fre:ac is an audio converter and CD ripper that supports a wide range of popular audio formats. It provides a graphical interface for processing music collections, extracting audio from compact discs, and preparing recordings for different playback devices.
The application combines conversion, CD extraction, and metadata management within a single program. It can create lossless copies for archiving or compressed recordings for portable devices. Users can process individual tracks or entire collections while retaining control over encoding quality and output organisation.
fre:ac also offers advanced capabilities for more demanding workflows, including multi-threaded processing, lossless audio verification, and automated extraction. Its interface remains straightforward despite the extensive configuration options available.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Supports MP3, MP4/M4A, AAC, FLAC, Opus, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, WMA, WavPack, Monkey’s Audio, and other formats.
- Integrated audio CD ripper and player.
- CDDB-compatible online lookup for album and track information.
- AccurateRip verification compares extracted audio against reference checksums to help identify ripping errors.
- Supports extraction of hidden track one audio (HTOA).
- Fast, multi-threaded conversion engine with parallel processing.
- Convert recordings to multiple output formats in a single operation.
- Integrated tag editor with support for album artwork and detailed metadata.
- Supports playlists, cue sheets, and chapter information.
- Verifies lossless input and output files.
- Digital signal processing filters for adjusting audio during conversion.
- Configurable filename patterns and preservation of existing directory structures.
- Supports automated CD ripping and external command-line codecs.
- Optional command-line interface for scripted workflows.
- Multilingual interface with full Unicode support.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: github.com/enzo1982/freac
Support:
Developer: Robert Kausch
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
fre:ac is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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