[atarione]

  I like Winamp but the skins could be WAY better... I know this is an option but when I looked for modern minimal designed skins, all I found was someones Anime fantasy and other skins that look like they were made with Crayons in 1992.

lol... yeah.. they skins are pretty bad... winamp has been in a pretty stagnant state since 2014 when AOL was going to shut it down totally and then bought at literally the last second by Radionomy ..   I just use the bento skin.. which I'm use to and doesn't bother me...

 

[potterma]

 

Spoiler: XMPlay love

Eep. No love for XMPlay?

I like it a lot because it's super compact and down-to-earth. Reminds me a lot of the old WinAmp v2.81 before it got super bloated.

My XMPlay directory is only 580KB big... and this includes an optional custom skin I am using and also the optional MIDI & WASAPI plugin.

The executable (xmplay.exe) is only 306KB.

And with the WASAPI plugin I can make use of "Exclusive Mode" so when I'm listening to music I don't have stupid auto-play crap on my web browser interrupting my music.

I admit the default XMPlay skin is crap... but I love the one I use, really simple:

I *hate* music players that have stupid complex libraries like iTunes.

I prefer to manage my music on my own in folders on my computer so I just drop-and-drag music into XMPlay or right-click and "Add To XMPlay List."

 
I'm with you there.  That's what I love about F2k.  Essentially, tell it "here, watch this folder and that folder" and blam... seamless updates to my "library".
Tried JRiver for a while, but couldn't get it to run reliably enough to figure out if I liked it or not.  Kept crashing and crashing my machine (Win 7 64 bit).  Their customer support consisted of "no, its not unstable.  Get over it."  So I did...   F2k FTW!
 
Haven't tried XMPlay.  Looks very simple and to the point.  Both admirable qualities in a player, IMHO.
Haven't tried HQP, either, so I have no input there.  Looks interesting, though.

 

[vcoheda]

listening to this now. sounds good.
 

 

[bass thump]

  I like Winamp but the skins could be WAY better...

*BLECH!!!* i hate ANY skins on winamp! it looks just fine with its original skin. it looks like a stereo component... pure business. to my eyes, fancy skins DETRACT from the useability of any program by overloading the retinas instead of just presenting a SIMPLE interface without crazy colors and toyish looking graphics (you hear me XP? W98/classic was just fine!) that i can STILL use the same old same old "boring" winamp is exactly why i like it. its basic grey scheme is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. i prefer minimalist charcoal grey schemes. once upon a time, i actually imported such a theme into W98 because it was so clean & basic. i was never able to find it again though after my C drive bit the dust.
 
oh well.

 

[fredeb]

  *BLECH!!!* i hate ANY skins on winamp! it looks just fine with its original skin. it looks like a stereo component... pure business. to my eyes, fancy skins DETRACT from the useability of any program by overloading the retinas instead of just presenting a SIMPLE interface without crazy colors and toyish looking graphics (you hear me XP? W98/classic was just fine!) that i can STILL use the same old same old "boring" winamp is exactly why i like it. its basic grey scheme is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. i prefer minimalist charcoal grey schemes. once upon a time, i actually imported such a theme into W98 because it was so clean & basic. i was never able to find it again though after my C drive bit the dust.
 
oh well.

+1 
 
I reckon Winamp will enjoy a resurgence . It's a pity it can't just go open source - and downloadable from source forge .
 
Here's a link to some players available from Sourceforge : https://sourceforge.net/directory/audio-video/sound/players/os:windows/
 
Anyone tried SMPlayer ? Looks interesting , updated 26/11/2016 . http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/

 

[Neccros]

 
lol... yeah.. they skins are pretty bad... winamp has been in a pretty stagnant state since 2014 when AOL was going to shut it down totally and then bought at literally the last second by Radionomy ..   I just use the bento skin.. which I'm use to and doesn't bother me...

I just wish people that made skins no matter what year, made cleaner skins in general... The ONLY non-clean/minimalist skin I used/liked was MMD3.  Unfortunately it never got updated but even as it sits today it still works pretty well....

 

[pouskidis]

I use:
Winamp with the following plugins:
asio4all (output)
or direct sound ssrc -upscale to 48 24bit
mad (input) 32bit with dithering and replaygain (no clicking for good quality, otherwise the sound comes out kinda harsh) 
 
This gives the best sound for my mp3s. I also get great functionality as well by using the ultimate ml plugin (browser through my folders)
 
Also:
 
There is a player named pureplayer. If you want to really get the best out of an mp3, this is it. But it is not properly developed, seems like the author abandoned it.
 
Very impresive though, it converts on-the-fly your mp3 to wav and plays it. The sound comes out cleaner than any other mp3 player I have tested.
Worth to take a look: http://pure.truefreehost.com/pureplayer.zip

 

[pouskidis]

This may be needed for pure player to function

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=9cfb2d51-5ff4-4491-b0e5-b386f32c0992&displaylang=en

 

[Svperstar]

Or how about another challenge? Why don't one these "of course different Dacs are clearly audible" crowd use Liberty Instruments AudioDiffMaker to create two files of the same music, one played with a decent, competent $100 Dac, and then replayed on the "clearly superior" uber expensive Dac of their choice. Then use the DiffMaker to create a difference file between the two files, and post the difference file on this site as proof of those "audible differences."

Can tell you right now there will be no more differences between the two files rendered by those respective Dacs than there would between the correct time given by a $35 Casio wristwatch and a $50000 Patek Phillipe.

 
I had been using a Dragonfly 1.2 as my main DAC since I went laptop only. People LOVE to crap all over the Dragonfly even tho the SABRE DAC in it is plenty modern and all. 
 
Had been wondering about Schiit Multibit so I took the plunge and bought the Magni 2 Multibit. Listening right now.
 
IMO it does sound a bit better but it is nothing to get worked up over. The only time I have heard a DAC make a big difference is when I tried a NOS tube DAC 10 years ago and the only difference it made is to degrade the sound terribly. 

 

[Svperstar]

  I use:
Winamp with the following plugins:
asio4all (output)
or direct sound ssrc -upscale to 48 24bit
mad (input) 32bit with dithering and replaygain (no clicking for good quality, otherwise the sound comes out kinda harsh) 
 

 
Wow this takes me back. I used to mess with that stuff. These days I just use MusicBee with WASAPI. I am not sure if DirectSound is still "bad" but just to be safe I leave WASAPI on.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Now I'm using Linn Kinsky with JPLAYStreamer and MinimServer.

 

[gaiastar]

hi
i'm a foobar2000 user ,but now i really like aimp4! amazing
 
an alternative is media monkey , for sync and can look very close to itunes but it's not boatware
 
for rip i use eac+flac
 
thanks

 

[gaiastar]

  sound quality alone, my vote is on Amarra by Sonic Studio
 
http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra/products
 

 
On a side note. I wish people would stop using FLAC. IMHO, FLAC is the Flash of audio.

hi
does it really sound so better?
and may i ask a question about flac ,why for you is the flash of audio?
thanks

 

[Blotto80]

Huge fan of Jriver Media Center. Biggest reason in the WDM driver allows me to route any app's sound through Jriver's DSP section so things like Sonarworks and Crossfeed can be applied to Spotify and other streaming services. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

and may i ask a question about flac ,why for you is the flash of audio?

 
Since he didn't reply when asked about it before, I'll speculate.
 
I think he probably just meant it is compatible with less devices and programs. Since FLAC is lossless, it certainly isn't lower quality.