What is the best music player (software)? - Page 3

Foobar with Wasapi and Facets plugin

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdfjkl 


Yeah I'm using iTunes currently, but I just find it really annoying to convert any flac I have to alac. Plus I don't really like the idea of supporting an "apple" codec over an open source one.

I'm going to try out foobar and see how I go. Is there anything in particular that makes foobar standout? Thanks heaps!

You can customize pretty much everything about it and it's updated very regularly to accommodate new developments. Stick with it...it pays off ;)

JRiver handsdown is the BEST high end and advanced media player. It took me almost 2 full weeks to fully understand and tweak every possible settings/features offered in JRiver. Currently Using ASIO with my Asus Xonar DGX and it's my primary audio/video playback player now. Foobar2000 comes second to JRiver for audio playback/utility, but once you dig in all the advanced features that jRiver has to offer, your heart will stay with it. JRiver is also on constant regular update (~avg bi-weekly for each new beta updated small patches regularily). Check out their forum section, you'll be sold again when you see the knowledge of their staff/devs and the amount of involvement with the community over there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiramisu 

JRiver handsdown is the BEST high end and advanced media player. It took me almost 2 full weeks to fully understand and tweak every possible settings/features offered in JRiver. Currently Using ASIO with my Asus Xonar DGX and it's my primary audio/video playback player now. Foobar2000 comes second to JRiver for audio playback/utility, but once you dig in all the advanced features that jRiver has to offer, your heart will stay with it. JRiver is also on constant regular update (~avg bi-weekly for each new beta updated small patches regularily). Check out their forum section, you'll be sold again when you see the knowledge of their staff/devs and the amount of involvement with the community over there.

I have to agree. I've been using Foobar for years and was avoiding anything else since everyone was always saying that its the best sounding one....but when I decided to try the Jriver trial version, I was floored with how much better it sounded. Honestly, its as if foobar takes music, and flattens it out. Jriver sounds more dynamic, full of impact, like there's more meat on the bones when it comes to its sound. Its also more detailed, or at least the details pop out more obviously on the Jriver. I've heard things in music on Jriver that I didn't notice in foobar, so when I went back to foobar and checked that same part of the song, that same detail was there, but it was lost in the mix, didn't pop out.  That's why Jriver does, it makes sound more separated. Also, it has nice crossfeed features for headphones, very subtle differences, doesn't color sound like the foobar2000 crossfeed plugins do.

I never understood why people attribute different sound quality to different music players.

It's funny because foobar is frequently listed as having above average sound quality, yet they explicitly state in their FAQ that it does not sound better than other players. It also explicitly states that using ASIO/WASAPI has no effect on sound quality and should only be used if needed.

That being said, you should always choose your media player based on its features and support. I like Winamp because it has the best visualizer and supports all the formats I need. It's interface isn't very good though so I'm tempted to switch. I keep foobar for its plugins like the ABX plugin amongst other things, but there are some things with its interface and organization that I can't live with.

Songbird and Rhythmbox are probably my two favorites in terms of interface. I'm thinking about switching back to Songbird...

If you can't hear the difference between some audio player (like recent version of AIMP) to other like foobar, then well, I'm just glad to not have your ears (and you're probably glad to not have my "placebo"), neither you or I have to understand it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewy4 

I never understood why people attribute different sound quality to different music players.

 

It's funny because foobar is frequently listed as having above average sound quality, yet they explicitly state in their FAQ that it does not sound better than other players. It also explicitly states that using ASIO/WASAPI has no effect on sound quality and should only be used if needed.

 

That being said, you should always choose your media player based on its features and support. I like Winamp because it has the best visualizer and supports all the formats I need. It's interface isn't very good though so I'm tempted to switch. I keep foobar for its plugins like the ABX plugin amongst other things, but there are some things with its interface and organization that I can't live with.

 

Songbird and Rhythmbox are probably my two favorites in terms of interface. I'm thinking about switching back to Songbird...

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewy4 

I never understood why people attribute different sound quality to different music players.

 

It's funny because foobar is frequently listed as having above average sound quality, yet they explicitly state in their FAQ that it does not sound better than other players. It also explicitly states that using ASIO/WASAPI has no effect on sound quality and should only be used if needed.

 

That being said, you should always choose your media player based on its features and support. I like Winamp because it has the best visualizer and supports all the formats I need. It's interface isn't very good though so I'm tempted to switch. I keep foobar for its plugins like the ABX plugin amongst other things, but there are some things with its interface and organization that I can't live with.

 

Songbird and Rhythmbox are probably my two favorites in terms of interface. I'm thinking about switching back to Songbird...

There's a clear difference between playing a same song in foobar and jriver, not hard to hear.

I use Foobar and Albumplayer, I would say there is no real "best music player" as everybody has their favorites based on features, I/O,,plugins...etc.  Try out the common players and find the one that works best for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by laon 

If you can't hear the difference between some audio player (like recent version of AIMP) to other like foobar, then well, I'm just glad to not have your ears (and you're probably glad to not have my "placebo"), neither you or I have to understand it.

recent AIMP vs Foobar. Your thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by negura 

 

recent AIMP vs Foobar. Your thoughts?

I use AIMP 3.5 beta 5 with wasapi exclusive and 60MB cache size, surprisingly it sounds really unexciting and dull, the difference isn't even subtle like it used to be but very apparent when you switch to other player like xmplay and foobar both with wasapi. But YMMV.

Quote:

Originally Posted by laon 

I use AIMP 3.5 beta 5 with wasapi exclusive and 60MB cache size, surprisingly it sounds really unexciting and dull, the difference isn't even subtle like it used to be but very apparent when you switch to other player like xmplay and foobar both with wasapi. But YMMV.

It was only when I got my Audiophilleo 2 the differences between software players and plugins became very clear. I have been hearing differences, but using my Burson Conductor direct USB connection the resolution proved insufficient and I was struggling to form a clear image of one player and plug-in combination compared to the others.

I agree with you that AIMP 3.5 beta is lacking when using the wasapi exclusive. However, I do recommend that you try ASIO4All with it. I am not impressed with Foobar and Wasapi either.

I could expand but it's a bit late tonight.

Wasapi exclusive (event) on foobar is very good. Asio4all refuse to play bit perfect on mine so no dice.

Still on the good ol' Winamp.

I know people are going to shout on this one, but I'm just way too used to Winamp to bother changing to something else.

JRiver is better indeed and so is Foobar2k, but I couldn't be bothered with changing because realistically.. audio quality from any of these players are neglible, in which case I put it in the "placebo effect" category.