Convert BIN to MP3

A CD image often needs to be turned into individual MP3 tracks so the music will work in a phone, car stereo, media library, or editor. The correct process depends on what the .bin file actually contains; many BIN files contain no audio at all.

What a BIN file is

.bin is a generic extension for binary data, not a defined audio format. Disc-imaging and CD-ripping programs commonly use it for optical-disc images, while software installers, game archives, firmware packages, and embedded-device vendors also use BIN files for non-audio data.

A music CD image usually consists of a .bin file and a matching .cue sheet, for example album.bin and album.cue. The CUE file defines track boundaries, track types, gaps, and the BIN filename. Open it in a text editor and look for entries such as TRACK 01 AUDIO; these indicate standard CD-audio tracks.

Do not rename .bin to .mp3. Renaming changes only the extension. If a file inspection tool confirms that a mislabeled BIN file is already MP3 audio, renaming may be appropriate, but it is not a conversion.

What MP3 provides

MP3 is a lossy compressed audio format supported by phones, browsers, car stereos, portable players, and music-management software. It is much smaller than uncompressed CD audio and is practical for playback and sharing, but encoding to MP3 permanently discards some audio information.

Use VBR quality 2 with the LAME encoder for high-quality general listening, or use 192–256 kb/s CBR when a device requires a fixed bitrate. Keep the original BIN/CUE image or lossless extracted files if the recording must be archived.

Extracting audio from a BIN/CUE image

Use the CUE sheet rather than opening the BIN file alone. It supplies the track layout needed to separate audio tracks from CD-ROM data tracks.

Cross-platform method: bchunk and FFmpeg

1. Install bchunk and FFmpeg. On macOS with Homebrew, run brew install bchunk ffmpeg. On Debian or Ubuntu, run sudo apt install bchunk ffmpeg.
2. Keep album.bin and album.cue in the same folder. If the BIN file was renamed, update the filename in the CUE file's FILE line.
3. Extract the image with bchunk album.bin album.cue track. Audio tracks are normally created as files such as track01.cdr; data tracks may be created as .iso files.
4. Convert each extracted CD-audio file to MP3 with ffmpeg -f s16le -ar 44100 -ac 2 -i track01.cdr -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 track01.mp3. Standard audio-CD data is 16-bit little-endian, 44.1 kHz, stereo PCM.

Windows desktop method: foobar2000

1. Install foobar2000 and its Encoder Pack, or configure the LAME MP3 encoder when foobar2000 requests an encoder executable.
2. Open the .cue file in foobar2000. The track list should show separate audio tracks rather than one BIN file.
3. Select the tracks, then use Convert → ….
4. Select MP3 (LAME), choose VBR quality 2 or the required bitrate, set the destination folder, and convert.

If foobar2000 cannot open the image, the CUE sheet may reference a missing or incorrectly named BIN file, or the image may use an unsupported layout. Use bchunk to inspect and extract it instead.

Raw audio BIN files

Some hardware recorders and legacy software create raw PCM files with a BIN extension. Convert these only when the source documentation states the sample format, byte order, sample rate, and channel count. In Audacity, use File → Import → Raw Data, enter the documented parameters, preview the result, then use File → Export Audio and select MP3.

For example, raw audio from a conventional audio CD uses signed 16-bit little-endian PCM, 44,100 Hz, and two channels. Applying those settings to firmware, game data, or an unrelated disk image produces noise, not recoverable music.

Online conversion and compatibility limits

Online services generally cannot interpret an arbitrary BIN file or correctly use its accompanying CUE sheet. Extract valid WAV or other audio files locally first; CloudConvert can then encode WAV to MP3 if desktop software is unavailable. Do not upload disc images containing private recordings, software, or unknown data.

A BIN image containing only software or CD-ROM data cannot be made into MP3. If extraction produces only .iso files and no audio tracks, the image has no standard CD audio.

CD-image audio usually has no complete MP3 tags or cover art. Add artist, album, title, track number, and artwork after conversion with MusicBrainz Picard, Mp3tag, or foobar2000. If the CUE sheet contains FLAGS PRE, the track uses CD pre-emphasis and should be de-emphasized before MP3 encoding to avoid overly bright playback.