X Codec Pack 3 Is Coming - Two New Audio Tools Already Live

The team behind X Codec Pack has been busy. Two new free tools just landed on April 5, 2026 - and their site is already teasing something bigger: X Codec Pack 3.

Download X Codec Pack 3 is Coming wallpaper

The homepage at xcodecpack.com currently reads: "X Codec Pack 3 is coming soon - something big is buffering".

No release date has been set, but the groundwork is clearly being laid.

X Audio Codec Pack 1.1 - Seven DirectShow Filters in One Installer

The first new release is X Audio Codec Pack 1.1, a 22 MB installer that bundles seven open-source DirectShow audio filters for Windows 7 through 11.

The timing is deliberate. Microsoft removed the built-in AC-3 decoder with the Windows 11 24H2 update, silently breaking playback of Dolby Digital audio in MKV files and DVD rips across millions of machines.

The pack's primary component - LAV Audio - fixes that immediately.

It decodes AC3, DTS, DTS-HD, TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, AAC, FLAC, Opus, E-AC3, and more, registering automatically with any DirectShow-compatible player.

The remaining six components are all optional and selectable during install:

• MPC Audio Decoder - secondary MP3/AAC/AC3/DTS decoder.
• MPC Audio Renderer - WASAPI exclusive-mode output for bit-perfect audio.
• MPC AudioSwitcher - multi-track switching and audio delay compensation.
• DTS/AC3/DD+ Source Filter - opens standalone .dts, .ac3, .eac3 files directly.
• MPC Audio Splitter - demuxes FLAC, WAV, AIFF, OGG, Opus containers.
• CDDA Reader - brings CD audio playback to DirectShow players.

No restart required. Silent install is supported via the /S flag for IT deployments.

X Audio Converter 1.0 - Private MP3 Encoding, No Uploads Required

The second release is X Audio Converter 1.0, an 11 MB tool that converts WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, AIFF, and Opus to MP3 without sending your files to any server.

It comes in two forms:

The browser version runs on any OS using a JavaScript port of the LAME encoder - no install, nothing uploaded.

The Windows desktop app uses native lame.exe and ffmpeg.exe binaries for speeds roughly 10-20x faster, with no file-size limits.

Both support CBR (64-320 kbps) and VBR encoding, channel modes, voice optimization, and ID3 tag writing.

25 Individual DirectShow Filters Already Available

Alongside the full pack and new audio tools, xcodecpack.com also offers 25 individual DirectShow filters for download - all free, all clean installs to System32 with no bundled software.

The filters span six categories:

• Splitters (11) - MKV, MP4, AVI, MPEG, OGG, FLV, Bink, DVR, RealMedia, and more.
• Decoders (4) - HEVC/H.265, H.264, MPEG-2 DVD, MPC Audio and Video decoders.
• Renderers (1) - MPC Audio Renderer with WASAPI exclusive mode.
• Audio (2) - AVI2AC3 Filter, MPC AudioSwitcher.
• Sources (5) - CDDA, CDXA, DTS/AC3/DD+, Shoutcast, VTS Reader.
• Subtitles (2) - DirectVobSub (VSFilter), MPC SubtitleSource.

For a broader solution that also includes MPC-HC and video decoders, K-Lite Codec Pack remains the most widely used alternative.