Digital file information

Unzip Checklist

Here is our unzip checklist. Please make sure that:

  • Unpack the zip file on the SAME drive/volume/computer that you downloaded the file on.
  • Do NOT copy the zip file somewhere else, and then unpack it.
  • If you are using a WINDOWS system to extract the files; please start unzipping the package using the app 7 zip.
    [available free of charge here: http://www.7-zip.org/ ]
  • You can also use WinRAR if you have this already.
  • If you use a MAC, we recommend decompressing using this free app.
  • Make sure you have plenty of available free disk space on the volume on which you are decompressing the zip package. Even if you think ‘it will probably fit‘, make sure there is more. Any computer will also perform better if you have at least 20% of the total capacity free.

Cobra Records does not create or store the zip files on our server for download, only tracks. These zip files are created once you start the download, and are created on the drive that you download to, collecting all the tracks and art into one neat place. To successfully unzip, please follow the guidelines, these are posted above.

Playing MP3 and Flac files

When you purchase MP3 and Flac files, you will have no issues playing these files with applications you already own. Most common music players will accept these types of files without any issues.

How to Play FLAC or Other Lossless Audio Files in iTunes

If you buy or download music in FLAC files, you may want to play them in iTunes. While iTunes doesn’t support FLAC files, it’s very easy to convert them to Apple Lossless, or ALAC, an equivalent lossless format that iTunes supports. Converting audio files from one lossless format to another is lossless; in other words, there is no quality lost when you convert from FLAC to ALAC. (The same is true with other uncompressed or lossless formats, such as WAV, AIFF, APE, SHN, and others.)

Lossless files

The best app for doing this on a Mac is the free XLD. It can convert too and from just about every audio format you will even want to use, and does so retaining metadata; tags with track info and album artwork.

If you use Windows, you can get a free version of dBpoweramp, which can convert files, and a paid version, which you can use to rip CDs, edit tags and more.

There used to be some third-party tools that hacked iTunes to let you add FLAC files, but they’re not reliable. If you want to use lossless files with iTunes, it’s much easier to just convert them; you can always convert them back to FLAC in the future if you want to.

One other useful tool, if you use a Mac, is Rogue Amoeba’s Fission. This audio editor is a powerful choice for trimming, joining, and editing audio files, and it also includes a conversion tool that lets you convert from just about any audio format to AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, and WAV. While it’s not the best tool if you only want to convert audio files, it is the easiest-to-use Mac app for editing those files.

Playing DSD files

NativeDSD has built a DACs Database that lists equipment and software that will play DSD files. Please look at this document to discover them. The price and quality will not disappoint you. Much more information on DSD playback can be found in the NativeDSD Help Center.