XanderFilesXanderFiles › TAK
How to play a TAK file on Android
Lossless TAK music (Tom’s lossless Audio Kompressor)
TAK is a lossless music format that compresses better than FLAC, about as well as APE, yet decodes much faster. Albums with CUE sheets are often shared in TAK — especially Japanese music and soundtracks. Android does not play TAK. The free XanderFiles app plays TAK in its own audio player.
Get it on Google PlayFree · no ads · no sign-up · offline
What is this file
TAK (Tom’s lossless Audio Kompressor) was created by Thomas Becker. Sound is compressed losslessly: decoding gives an exact copy of the disc.
TAK is valued for combining strong compression with fast decoding, so it shows up in CD rip collections — often as a single-file album with a .cue table of contents next to it. Android’s built-in player knows neither TAK nor CUE.
How to open it
- Install XanderFiles from Google Play. It is free, with no ads and no sign-up.
- Tap the .tak file wherever you have it: in Downloads, on a memory card or in your music folder.
- When Android asks which app to use, choose XanderFiles. Or the other way round: open XanderFiles, tap “Open file” and pick the file in Downloads or Google Drive.
- The audio player opens and the music starts. If you add the album folder with its .cue file to the playlist, the big file is split into songs with titles automatically.
What you can do
- Play TAK losslessly — the sound matches the source bit for bit
- Single-file album + CUE: separate songs with titles, including Japanese ones
- Equalizer, volume leveling, background playback, sleep timer
- Also APE, WavPack, TTA, FLAC and ALAC
Good to know
- A CUE sheet embedded inside a TAK file is not read — a separate .cue file next to the album is needed.
- The app only plays files: it cannot convert TAK.
Questions
Will it sound worse than on a computer?
No. TAK is decoded losslessly: the output has the same samples as the disc.
How do I split a TAK album into songs?
Put the .cue file next to the TAK and add the whole folder to the playlist — or open the .cue itself and tap “Play album”.
Is it free?
Yes. No ads, no sign-up, and it works offline.
Other formats
Free · no ads · no sign-up · offline