A revolution has long been ripened in the world of music, since the sound quality that is achieved by compressing files to standard formats such as MP3 to reduce the size of the sound file does not suit many music lovers. They are replaced by more and more new formats of uncompressed audio like FLAC. But here's the trouble - entire albums can be recorded as a single file, as a result of which it sometimes becomes impossible to switch between tracks when playing them even on a computer. But far from all users of modern computer technology know how to split FLAC into FLAC tracks or some other output format. Below are several solutions that will help fill this knowledge gap, and at the same time help to determine which of the described methods will be most convenient and fast to use.
What are FLAC, APE and CUE?
To begin, let's define the basic terms, from the understanding of which we will proceed further. In the most general sense, FLAC is one of the varieties of codecs designed for encoding audio in an uncompressed form (lossless), which eliminates the loss of quality during playback. In a particular case, FLAC can also be an extension of a sound file, which, like any other audio, can be played either on household players (if they support this format), or in software players on a computer.
APE is also a type of uncompressed audio and can contain a sufficiently large number of tracks, as if packed into one resulting file.
As an additional companion object containing information about all the sound tracks included in the main object, there is usually a special CUE file called a track map. It contains information regarding their name, playback order, frequency characteristics, etc. Thus, to figure out how to split FLAC into FLAC tracks or convert them to another uncompressed output format, you will need to establish a connection between the main files (FLAC and APE) in the sense of binding to a CUE object. But is it possible to perform such a partition without loss of quality and violation of the playback order or “undercutting” of tracks? As it turns out, you can! And even very simple!
How to split FLAC into separate tracks in software players?
Since the APE and FLAC files are very similar to each other, we will consider them together. The steps for converting them to separate tracks will not differ much. And for starters, you should learn that cutting source files is not always advisable.
If you listen to music on your computer using software players such as AIMP or Foobar, track information is automatically extracted from the CUE file, after which you can switch between tracks in the player as easily as if it were separate files. All recent versions of AIMP work with such formats flawlessly, but for Foobar you may need to install an additional plug-in.
How to split a FLAC file into tracks: the most complicated technique
Everything would be fine, but what if your player has never heard of CUE files, although it plays FLAC formats? How to split FLAC into tracks without quality loss in such a situation? All those who will not spare time for performing such operations can be advised to use professional and semi-professional audio editors (Sound Forge, Cool Edit Pro, Audition, etc.).
When you open the desired image file, you must select your preferred frequency characteristics and bit rate, which should match or even be higher than that of the original audio. After opening, the whole file will be displayed in wave form (like regular WAV or MP3). By increasing the scale, you can trim the desired tracks, and then save them as separate files. Of course, it will take a decent amount of time, but you yourself can adjust the sound material to your own parameters (and even put a lot of additional effects).
Medieval CUE Splitter App
But let's assume that you do not have such knowledge, or you simply do not want to spend precious time on all these actions. How to split a CUE file into FLAC tracks quickly and efficiently? In this situation, the easiest way to use the small application is Medieval CUE Splitter.
In the installed program, you just need to open the track map (the CUE file itself must be in the same directory as the FLAC or APE objects), after which you can immediately click the slicing button. If necessary, you can experiment a bit with the settings and indicate, say, in which formats the cut tracks will be saved, what encoding will be used in the tags, etc.
MediaHuman Audio Converter
Considering all the basic decisions regarding how to split FLAC into FLAC tracks or use a different format for the output, you cannot ignore the MediaHuman Audio Converter program, which performs the required actions no worse and allows you to change the output format in a fairly wide range. In the application, you just need to drag the source file into the workspace.
If there is a CUE card in the catalog, the program will prompt you to split into tracks automatically. Then you can specify the output format and click the start conversion button. As you can see, everything is simple.
Note: when installing the main application, especially pay attention to proposals for installing additional Yandex components, which can be rejected if necessary. Otherwise, they will be installed automatically, so then do not be surprised that you will have unnecessary services, active processes or links (shortcuts) on the "Desktop". In addition, some settings regarding the default browser used in the system may change.
Which is better to use?
How to split FLAC and FLAC tracks or convert the original audio data to any other format, figured out. But which software do you prefer? Probably, many will agree that cutting is not always necessary, because it is much easier to install a player that supports working with track cards, and completely do without manual cutting. Another thing is if you absolutely need to perform the splitting in order to later listen to music on a household player that does not know how to work with the original audio formats. In this situation, it is better to use the MediaHuman converter, since it has support for more output audio formats and is easier to use due to the complete automation of all processes (you only need to agree to the slicing and choose the format of the resulting tracks). However, if you think carefully, spending time, a slightly better result can still be achieved using sound editors, although for many this option may seem very uncomfortable.