A frequently asked question answered. We'll quickly take you through the process.

To convert Real Audio to MP3, you're going to need the following:

• Real Audio files
• One copy of Streambox Ripper

Install the software. Below you'll see an screenshot of a temporary MP3 directory as well as the ripper. To get the ball rolling, it's just a simple case of drag and dropping your RA file onto Streambox Ripper.

Simply drag the file you want to convert onto the ripper and it will play the file. You can take this opportunity to set the volume level and equalization of the file as it plays back. There's nothing worse than 'quiet sounding' MP3s is there? Once the file has played, simply hit 'convert'. A settings window will open. For my uses, I selected a sampling rate of 44100 Hz, a mono recording, and conversion to MP3 at 128 kBps. And don't forget to add your clip info, such as name of the song.

Now click 'OK'. The MP3 will then be encoded and ready to play back!

The verdict: Streambox Ripper is easy to use. It features a built-in 10 line equalizer/amplifier, will handle encoding/decoding of WAV, MP3 and WMA, supports ID3 tags and even batch processes! For those of you with more specialized MP3 requirements, the latest version includes the Fraunhofer second generation MP3 encoding engine. The trial version is fully functional and valid for 10 decoding/encoding sessions.

Related Article:
Cheap MP3 Players