for the system to process. Even Mp3's encoded at 320 may not play properly. The solution? convert your FLAC files to WMA lossless. WMA lossless is as good as FLAC. I did it with all my music in FLAC and it sounds great in the car and plays without a hitch. DBpowerconverter is a great program to use for this and I use it my self. If you need any help let me know
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08-20-2008, 06:43 PM	#6
SS32 Major 163 Rep 1,427 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Good stuff, I didn't know WMA was as good as FLAC or I would have done that in the first place. Thanks. __________________ V1 DIY - Blinder M45 DIY - Exhaust Cutouts - Removed Clutch Pedal Spring DIY - Fiamm Air Horns
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08-21-2008, 03:38 PM	#9
SS32 Major 163 Rep 1,427 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	I have the ipod adapter (tech package) but it still uses the aux input which doesn't sound very good to me. I'll try converting it to WMA lossless and using a flash drive. __________________ V1 DIY - Blinder M45 DIY - Exhaust Cutouts - Removed Clutch Pedal Spring DIY - Fiamm Air Horns
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-22-2008, 01:49 AM	#12
Winston1961 Member 7 Rep 42 Posts Drives: 335i Touring Join Date: May 2008 Location: The Netherlands iTrader: (0)	WMA Lossless is supported and the sound is very good. You can use the Ipod as an external harddrive, put your WMA files on ite, connected it only through the USB port with the cable that you use to connect the Ipod to your computer. MP3, WMA an WAV files are supported (AAC is not supported)
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08-22-2008, 02:37 AM	#13
slick101 Lieutenant 47 Rep 558 Posts Drives: 07 335i coupe Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: ny iTrader: (1) Garage List 2007 E92 335i [0.00]	it is possible... i have had a couple of FLACC files that i playes in my e92... burned it into a cd and played it.... it worked fine.... the sound was very crispy.... __________________
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09-22-2008, 12:38 PM	#16
Winston1961 Member 7 Rep 42 Posts Drives: 335i Touring Join Date: May 2008 Location: The Netherlands iTrader: (0)	When using MediaMonkey you have several options for WMA (WMA, WMA pro, WMA lossless, WMA speeach). I have choose WMA lossless and it works fine. As far as I know, WMA pro is not supported. Maybe you make the wrong choice. __________________ BMW 335iA Touring, Blue Onyx Metalic, Black Dakota Leather, Active Front Steering, Active cruise control,Comfort opening, Shadow line, iDrive, Individual High End Audiosystem, 6FL
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09-22-2008, 12:57 PM	#17
kilmoremick New Member 1 Rep 7 Posts Drives: bmw 3 E90 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Check this link http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html I always use dbpoweramp music converter to batch convert flac files to mp3/aac etc.- works very well.
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12-31-2008, 03:25 PM	#22
jml Major 130 Rep 1,144 Posts Drives: X5M, GT3RS, GT4 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (3)	What I have found is that the internal HD on the 09 system will not play back Lossless WMA. A USB stick, however, will. Go figure.
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