How do I use CUETools to split FLAC?
Reply #26 –
Also, what I don't understand about this table is how is it possible for FLAC to outperform MP3 in almost all devices while at the same time it is known that when FLAC files are used the battery of every DAP lasts much less than is the case of MP3 files.
Because FLAC was designed for speed of decoding - i.e., designed to decode with a low number of CPU calculations. MP3 had a totally different purpose, it was designed to compress well at least possible loss of audible quality.
There are also losslesses that compress a few percents better than FLAC, but which take a lot of time to decode. Like, in the more extreme modes, Monkey's Audio, OptimFrog and WavPack. Those modes sacrifice speed for compression. Not quality - they just spend more effort getting an efficient packing.
(TAK impresses me, it is more or less the only thing that can beat FLAC at both compression and time simultaneously. Not so sure about time anymore though.)