AAC / M4A manual setup

Set up CW-AAC 1.0.1.0 in Exact Audio Copy.

Manual setup for the Cole Williams AAC encoder, including direct M4A metadata.

Download & install Use the automatic installer

Download

Get CW-AAC 1.0.1.0

Choose the build that matches Windows. For most modern systems, use x64.

64-bit Windows

x64 build

Recommended for normal modern Windows installations.

Download x64 ZIP

32-bit Windows

x86 build

Use this only when you need the 32-bit Windows build.

Download x86 ZIP

Step by step

Manual installation

The example uses EAC's conventional Encoders directory. Use your actual installation path if it differs.

Extract the download

Open the downloaded archive and locate the files for CW-AAC.

Place the encoder in EAC's Encoders folder

Extract cw-aac.exe and place it in EAC's Encoders folder.

Example executable pathC:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Encoders\cw-aac.exe

Open EAC's external compression settings

Open EAC → Compression Options → External Compression. Enable the external program, select User Defined Encoder, set the extension to .m4a, and browse to cw-aac.exe.

Example configuration

What the CW-AAC settings look like in EAC

This is a static example using the usual EAC installation path.

Compression options

Use external program for compression

Parameter passing scheme : Use file extension : Program, including path, used for compression

Additional command-line options : Bit rate :

Delete WAV after compression Use CRC check Add ID3 tag Check for external programs return code

High quality Low quality

Example path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Encoders\cw-aac.exe.

Enter the verified command line

%source% %dest% -q 2 --title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" --disk "%cdnumber%/%totalcds%"

Keep %source% and %dest% first. CW-AAC 1.0.1.0 expects those two positional arguments before metadata options. CW-AAC writes M4A metadata itself, so Add ID3 tag stays disabled.

Open the compact EAC reference →

Test one track

Check that the M4A plays, reports AAC audio and contains artist, album and track metadata.

Troubleshooting

Common CW-AAC setup issues

Encoder exits immediately

Check that %source% and %dest% remain the first two command-line arguments.

M4A has no tags

Do not enable EAC ID3 tagging. CW-AAC receives metadata directly from the command line.

Encoder path is rejected

Browse to the executable again from EAC instead of typing an assumed path. The example path may differ from your installation.

Prefer automatic installation?

The EAC Codecs installer places the selected components in the detected EAC encoder directory automatically.

Download EAC Codecs →

Continue through the manual library.

Set up another codec or return to the compact settings reference.

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