MP3 to Wav (Multiple File Converter)

[APurvis]

Who: I am an IT technician for a series of radio stations.

What: I am looking for a audio converter program that can convert multiple MP3's to Wav files. Ideally, I would like this program to have a right click option in Windows Explorer that allows for conversion like a zip application. In other words, I want an operator to be able to convert multiple MP3 files to Wav without having to open the conversion program itself. I know this is highly optimistic but I would like to know if such a program exists. To right click on a file and select "convert" from the windows menu just as I can right click on a zip file and click "extract" would be ideal.

If no such programs exist, then a program that can convert multiple MP3's to Wav files in a single step would still substantially lessen the time needed to complete the process.

Do you know of any programs with the aforementioned capabilities exist? If so, would love to know. If multiple programs exist, I would like to know which is best suited for my needs. I would greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

How: Currently, files are converted one by one in Adobe Audition and require a substantial amount of time to be converted.

Why: Radio commercial spots are coming in as MP3 files and must be converted to Wav files before they are ready to air. Currently, the process of getting these commercial spots on air takes approximately one and a half hours from download to placement in the log where the files are ready to air. I am analyzing each step of this process in order to shorten it as much as possible. This is one of the links on that chain of processes.

[Feanor]

Probably the music file format converted most favored by audiophiles is dBpoweramp Converter, see HERE. You can select one of multiple files, or in Batch mode, one or more directories. It has right-click Windows Explorer integration. The 'Reference' version isn't free but it will convert from or to just about any audio format, and do so very quickly

[APurvis]

Probably the music file format converted most favored by audiophiles is dBpoweramp Converter, see HERE. You can select one of multiple files, or in Batch mode, one or more directories. It has right-click Windows Explorer integration. The 'Reference' version isn't free but it will convert from or to just about any audio format, and do so very quickly

Thanks!! I can hardly believe that a program exists with the exact specifications I need. I can't wait to try this out tomorrow. Thanks again! I would not have found this on my own; the internet is too flooded with search results. I'll let you know how it works.

[Feanor]

Thanks!! I can hardly believe that a program exists with the exact specifications I need. I can't wait to try this out tomorrow. Thanks again! I would not have found this on my own; the internet is too flooded with search results. I'll let you know how it works.

Glad we could help. The dBpoweramp CD Ripper works really well too.

[bfalls]

I don't do much with ripped CDs, so I have a basic question. Is it better to rip to lossless from CD, or can you convert from MP3 to lossless and get the same results? Do you lose anything by first going to MP3?

[Feanor]

I don't do much with ripped CDs, so I have a basic question. Is it better to rip to lossless from CD, or can you convert from MP3 to lossless and get the same results? Do you lose anything by first going to MP3?

Absolutely, you cannot rip to MP3 then convert to lossless ...

That is, you can, but you are stuck with the lossy resolution of the original MP3.

For the audiophile there is only one way to go: always rip to a lossless format i.e. FLAC or ALAC if you heavily into the Apple world. It isn't faster to rip to lossy though lossless does, of course, occupy more disk space. If you do need a compact, lossy format for a portable device, it's extremely quick to create a converted copy from the lossless original using dBpoweramp or similar program.

[APurvis]

dBpoweramp Converter worked perfectly for my needs. The right click function is perfect. Thanks again!