X Lossless Decoder (XLD) is a tool for Mac OS X that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. The supported audio files can be split into some tracks with cue sheet when decoding.
XLD supports the following formats:
(Ogg) FLAC (.flac/.ogg)
Monkey's Audio (.ape)
Wavpack (.wv)
TTA (.tta)
Apple Lossless (.m4a) [10.4 and later]
AIFF, WAV, etc
Other formats supported by Libsndfile are also decodable. XLD uses not decoder frontend but library to decode, so no intermediate files are generated. All of the supported formats can be directly split with the cue sheet. XLD also supports so-called 'embedded' or 'internal' cue sheet.
Currently you can choose output format from WAVE,AIFF and Raw PCM. In addition, you can choose Ogg Vorbis (aoTuV), MPEG-4 AAC (QuickTime/CoreAudio), MP3 (LAME), Apple Lossless and FLAC in the GUI version.
Please add an option to automatically create subfolder with album/artist name when converting/ripping. That way you could convert several albums without cleaning out the convert folder first for next album, otherwise it would be a mess.
SWORDFISH Many devs do not check MacUpdate, VersionTracker etc. If you really want that feature, email him directly. (Version 20100123)
+3
Jan 23 2010
MACLOVIN It's already an option. Just use "/" in the box for naming whatever you rip and it automatically does it. (Version 20100123)
+3
Nov 30 2009
NONTROPPO This app just keeps getting better and better. It has amazing functionality, and is the *only* application for OS X that has verified reading from CDs to the same quality as EAC on Windows (which OS X users have had to run too for years for perfect rips, not good being second fiddle!) Although I still like Max, XLD is much better at ensuring perfect backups of my precious CDs, there is no other software that can do this to the same level for Mac owners without bootcamp/VM to the dark side.
The transcoding and metadata handling is also very functional, and while the UI is a bit quirky, very usable. Please do consider giving donations to this unique app for OS X users. (Version 20091129)
SWORDFISH Since I upgraded to Snow Leopard, the AAC encoder is giving me files twice as big with True VBR Q90 mode. Anyone have an idea why? (Version 20090924)
ILIKETRASH What is so great about this? There are no options to set bit depth or sampling rate on most of the formats where that makes sense. Also, there is no option to set floating point where that makes sense, and there is no raw floating point format at all. (Version 20090924)
When people who are new to Macs ask me about essential Mac apps, XLD is always at the top of my list. Stable, easy to use, and free. You can't get better than that. If you're not satisfied with just playing .mp3s, you need this app. It's awesome.
Tested and working fine in Snow Leopard. (Version 20090829)