Where FLAC files come from
FLAC compresses sound without throwing any of it away, which makes it the format of choice when a recording has to survive being copied and re-edited for years. Oral history projects, library archives, field recordists and anyone digitising tape or vinyl tend to store their masters this way.
The trade-off is size. A FLAC file typically runs five to eight times larger than an equivalent MP3, which is why long FLAC recordings sometimes bump into upload limits that a compressed copy would slip under. A free account raises that ceiling and Pro handles files up to two gigabytes.
Lossless does not always mean better source audio
It is worth knowing what lossless does and does not buy you. FLAC preserves exactly what was fed into it, so a FLAC made from a good microphone in a quiet room is genuinely the best possible input for transcription. Nothing has been discarded and no artefacts have been introduced.
But a FLAC created from an already-compressed file is a perfect copy of a lossy original, and the detail thrown away earlier does not come back. If your FLAC was converted from an MP3 or a streaming download, expect it to transcribe exactly as well as that MP3 would, no better, at several times the file size.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to convert FLAC to MP3 first?
No. Upload the FLAC as it is. Converting down to a compressed format before transcribing only costs you time and can slightly degrade the audio our engine works from.
My FLAC file is too large to upload. What now?
A free account raises that to thirty minutes and one hundred megabytes and Pro handles two gigabytes and five hours. Alternatively, trim silence and setup talk off the ends, which usually removes more than people expect.
Will a lossless file give me a more accurate transcript?
Slightly, and only when the original recording was genuinely good. Microphone placement, room noise and people talking over each other affect the result far more than whether the file was compressed.