I have a 997.2 with PCM 3.0. Looking to use FLAC files converted to the best supported quality.

It appears as though the only supported lossless format is MLP.
However, I can not seem to find any (MAC) programs that will convert a lossless high bitrate/depth format such as FLAC to MLP.

Ultimately, I will burn these onto a Data DVD for PCM 3.0.

Anyone able to do this?

What programs did you use?

Regards,
db

 

Dude, I just went through all of this. Meridian Lossless Packing is for DVD-Audio and unless you are going to master a DVD-A disk, forget it. I finally gave up on our Bose system for lossless unless you insert a DVD-A or CD disk directly. I assume you are trying to rip to a high-capacity USB stick as I did. You probably found out that our system will not play lossless formats from a USB stick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_Lossless_Packing
So...... after much work and time... and I do meant that.... I finally succumbed and ripped MP3 at 320 constant (don't use variable bit). using the Lame encoder. Overall it did a great job. This is the best you are going to do. Let me summarize:

1 - There are many rippers out there but seem to work with just a few tunes at a time... I found one that is OK and free but has its quirks. I wanted to drag and drop folders of much stuff and let the thing fly. I also wanted to use my own file naming convention and did not want tags and I wanted to preserve my folder directory structure so I wanted to rip in place. Yes, I am old school in a big way but this is how I use my music server and Foobar 2000 in my home devices from a NAS. The ripper I ended up using is, I am sure not the best or most convenient, but it does work and I gave up looking after this one:
http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products...-Converter.htm
Careful when you install it as it will try and install some bloat ware around it but you can install it without the junk by being careful.
2. My memory is not working properly but I think this ripper comes with the Lame encoder installed. But, just in case, you should load the latest Lame encoder yourself into its encoder library.... there is some licensing issue that Lame can't be pre-installed in ripper or somethingortheother...... Lame is considered the best encoder out there with a bunch of encoding options. 320 constant bit rate Mp3 is the best sound quality. I ran a bunch of tests on my own high end system using Magnepan speakers and then my Grado headphones and it does a good job but only at the this highest constant bit rate. I also tried other file formats..... forget em.
http://lame.sourceforge.net/
3. The advice I was getting on various forums was coming from younger people who are ignorant to audiophile pursuits so it was really tough finding good information. As I noted, I did a ton of listening tests myself to prove out some of the blather out there.
4. I got a 64 GB USB drive for about 20$!!! There is an issue with these big drives in that it takes time for the Bose system to load it (I believe the decoding unit is made by Panasonic) and navigation is cumbersome. Also, for some unexplained reason, it will lose its place when you restart the car and has to reload... wait... and then it starts from the first song in your folder structure. Not always but enough to annoy me.
5. Resulting file size.... I don;t have the numbers in front of me, but it appears the file size is about 1/3 to 1/2 the normal wav size. Folks on the forums complained this is too large and a wast... blah blah.
6- Feel free to PM me and we can connect..... this is a royal pain!!!! but it is worth it.
7 - Try DVD-A such as Queen, A night at the Opera.... wow!!!!!

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

Bruce:

Thanks - I too have been using a USB stick with 320kb MP3s. The load times for the directory structure are truly frustrating. Worst part is it does not autoload, so if USB is not selected as a source, even if you have been driving for awhile, when you select USB, it starts the load process then.....

Perhaps I will invest in a few DVD-As. Assuming mastering one's own DVD-As is complex and involved expensive software likely due to CODEC licensing costs...I will look into it nonetheless.

db