Brief Introduction on FLAC
Jul 25, 2017 Did you know that the built-in Groove Music app can play FLAC files? Until recently, I didn't. The very fact it's there in every install of Windows 10 means it's an excellent, free way to listen.
FLAC, short for Free Lossless Audio Codec, not only offers the same quality as the original audio file but takes up much less space on your hard drive. However, its limited compatibility often pushes people to convert FLAC to MP3 or other more widely-used audio formats. Such inconveniences seem to be exaggerated for Mac users as Apple devices. Jul 29, 2013 Fluke is a nice software Though FLAC is open-source and royalty-free format, it is not a compatible audio format with iTunes and with all Apple devices. In order to import FLAC to iTunes, a recommended solution is to convert FLAC to Apple friendly audio formats so that you can play FLAC with iTunes, iPad, the new iPad 3, iPhone and iPod, etc.
FLAC ( Free Lossless Audio Codec) is a file format that offers perfect copies of digital audios but at half the size. Similar to Apple Lossless (ALAC), Microsoft’s WMV and WMA Lossless, FLAC is also an open-source file format for lossless compression of digital audio. It even gradually developed itself into the best alternative to the above mentioned lossless file formats due to their limited features. For example, the popular WAV format, though compatible with all iOS devices cannot retain “tag” data such as artist, album name and etc. And files saved in WAV file format is larger than that in other formats like FLAC, while maintaining the quality of the original file. Moreover, FLAC files are available roughly at the same price as the equivalent MP3 in online stores and can deliver better sound quality.
Flac Player For Mac
Since FLAC is one of the most popular file formats, various corresponding players could be compatible and available. Here, we have listed the top 5 FLAC players for Mac users.
What are the Top 5 FLAC Players for Mac Users?
Top 1. Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac
This FREE Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac is an all-in-one player for various video and audio files with loss-less quality, which can support all common and uncommon file formats including FLAC, WMV, MP4, AVI, FLV, MKV, M4V, MP3, AAC, and so on. What’s more, by no means is it a single player machine for playing media files. Instead, it can also play Blu-ray discs/folders/ISO files on iMac and Macbook without any hassle. And its advanced technology like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc., is able to to offer an extraordinary visual experience for Mac users, since it can delicately play every image, every action, without any quality losses be it still or moving. That’s not all!
With this software, you can fully control the file playback and have a customized visual experience to your own preference by changing the playback settings like subtitle, audio/video settings as needed and wanted. And the feature of virtual remote control enables users to smoothly manage the playback while cozily lying in the sofa. Best of all, it is totally for FREE and you don’t have to pay any single cent to get this almighty yet easy-to-use player! You can’t imagine how simple it is to operate this powerful Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac software!
Steps to play FLAC on Mac:
Step 1. Open the installed software on your Mac computer and then load the source FLAC file to the main interface of this software.
Step 2. After that, you can change the playback settings as you liked and wanted. Here, you can select the subtitle that you want to display or directly load the external subtitle, and readjust the video or audio settings respectively to have your own personalized playback.
Finally, you can freely enjoy your movie or video playback.
Top 2. Vox Player (Mac)
Vox Player is a professional player which can be used for FLAC playback as well as other audio/video file playback. It can support all various popular formats like ALAC, DSD, PCM, APE, and M4A. Moreover, this player also allows users to stream Youtube videos, listen to internet radio, search and manage music songs. However, using this player requires high CPU and RAM, so it may slow your computer operations while using this player. What makes things even worse is that it sometimes even goes on par with iTunes.
Top 3. VLC Media Player for Mac
If you just want to play local FLAC files on Mac computer, you can also rely on this VLC Media Player. This open-source media player is compatible with all audio/video formats including AAC, AC3, ALAC, AMR, DTS, DV Audio, XM, FLAC and so on. More importantly, aside from FLAC files, this all-in-one software can also support discs, CDs, webcams and many more. But similar to the Vox Player as introduced in the above, this VLC Media Player occupies high CPU storage space.
Top 4. Winamp for Mac
This Winamp software is an easy-to-use and powerful player which is compatible with almost all music and video formats, and of course FLAC file format is included. Moreover, it supports a number of languages. This media player has two different versions, i.e. the free version and pro version ($19.95) for users.
