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RA to FLAC converter

Convert RA to FLAC in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

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Other ways to convert RA

Convert other formats to FLAC

Read more about the RA format and the FLAC format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert RA to FLAC?

Only when software insists on FLAC. It stores the decoded RA perfectly, but the detail the RA discarded is already gone, so the FLAC is bigger without sounding better.

FLAC also plays in more places: most modern players, Android and recent iPhones; some car stereos and older apps don’t.

RA is streaming audio from the dial-up web; FLAC is lossless audio at roughly half the size of WAV. Use FLAC to archive music and recordings you may want to convert again later.

RA and FLAC compared
Property RA FLAC
Compression Lossy Lossless
Typical quality 8–64 kbps lossless, 16 or 24-bit
Support A legacy format Opens almost everywhere
Best for Nothing today; convert old archived broadcasts Archiving music and recordings without losing anything
Introduced 1995 2001

How to convert RA to FLAC

  1. 01

    Add your RA

    Drop your RA file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to FLAC. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the FLAC

    Press convert and save the FLAC. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when RA becomes FLAC

Bigger, not better

FLAC can’t restore what RA compression removed. It does make editing easier and stops further loss, which is why editors and some broadcast systems ask for it.

A one-time engine download

RA is decoded by FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, a 31 MB download the first time. After that it is cached, and the conversion never leaves your device.

Expect a much larger file

FLAC is far bigger for the same content. Choose it because something needs FLAC, not to send or store the file. RA: Very small, sized for modems. FLAC: About 5–7 MB a minute for music.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of RA and FLAC, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Recordings are often private: interviews, voice notes, unreleased music. Your browser can decode and encode audio itself, so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the RA. A .ram file is only a text link to a stream, not the audio itself; you need the .ra or .rm file it points to.
  • About the FLAC. FLAC made from an MP3 is lossless only in name: it perfectly preserves an already lossy recording, at five times the size.
  • MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus and FLAC are converted by your browser directly. WMA, AMR, APE, AC3 and the other specialist formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does converting RA to FLAC lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to FLAC, though it can’t restore what the RA already discarded.

Will an FLAC play in my car or on my phone?

FLAC opens almost everywhere: most modern players, Android and recent iPhones; some car stereos and older apps don’t.

Read more about this

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