Many rips ago I inadvertently switched encoding formats from flac to ape. I have read that ape is a "lossless" format, as is flac, so I thought that conversion of the ape files to flac, my desired file type, would be a relatively simple fix. Having done several samples and in comparing the original ape rips to the flac conversions, I easily notice an 8-9 db (measured) increase in volume. I am not sure what is happening, but I am concerned with this obvious change in sound.
To use another approach to confirm what was happening, I ripped an album to flac and compared that rip to the same album I had converted. Same result--the conversion file was 8-9 db louder than the rip to flac.
I would appreciate someone shedding some light on what is happening and how to prevent it. The quality of the converted file does not seem to be affected except for level.
Many thanks,
dallasgt
