Supported formats
Bòcan detects audio formats by magic bytes,
not file extensions — so a renamed file plays correctly without any
guessing. Decoding uses two back-ends:
AVFoundation (Apple's native stack) and
FFmpeg (bundled LGPL build, no GPL codecs).
Lossless PCM
| Format | Extensions | Engine |
|---|
| WAV / RIFF PCM |
.wav |
AVFoundation |
| AIFF / AIFF-C |
.aiff .aif |
FFmpeg |
| AU / SND |
.au .snd |
FFmpeg |
| Wave64 |
.w64 |
FFmpeg — removes the 4 GB WAV size cap |
| RF64 / Broadcast Wave |
.wav .bwf |
FFmpeg — identified by magic bytes, not extension |
Lossless compressed
| Format | Extensions | Engine |
|---|
| FLAC |
.flac |
AVFoundation (FFmpeg fallback for unusual streams) |
| ALAC (Apple Lossless) |
.m4a .alac .mp4 |
AVFoundation |
| Monkey's Audio |
.ape |
FFmpeg |
| WavPack |
.wv |
FFmpeg — lossless, hybrid-lossy, and DSD modes |
Lossy
| Format | Extensions | Engine |
|---|
| MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) |
.mp3 |
AVFoundation |
| MP2 (MPEG Layer 2) |
.mp2 |
FFmpeg |
| MP1 (MPEG Layer 1) |
.mp1 |
FFmpeg |
| AAC |
.aac .m4a .m4b .mp4 |
AVFoundation |
| OGG Vorbis / Speex / Ogg FLAC |
.ogg |
FFmpeg — content type detected automatically |
| Opus |
.opus .ogg |
FFmpeg |
| WMA (Windows Media Audio) |
.wma |
FFmpeg (ASF container) |
| Musepack |
.mpc |
FFmpeg |
| AC-3 / Dolby Digital |
.ac3 |
FFmpeg |
| DTS |
.dts |
FFmpeg |
| TTA (True Audio) |
.tta |
FFmpeg |
DSD
DSD files are decoded to PCM via DoP (DSD over PCM) for output to
standard DACs.
| Format | Extensions | Engine |
|---|
| DSF (Sony DSD Stream File) |
.dsf |
FFmpeg |
| DFF / DSDIFF (Philips) |
.dff |
FFmpeg |
Containers
| Format | Extensions | Engine |
|---|
| Matroska / MKV / WebM |
.mkv .mka .webm |
FFmpeg — audio tracks extracted automatically |
| MP4 / M4A |
.mp4 .m4a .m4b |
AVFoundation |
Output
All formats are decoded internally to 32-bit float PCM.
Output to hardware supports up to 32-bit / 384 kHz.
DSD is output via DoP. Gapless playback is guaranteed for all formats.
What isn't supported
- TAK — patent-encumbered; no LGPL-safe decoder available
- SACD ISO — raw disc images; individual DSF/DFF tracks play fine
- RealAudio (
.ra, .rm) — no LGPL-safe decoder
- Encrypted files — Apple DRM (FairPlay) and WMA DRM files cannot be decoded