diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacCommon.cxx b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacCommon.cxx
index 33f728a67..fbc336f3a 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacCommon.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacCommon.cxx
@@ -24,10 +24,11 @@
 #include "config.h"
 #include "FlacCommon.hxx"
 #include "FlacMetadata.hxx"
-#include "util/Error.hxx"
 #include "util/ConstBuffer.hxx"
 #include "Log.hxx"
 
+#include <stdexcept>
+
 bool
 FlacDecoder::Initialize(unsigned sample_rate, unsigned bits_per_sample,
 			unsigned channels, FLAC__uint64 total_frames)
@@ -35,10 +36,11 @@ FlacDecoder::Initialize(unsigned sample_rate, unsigned bits_per_sample,
 	assert(!initialized);
 	assert(!unsupported);
 
-	::Error error;
-	if (!pcm_import.Open(sample_rate, bits_per_sample,
-			     channels, error)) {
-		LogError(error);
+	try {
+		pcm_import.Open(sample_rate, bits_per_sample,
+				channels);
+	} catch (const std::runtime_error &e) {
+		LogError(e);
 		unsupported = true;
 		return false;
 	}
diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacDecoderPlugin.cxx b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacDecoderPlugin.cxx
index 2b9d7bb72..955d41360 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacDecoderPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacDecoderPlugin.cxx
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 #include "OggCodec.hxx"
 #include "fs/Path.hxx"
 #include "fs/NarrowPath.hxx"
-#include "util/Error.hxx"
 #include "Log.hxx"
 
 #if !defined(FLAC_API_VERSION_CURRENT) || FLAC_API_VERSION_CURRENT <= 7
diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.cxx b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.cxx
index 82d2dadf4..f18774cde 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.cxx
@@ -19,9 +19,8 @@
 
 #include "config.h"
 #include "FlacPcm.hxx"
-#include "FlacDomain.hxx"
 #include "CheckAudioFormat.hxx"
-#include "util/Error.hxx"
+#include "util/RuntimeError.hxx"
 #include "util/ConstBuffer.hxx"
 
 #include <assert.h>
@@ -47,19 +46,16 @@ flac_sample_format(unsigned bits_per_sample)
 	}
 }
 
-bool
+void
 FlacPcmImport::Open(unsigned sample_rate, unsigned bits_per_sample,
-		    unsigned channels, Error &error)
+		    unsigned channels)
 {
 	auto sample_format = flac_sample_format(bits_per_sample);
-	if (sample_format == SampleFormat::UNDEFINED) {
-		error.Format(flac_domain, "Unsupported FLAC bit depth: %u",
-			     bits_per_sample);
-		return false;
-	}
+	if (sample_format == SampleFormat::UNDEFINED)
+		throw FormatRuntimeError("Unsupported FLAC bit depth: %u",
+					 bits_per_sample);
 
 	audio_format = CheckAudioFormat(sample_rate, sample_format, channels);
-	return true;
 }
 
 template<typename T>
diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.hxx b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.hxx
index 9c6641025..4aa13df5f 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.hxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/FlacPcm.hxx
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 
 #include <FLAC/ordinals.h>
 
-class Error;
 template<typename T> struct ConstBuffer;
 
 /**
@@ -39,8 +38,11 @@ class FlacPcmImport {
 	AudioFormat audio_format;
 
 public:
-	bool Open(unsigned sample_rate, unsigned bits_per_sample,
-		  unsigned channels, Error &error);
+	/**
+	 * Throws #std::runtime_error on error.
+	 */
+	void Open(unsigned sample_rate, unsigned bits_per_sample,
+		  unsigned channels);
 
 	const AudioFormat &GetAudioFormat() const {
 		return audio_format;