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[michiganmike711]

I will be traveling soon and wish to load a number of CDs onto my iPhone XS from my PC to listen via noise suppression earphones while inflight, something I've not done, previously.  I would rather not transfer the data via iTunes as it is my understanding previous entries in the phone's library will be erased as the new ones are downloaded, as well as it being clumsy to do via iTunes.  Are these things true?

However, there are a number of software packages, some free/some not, touted to enable the transfer more easily and with greater versatility than iTunes. As I kept reading, at least one program was not flac compatible, a problem since my entire JR library is in flac or cda. In fact, none state they are compatible with JR (which may or may not be relevant), all of which leaves me without clear options. 

Can anyone recommend the best free and paid programs to transfer music from JR on a PC to an iPhone XS, assuming they really are better than iTunes?  Simpler is better for me, a semi-klutz.

Here's to happy and safe holidays! 

Many thanks, mike   

[Awesome Donkey]

Honestly you'll probably have to use iTunes to transfer music to your iPhone, since Apple's notorious for locking the platform down.

I don't believe iPhones nor iTunes supports FLAC (and CDA isn't a file format) so if you want to put lossless files on an iPhone I'd suggest converting them to Apple Lossless (ALAC) but if you want lossy files to conserve space, then AAC is the way to go.

[rossp]

I use software called iMazing which I can select the songs from a playlist in MC and drag onto the music folder in iMazing. It is not free but is well worth the money IMHO.

https://imazing.com/

Ross

[brgreg]

I have been using an app called FLAC Player+ which allows you to transfer flac files from your PC to your iPhone. In it's settings you can select Start Wi-Fi transfer, then point your browser on the PC to the provided url to find and transfer the files.
Seems to work fine. Apparently it supports other audio codecs, but I've only used it for flac files.
Good luck!
Bill

[jsolo53]

I chose Vox for the same purpose as you.  You use itunes and your lightning to usb cable to load files (as data) from pc to iphone.  I found loading files to be a little slow.  Once the files are on the phone Vox itself is easy to use and looks beautiful too.  I don't use it that often - pretty much just when flying - but its been fine.  It's totally free as long as you stay away from their cloud services.  Bon Voyage.

[jkauff]

I use software called iMazing which I can select the songs from a playlist in MC and drag onto the music folder in iMazing. It is not free but is well worth the money IMHO.

https://imazing.com/

Ross

I use iMazing, too (Windows version), and it's the closest thing to a full iTunes replacement I've found. Highly recommended.

[michiganmike711]

Thank you all for your help.  I looked into them and found Vox supports flac but most others do not.  Since I am lame with computers, I went looking for tutorials and found them unhelpful because they are silent and dreadfully fast.  I cannot follow what they are doing.  The Vox team responds to my emails well enough but I need it spelled out clearly.  My understanding is that I have to download my files to their cloud and upload the files to my iphone from there.  I just don't know how to use Vox but I think it would work well for me; darn.
Best regards, mike

[jkauff]

The iPhone music app still doesn't play FLAC ( ), so you need a 3rd party app that does (I use foobar2000, but there are lots of others).

iMazing can copy your FLAC files directly from your PC to the Documents folder of your music player app without going through a "cloud". Its one irritating limitation, however, is that you must move one file or one folder at a time--you can't choose multiple files or folders (hopefully the developers will remedy this soon).

[RichSingapore]

I have used VLC as a workaround which is fine for a trip once in a while. You will still transfer from your PC to iPhone via iTunes but they will transfer as data to the VLC app and not as music files/playlists. Give it a try...

[kbrat]

Give MusicStreamer a try.  It costs $4 but they have a free version to test out.  You can download a playlist, album, or artist.  It is designed for large music collections. I have tried many different apps but not work as well as this one.  Great support and no subscription fees.  Only downside is that it isn't the prettiest app.  https://www.stratospherix.com/products/musicstreamer/

I found that app after being so happy with their other app File Browser Pro.

Everything through iTunes ends up being a headache.

[Absinthe]

A little late to the party but I recommend https://www.mediamonkey.com/ go-to utility for working with the iPod/iPhone/iPad.  It natively supports IOS and will convert FLAC/MP3/Whatever to ALAC/MP4 or some other esoteric format that IOS deems worthy.  I used MM for years before picking up JRiver and I still use it when creating playlists or synching media to my iTouch