Version 1.0
Author: Christian Schmalfeld  <c [dot] schmalfeld [at]
projektfarm [dot] de>

This
article covers the issue of converting audio files on Linux Mint.
Converting audio files can be a hard thing to accomplish if one does
not have the proper tools to do so, that is why I will also cover a few
different applications capable of converting.

This tutorial comes without warranty of any kind.

1 Preliminary Note

I cannot cover all audio converters in this tutorial because there
already is a large variety of them. Therefore I concentrate on those
that are able to convert between the most used formats (mp3 for storing
and listening, wav for creating audio disks and some others). Along
with the output format, the bitrate might
be the most important feature of an audio file. It determines the
quality of the sound, so make sure that you do not choose one that is
too low (320 kbps is quite a high bitrate and a good choice if you
convert music).

2 WinFF

WinFF is a graphical user interface (GUI) for the command line converter ffmpeg,
meaning it has the same functions but also is using a user-friendly
graphical environment. It is able to convert audio as well as
video files into numerous formats used on ordinary computers but also
on all kinds of other hardware such as smartphones and multimedial
mp3 players. It converts audio files into mp3, wma, wav, ogg and Ac3 format using all bitrates and samplerates.

Install it withif(typeof __ez_fad_position != ‘undefined’){__ez_fad_position(‘div-gpt-ad-howtoforge_com-medrectangle-4-0’)};

sudo apt-get install winff

and enter your password afterwards. Type in Y and confirm with Enter to proceed with the installation. After the installation is done, open WinFF by entering:

winff

To convert files, just drag and drop them into the white listing panel, select the kind of output you want to have with the Convert to: dropdown menu and the format with the Preset
dropdown menu. Choose an output directory afterwards and configure the
rest of the bottom tabs like for example the bitrate in the Audio tab, which is mainly responsible for the quality of the output file.

3 soundKonverter

soundKonverter is a very good tool to
convert audio files. It covers a large variety of formats and allows
you to configure a lot of details. To install it, run following command:

sudo apt-get install soundKonverter

Enter your password afterwards. During the installation, confirm with Y. To run it, enter:if(typeof __ez_fad_position != ‘undefined’){__ez_fad_position(‘div-gpt-ad-howtoforge_com-box-4-0’)};

soundkonverter

To start converting, either drag and drop the files to convert onto the white panel or use the Add Files
button. After you have selected the files, a new window will appear
which lets you configure how the files should be converted. You can
have multiple processes running in one go, meaning you can configure
the settings anew for every file you add. The settings window can be
viewed in simple mode or in detailed mode:

Be aware that some output formats are not available if you have the
wrong quality selected. This is because, for example, some formats need
to be lossless, so if you select medium quality, the format will not e
shown in the list. If the one you need is not shown, browse through the
different quality options until your format is available in the
dropdown menu. After you have configured everything so that it matches
your needs, confirm with Ok and press the Start button to convert.

4 SoundConverter

SoundConverter is another application to convert audio files. To install, run

sudo apt-get install soundconverter

and enter your password. SoundConverter appears as a plain window with
only a few buttons which are there to add files and to start
converting. The configurations are taken for all the files added to the
panel in Edit > Preferences.

The settings are limited but still provide the needed options for
everyday use. You can configure the output directory, the way the file
is named and the quality of the the chosen output format (mp3, wav,
ogg, flac, aac). Close the settings window afterwards and click on Convert to start. You have to adjust the settings for every process you run.