Helium Audio Converter 1.8.0 Build 365

Overview

Listening to music is a real stress buster for most of us but sometimes it can be the reason for stress, if the audio files are in different format than supported by your system. There are numerous tools available today in the market that can easily convert audio files and one such tool is Helium Audio Converter. This is a very useful tool that can convert audio files in to various audio formats such as FLAC, M4A, M4B, MP3, MPC, WMA, Wave, and more. Other than converting format for audio files, it is also capable of converting the audio file tag data which it later saves to the destination files.

Installation

Installation is quick and easy for this program but remember to close other running applications for a trouble-free procedure. Details that you need to confirm are – setup destination path, the default language for the program, Start Menu Folder (or disable its creation), and creation of Desktop Icon. Lastly, you can choose to launch program immediately after installation is completed. The following operating systems support Helium Audio Converter: Windows XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008/7/8.

Interface

Interface of this program is quite clean, instinctive, and well-organized. The toolbar at the top shows self-explanatory icons for main menu options such as Add Folders, Add Files, Remove, Analyse, Properties and Options. Below the toolbar, view panel with different columns displays the details of any selected folder/file like Filename, Artist, Title, Album, Length, Bitrate, Size, and Format. At the bottom of window, settings can be made for output file like its destination location and output format. ‘Convert’ button is given to start the conversion process.

Pros

• Helium Audio Converter supports various types of audio formats which enables you to convert your audio tracks to other file formats including MP3, MP4, MPC, FLAC, M4A, WMA, Wave, and more
• Selecting files for conversion is an easy task as you can either directly click on ‘Add Folders/Files’ button in the window or simply drag and drop the required file in the audio converter
• It even lets you scan and analyze your audio files for errors; select the ‘Analyse’ option from toolbar and the result for analyzed file is shown in a new window. You can also save this report in HTML or .txt file format for further analysis
• Save your time and effort while converting audio files as it has the capability to convert multiple files in one go and then save them in a pre-defined folder
• This software has a powerful inspection tool with which you can view the properties of a selected audio file such as detailed file and tag information, an overview, and attached images
• In addition, you can also configure the settings for WMA encoding, ranging from Encoder Options (Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate) to Frequency and Channels
• In order to handle conflicting filenames, you can modify the settings from ‘Options’ menu. For such situations, you can choose to overwrite the file, skip conversion or append number to file name
• You can view the software interface in your preferred language as it supports many languages including German, Czech, Hungarian, Japanese, and Spanish

Cons

• Properties for any audio file could not be viewed and instead an error was shown
• DRM (copy protected) audio file conversion is not supported

Alternatives

Some of the best alternatives for audio file conversions are – Format Factory, Fre:ac, and Freemake Audio Converter. Format Factory is a multi-tasking converter software which is capable of converting all types of audio, video, and image files. Fre:ac or Free Audio Converter (Formal name is ‘bonkenc’) is a free CD Ripper and audio conversion software that supports various audio file formats such as MP3, MP4, WMA, OGG, ACC, and WAV. Freemake Audio Converter is a fee tool that supports conversion of over 40 types of audio file formats such as MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, AMR, AIFF, and more, plus it prepares music for MP3 players, mobile phones, and Apple devices.

Conclusion

Helium Audio Converter is a great way of converting audio files without having to buy any other conversion tool or software for this purpose. It performs its operation efficiently, moreover, the conversion process is quite fast. The easy-to-understand interface makes it painless for anyone to convert audio files irrespective of their technical experience. In conclusion, this free-of-cost application is definitely worth trying.