Hasta La Gadget!

Jan 26

winLAME: Another Free Audio Converter

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on October 01, 2009 by CyberNet.

A few weeks ago we wrote about a free audio converter that was pretty nice, but when installing the app it tries to also put a bunch of third-party software on your machine. I made sure to point this out, but our readers stepped up and mentioned several other apps that are both free and clean. One of them, called winLAME, was recommended by Ian and really caught my attention. Not only is it free, but it’s also open source.

There were a few reasons why I really liked this app. First, it already has support for Windows 7. Second, it has presets for people looking for no-brainer audio conversion in addition to custom settings for people looking for more control. It’s basically a four-step process: Select your input file(s), select your output settings, choose from one of the quality presets or customize the advanced settings, and then let it go to town. And not only can it convert your audio files, but it can also rip CD’s.

Here’s a more complete list of features and supported formats:

Encoding and decoding of many audio formats, including:
- .mp3 via LAME mp3 encoder (encoding) and MAD (decoding)
- .ogg Ogg Vorbis
- .aac via libfaac/libfaad
- .wav, .aiff, .au, .voc and many more, via libsndfile
- .wma via Windows Media Audio codec
- .flac via FLAC library
Uses LAME features, including:
- high quality and optimized mp3 encoding
- nogap encoding of continuous-mix-cd’s
- optimized 3DNow! and SSE routines
- ID3 v1 and v2 tagging
Easy-to-use wizard-like user interface style for easy encoding setup
CD Audio extraction (aka. CD ripping), including freedb support
Presets for fast settings setup
User interface translations to english and german language
Batch Processing
Detailed HTML Help File
Easy install- and uninstall process
Small size