What is the best audio source for my computer?

Foobar2000 is a favourite around here.

If you're looking for something more visually appealing then try MediaMonkey. I like to use it for auto-organizing my files but I use foobar for playback.

I believe that MediaMonkey also supports a lot of music players. I used to use it to sync everything with my Sansa Fuze. It crashes on startup with my iPhone connected though, so I assume that Apple products are incompatible with MediaMonkey (I am not 100% sure about this one).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audiophile1811 

So does Foobar 2000 really work well with portable audio sources?

If so, how would you rate it on audio quality?

Thanks, A1811.

I dont think audio players affect sound quality that much. It all has to do with the quality of your audio files and your computer's sound quality

Why does foobar, or any player for that matter, have to be "compatible" with your portable player?

Foobar2000.

I like iTunes. It's intutitive, easy to navigate. I use it for downloading purchased music, organizing it, and CD ripping, burning, etc. I like the iTunes Store. I can purchase music in any genre there. For hi-res file downloading, I use MediaMonkey, but find the software somewhat difficult to navigate.

Another vote for Foobar.  Not fancy looking (although there are skins available) but industrial strength and pretty easy to work with.  Its WASAPI plug in enables it to bypass the Windows volume mixer and deliver bitperfect data stream to the DAC.  This made a huge difference in SQ in my system.  Before I used WASAPI, I was getting occasional but annoying audio glitches from the OS.  WASAPI eliminated that.  So I wouldn't use a player that couldn't output via WASAPI or some other equivalent that provides a similar level of isolation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inceptor 

Foobar2000 is a favourite around here.

 

If you're looking for something more visually appealing then try MediaMonkey. I like to use it for auto-organizing my files but I use foobar for playback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harpua 

Another vote for Foobar.  Not fancy looking (although there are skins available) but industrial strength and pretty easy to work with.   <snip>

Foobar x293....lol

The days of foobar looking foogly have been long gone...

i'm a big fan of fubar, but i don't use any players that need to sync or any of that junk just drag and drop files to my stuff like a portable HD.  i know j-river media center does some of that stuff tho, but it's not a free player i think.  i think they have a basic one tho thats free, and codec support is great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatFan12 

Foobar x293....lol

 

The days of foobar looking foogly have been long gone...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did mention there were skins available for Foobar.  I tried some of them.  Pretty slick indeed and created by very talented people.  Nevertheless, after some experimentation, I ended up going back to plain old columns ui (at least for now) as I found I prefer stability, lower resource useage and the simple less distracting functionality of the more basic UI for my music player.

Back to the OP, I don't know if Foobar can sync . . . kind of doubt it (but perhaps there's a plug in that could add that capability).  That's a feature I wouldn't have a use for as I'm another one who prefers to drag and drop (or copy 'n paste) files rather than syncing.

There's no law that says you can only use one media player though.  Just a thought . . .

Yeah, I guess visually you can make the GUI on Foobar2k quite stunning

I was suggesting that some features available on mediamonkey are not offered on foobar (or at least I think.)

I am pretty sure you cannot sync on foobar. MediaMonkey, however, does offer syncing for many media players (excluding apple products, at least to my experience). I have used it for a Sansa Fuze and it works fine. I have not tried any other media players, but I am pretty sure MediaMonkey will fit your needs.

As for myself, I use MediaMonkey to organize my files. It is extremely easy to tag files and add album art in MediaMonkey. I also use it to convert my music into a lower bitrate for my portable players. I can also auto-organize and rename my files (although I am not sure if this is available in the freeware version). Nevertheless, I use foobar for playback on my desktop, just because the interface is quite simple. Both are freeware, so I suggest trying both, and seeing which one you like more.

I would approach iTunes with some caution, however; it tends to run very sluggish and I don't really like the interface. Try it, though, and see whichever program you like the most :) . I would suggest using MediaMonkey for syncing your players, however.