FAAC ~ Freeware AAC Encoder


FAAC is an Advanced Audio Coder (MPEG2-AAC, MPEG4-AAC). The goal of FAAC is to explore the possibilities of AAC and exceed the quality of the currently best MP3 encoders.

Features:

  • High quality audio
  • High-speed encoding
  • Portable
  • LC, Main, LTP support
  • DRM support through DreaM

FAAC

faac.sourceforge.net
sourceforge.net/projects/faac
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAAC

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WavPack ~ Hybrid Lossless Audio Compression


WavPack is a completely open audio compression format providing lossless, high-quality lossy, and a unique hybrid compression mode. For version 5.0.0, several new file formats and lossless DSD audio compression were added, making WavPack a universal audio archiving solution.

In the default lossless mode WavPack acts just like a WinZip compressor for audio files. However, unlike MP3 or WMA encoding which can affect the sound quality, not a single bit of the original information is lost, so there’s no chance of degradation. This makes lossless mode ideal for archiving audio material or any other situation where quality is paramount. The compression ratio depends on the source material, but generally is between 30% and 70%.

The hybrid mode provides all the advantages of lossless compression with an additional bonus. Instead of creating a single file, this mode creates both a relatively small, high-quality lossy file that can be used all by itself, and a “correction” file that (when combined with the lossy file) provides full lossless restoration. For some users this means never having to choose between lossless and lossy compression!

WavPack employs only well known, public domain techniques (i.e., linear prediction with LMS adaptation, Elias and Golomb codes) in its implementation. Methods and algorithms that have ever been patented (e.g., arithmetic coding, LZW compression) are specifically avoided. This ensures that WavPack encoders and decoders will remain open and royalty-free.

www.wavpack.com
github.com/dbry/WavPack
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WavPack

Opus ~ Interactive Audio Codec


Opus is a lossy audio coding format developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force, designed to efficiently code speech and general audio in a single format, while remaining low-latency enough for real-time interactive communication and low-complexity enough for low-end embedded processors. Opus replaces both Vorbis and Speex for new applications, and several blind listening tests have ranked it higher-quality than any other standard audio format at any given bitrate until transparency is reached, including MP3, AAC and HE-AAC. ~ Wikipedia

opus-codec.org
opus-codec.org/downloads
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_(audio_format)

Opus Gapless ~ hydrogenaud.io/index.php?topic=116605.msg984924#msg984924

Opusrug ~ Based on opus 1.3.1-64 Good Opus encoder for Windows.(command line, you can use it with a GUI like Foobar2000 copying it in the encoders folder). You can also compile it for Linux, with the modified celtencoder.c.

https://github.com/fabiorug/Opusrug

Ogg Vorbis ~ Free & Open Audio CODEC


Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression. Vorbis is most commonly used in conjunction with the Ogg container format and it is therefore often referred to as Ogg Vorbis. ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorbis

Ogg Vorbis is a completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding and streaming technology with all the benefits of Open Source.

www.vorbis.com
www.xiph.org/downloads
github.com/enzo1982/vorbis-aotuv-lancer
www.rarewares.org/ogg
www.rarewares.org/ogg-tools
nouturn.com/oggdrop
Ogg Forums At Hydrogen Audio

VorbisGain is a utility that uses a psychoacoustic method to correct the volume of an Ogg Vorbis file to a predefined standardized loudness.

www.sjeng.org/vorbisgain.html