Best way to compress flac audio files to small size?

The flac encoder gives you control over the balance between file size and encoding time. It uses a simple compression level setting, an integer from 0 to 8.

• Level 0: The fastest encoding speed, but produces the largest file.
• Level 8: Takes the most time to encode but produces the smallest file.

Because FLAC is a lossless format, the audio quality is identical at every compression level; only the file size and encoding speed change. For a good balance, levels above 5 are not generally recommended as they dramatically increase compression time for only a slightly smaller file. To compress FLAC files to the absolute smallest size, you would use the command:

bash

flac -8 input.wav

If you're willing to invest significant computational time to compress FLAC files even further, you can use advanced options.

• Apodization Functions: The encoder can apply different mathematical windowing functions to the audio data to improve analysis. Using the -A option lets you specify multiple functions (like subdivide_ tukey(N)), which can lead to better compression at the cost of much slower encoding.
• Block Size: The -b option controls the block size used during encoding. While not a primary driver of size reduction, tweaking it can yield small additional savings, especially when combined with other methods.

If you just want the smallest file size with standard tools, the -8 option is your answer. For the ultimate in size reduction and you're willing to accept more complexity, the Lossy WAV hybrid approach delivers impressive results without sacrificing listening experience.