Top 5. 5K Player for Mac
Rip Cd To Flac Mac
5K player is actually a handy media player for users, which is able to play back FLAC file, ALAC, MP3, AAC original audio data, as well as broken/corrupted FLAC files. Similar to all the media players as listed in the above, this 5K Player is also fully compatible with all common and uncommon video and audio formats.
Words in The End:
Now, every Mac users might have already get the basic introduction on the top 5 FLAC player in the market. And you can then choose a desired one to play FLAC media files to your own preference. But while picking out one, you need to weigh its advantages and disadvantages. Generally speaking, each of the above 5 FLAC players can support almost all video/audio formats, but not all are FREE ones like the pro version of Winamp! Also, some may occupy high CPU while in service like Vox Player and VLC Media Player. So if you want to play FLAC on Mac while engaging yourself in some other events like online shopping, you are suggested to try another tool. And compared with 5K Player, though it is more powerful, this FREE Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac has a relatively simpler user interface, allowing you to finish the FLAC file playback in a smooth ways. Anyway, you can actually download all the free trial versions to pick out your favorite one!
Do you have FLAC audio files on your Mac you want to play? Are you on the verge of giving up looking for ways on how to play FLAC audio file on your Mac? While iTunes is not one of your options, there are a lot of ways to play FLAC on Mac. Before we share with you the method we know, let us first find out what a FLAC file is.
What is FLAC Audio File
Free Lossless Audio Codec, or simply FLAC, is a file that is in lossless audio compression format. It’s the replica of an uncompressed high-quality audio file, be it an mp3 from a CD or other audio sources. Since it is compressed, it consumes larger storage space. However, because it is also lossless, its sound quality is excellent. Now, who uses these files?
Although music producers, audio engineers, music fanatics, sound editors, and audiophiles are the people who typically use these files, FLACs are also useful for non-music pros. You can use these files for editing, listening, or recording the best and highest possible quality of an audio track. The only downside of having these FLAC files is that they cannot be played on iTunes. So, if you own a Mac and you are looking to play these files, we suggest you look for other music players.
Play FLAC Files With VLC
It is true that there are lots of FLAC audio players available for MAC, but the most popular and most convenient to use is VLC. Aside from the fact that it is free, the reason why this audio and video player is preferred by many is it is so versatile. Though VLC is generally thought of like a video or movie player, which it is, it’s some Swiss army knife that is capable of playing some audio and video formats, including FLAC files. And take note that it does not only work on Mac– it also runs on Windows, Android, and Linux. Here’s how you play your FLAC files using VLC:
- If you haven’t installed VLC on your Mac yet, download it first from its developer website.
- After downloading, install it on your Mac.
- Open VLC.
- Go to the location of the FLAC file on your Mac. Drag and drop it into the VLC application.
- Click the Play button to listen to the FLAC file.
What Software To Listen To Flac Mac Download
Other FLAC Players for Mac
If you don’t feel like using VLC to play your FLAC files, you can use any of the following FLAC players instead:
1. 5KPlayer
5KPlayer guarantees you a completely smooth playback of all your FLAC files. It also even lets you convert FLAC files to mp3 format from music websites, such as YouTube, SoundCloud, and VEVO.
2. Vox
A versatile FLAC file player for Mac, Vox is highly recommended if you prefer a minimalist design. It does not only support playback of FLAC files. It plays other high-resolution audio files, too! It comes with an optional feature called Loop, which is a cloud music storage service you can use for free for 14 days.
3. Clementine
If you are looking for a music player that is packed with features and is lightweight, Clementine is your best option. It’s quite a handy app that boasts a plethora of features, such as queue manager, music format transcoder, music management, playlist management, and a CD ripping tool! Not to mention, it can be integrated with other online music streaming services, including Last.FM, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Conclusion
We sure hope you have figured out what a FLAC audio file is and how to play it on your Mac. We only have one advice to give you before you go download any apps listed above to play your FLAC files. Since you will be playing high-quality audio files, it is best that you download and install Tweakbit MacRepair on your Mac first. With this tool on your computer, rest assured nothing will come your way. Your Mac will efficiently perform as you listen and deal with various sorts of audio files.