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Mac users, what are your media players?

post #1 of 108
5/5/10 at 12:46am
Thread Starter 
Since the day I got into audiophile world I haven't try iTunes no more. Today because of a friend asking for help on album artworks I opened my iTunes and played some songs in 320kbps. Guess what? It sounds sucky compared to Winamp Clarity and dynamic are what noticeably worse. Does iTunes really sucks or it is just me not get used to iTunes after a while? If it really suck then what is your media player Mac-Fiers?
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post #2 of 108
5/5/10 at 1:56am
I have no issues with iTunes on a Mac. Sounds perfectly good to me. Having compared it to Windows media player, there's nothing in it.
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post #3 of 108
5/5/10 at 2:04am
I use iTunes as well... I don't have any issues with it either.

Make sure you have the equalizer off
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post #4 of 108
5/5/10 at 3:12am
Using iTunes as well. I tried songbird...but iTunes just feel right to me...as a mac user
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post #5 of 108
5/5/10 at 3:33am
Out of curiosity, what kind of Mac are you using?
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post #6 of 108
5/5/10 at 3:33am
Thread Starter 
Well so maybe iTunes Windows version sucks. That's what I thought too. Songbird on PC sucks too. I love its lyric plug-in but its sound quality is a no go so I'm stuck with the ugly Winamp if not Foobar

Thank for inputs guys
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post #7 of 108
5/5/10 at 3:53am
The sound of iTunes can vary with your Mac.

Sound from a '07 MacBook seems unspecial; somehow. the '09 MacBook Pro seems to have considerably more dimension and attack. The real difference is notable with my '10 iMac - with fine stereo separation and clarity - as good as hearing a track with an amp.

You might find iTunes more pleasing when you have a chance to play around with Sound Enhancer - which allows more stereo separation.
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post #8 of 108
5/5/10 at 5:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by V1KTA View Post
Out of curiosity, what kind of Mac are you using?
Quote:
Originally Posted by spinali View Post
The sound of iTunes can vary with your Mac.

Sound from a '07 MacBook seems unspecial; somehow. the '09 MacBook Pro seems to have considerably more dimension and attack. The real difference is notable with my '10 iMac - with fine stereo separation and clarity - as good as hearing a track with an amp.

You might find iTunes more pleasing when you have a chance to play around with Sound Enhancer - which allows more stereo separation.
I'm using Windows, that's the reason I think. You are right about attack. It just disappears on my iTunes.

On my friend MBP 13" Snow Leopard I don't find iTunes bad, at all.

Damn Apple, they need to improve Windows version, I love album artworks and the ease of use on iTunes.
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post #9 of 108
5/5/10 at 5:19am
I was going to say make sure the sound enhancer is off if you want a more natural, unprocessed sound. Whether on or off, it's worth playing with the sound enhancer to see which you prefer.
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post #10 of 108
5/5/10 at 5:54am
If you use the digital out and your EQ setting is off, itunes is bit-perfect on a Mac, nothing's going to sound better than it. iTunes is prefered by many "audiophiles" despite its consumerist appearance.
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post #11 of 108
5/5/10 at 8:04am
Using Foobar2000 on Mac (for some DSP) but it eats RAM and CPU because of using Wine
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post #12 of 108
5/5/10 at 11:22pm
Thread Starter 
I NEVER use any EQ, enhacer or whatever. I also use USB output to feed my Gamma-2. But iTunes on PC is simply bad. It's just so obvious. iTunes on Snow Leopard is cool tho.
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post #13 of 108
5/5/10 at 11:27pm

iTunes exists in PC format for one reason -- to allow Windows users to sync music to their iPods. It is perceptibly slow, and I'm not sure it does bit-perfect. Unless you have an iPod, I would strongly suggest WinAmp over iTunes.

 

On a Mac, it's a different story. I use iTunes as my main player, with Songbird and Cog for FLAC and SHN playback. No complaints whatsoever about iTunes sound quality. Some will tell you that third-party burning software creates better rips, but I've never noticed it.

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post #14 of 108
5/6/10 at 2:58am

I use itunes without any problems either, but if you want the best, you can try SonicStudio's Amarra. I really want to try it someday....

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post #15 of 108
5/6/10 at 3:14am

Actually, I've done comparisons with foobar and WASAPI vs. iTunes on Windows 7 vs. iTunes on Snow Leopard. Foobar sounds pretty same as iTunes on SL, iTunes on Win7 sounds worse - I couldn't tell difference between mp3 320kbps and ALAC. Oh, and about Amarra, you can try it for free, but personally I don't hear any difference between iTunes with and without Amarra. :)


Edited by jeycam - 5/6/10 at 10:19am
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