Confusion converting between WAV and FLAC

[visibility]

My question has to do with conversion of audio files between WAV and FLAC. I thought I understood this pretty well but now I am confused. I understand that WAV files are not compressed and FLAC files are compressed but lossless, so from a WAV file I have been creating FLAC files which are typically less than half the size. To check this, I have used another utility to convert them back to WAV files and they expand to be the original size, which is comforting. That was at least until I came upon software called AVS Audio Converter 6.1.

AVS Audio Converter 6.1 converts between a large range of audio files and can convert to and from WAV and FLAC. My confusion begins with both the WAV and FLAC formats having quality options of Custom, Best, Good, and Low!! The quality setting for FLAC for instance varies the sample rate between 22050 Hz (Low Quality) and 48000 Hz (High Quality) and the Sample size between 16 bit (Low Quality) and 24 bit (Best Quality). What’s more, these settings have a profound effect on the resulting size of the FLAC file.

For example, starting with a 304 MB WAV file, using the Low Quality setting I get a FLAC file of 87.2 MB. If I use the Best Quality setting, I get a FLAC file of 316 MB, which is larger than the size of the original WAV file!! To make this situation even more ridiculous, if I convert this new 316 MB FLAC file back to WAV at the Best Quality setting, I get a WAV with file size of 662 MB!! I went one further step converting the super large WAV file to FLAC at the best setting again and got a file size of 315 MB.

What concerns me is that none of the above makes any sense. Why should there be varying qualities in a supposedly lossless file? Also what’s the go with that super large WAV file and how come it ends back with a file size of 315 MB when finally converted back to FLAC. A further issue is that one of the reasons I opted for FLAC was for archiving large files. If I use this app, the FLAC file ends up being larger than the original WAV file. I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with the software I was using but it has served to highlight my confusion.

Am I seriously misunderstanding something here?

Thanks for your help.

[Ghitulescu]

If this is not a spam then use the original FLAC software. FLAC is also embedded into various frontends (or more than simple frontends) like Foobar, EAC and so on.

[visibility]

If this is not a spam then use the original FLAC software. FLAC is also embedded into various frontends (or more than simple frontends) like Foobar, EAC and so on.

I tried EAC and am more comfortable with the results because it doesnt have a "quality" option. I am just confused as to why these exist in other software where FLAC is supposed to be lossless.

[Ghitulescu]

You answered yourself this question :p, indeed, it would have been like WinRAR having a quality setting.

[tebasuna51]

Wav Filesize(bytes) = Duration(seconds) * Num_channels * Samplerate(samples/sec) * Bitdepth(bits/sample) / 8

If you don't change Samplerate (22050..48000) or Bitdepth (16..24) you obtain always the same wav filesize.
If your wav source file is 22050 Hz and 16 bits depth you can't obtain better quality changing these parameters up (then is no sense change them).
If your wav source file is 48000 Hz and 24 bits depth you can obtain less quality changing these parameters down (if you want less filesize).

[Slogra]

FLAC itself will never change samplerate or bitdepth, because then if won't be lossless anymore.

Appearantly AVS Audio Converter does have an option to change this which will always result in quality loss.

Keep the same samplerate and bitdepth and you'll be save. You get an exact copy of your original file.