I have noticed quite a few of the concerts that are recorded and split, tend to be MP3's. People should be reminded (or made aware) that while MP3s do save on hard drive space, MP3 is an audio format that compresses the audio file while LOSING its rich sound (or as rich as it can be recording online). Once this file is compressed the rich quality is lost and CANNOT be brought to it's original state.
MP3s can be compressed to save on space so much that a file can be REAL small but the recording will sound like a tape recorder being placed next to the speaker of an AM radio. Also, they can be compressed very little and you'll BARELY notice any difference from the original source.
All of that being said, I use Total Recorder to record the concerts as one WAV file. Then with CD Wave Editor I split the file to separate tracks. I also found a program dbpower Amp then allows to convert WAV files to APE or Monkey Audio which is a lossless compression. The compression is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the original file size BUT NO audio quality is lost! The thing I find neat about APE is you can play right from the format with the db Amp Player.
After all these tracks are saved as a WAV I convert them to APE (and MP3 for my personal player) and delete the WAV files. I convert them back to WAV if need be BUT WHY? I already can listen to the lossless APE on my computer and NERO (which I use to burn CDs) has a plug-in that will burn the CD directly from the APE format.
I have no idea if this is the best way I'm only offering up a system I have been using for the last year. As far as the cost of these programs....I don't recall
.. some may have been free and I think for some add-ons to dbpower amp I paid a nominal fee. Happy taping er recording.