[Fabithierry]

  It looks like this topic went slightly off the original question.
 
So I will ask maybe again, but more specific:
Can you recommend some FREE audio player with INTUITIVE GUI?
Before I used WMP12. I like the system of library. But I have problems with playing of .ogg.
Of course I tried Foobar. The GUI is simply...not intuitive. I tried also to apply about 4 skins without success and I really don't want to spent a week to get it to work and look like SW of 21st century (If you know, what I mean).
 
I don't want to pirate e.g. JRiver so I'm looking for alternative...
Thank you
 
P.S. i don't have any high-end PC sound nor speaker/headphones.
That's why I'm more concentrated on the GUI...

You should try MUSICBee http://getmusicbee.com/  it's like a "free version" of Jriver 
 
or AIMP http://www.aimp.ru/

 

[kilkil]

I second MusicBee, its library is very similar to Winamp.

 

[Benik3]

The MusicBee looks pretty good
BTW I thought that WinAMP stopped the development some time ago...

 

[music_man]

i had no idea about winamp just threw it out here lol. it looks like the only thing that is truly free is foobar. even wmp is not free per se because it can only come with windows which costs a lot in fact. although what about win 10 new media player? have no idea either as i have not touched it. i am just trying to help at all.
 
as for paid. i would put it between roon and jmrc. roon has a fancier layout but jmrc is more geared toward an audio fanatic. jmrc is less money. i like the audio features, the catalog is good enough.
 
one thing easy to do with a nuc setup just for audio that my 20 grand aurender is giving me nothing but problems. is playing from an ip. ie, not a service like tidal but internet radio. must setup dlna. then it keeps buffering on me. this is going to be another paperweight here.  the nuc with a lot of work sounds as good or better plus you can run anything you want. even linux. it is not too expensive either. if you want the best sound plan on putting 30 hours into setting it up. for sound i maintain these cannot touch a spinner but for the catalog of tens of thousands of songs on usb 3.0 4tb drives read to memory it is pretty obvious why these came about.
 
i don't mean to be a jerk but i feel if you truly want high quality audio it cannot be a machine that does anything but audio.
 
of course other people may have other favorite setups. that is fine too.

 

[Neccros]

Winamp was purchased from AOL years ago and the new owners are still working on updating it.  They post about it in the Winamp FB group...

 

[DudeMyCans]

How does everybody control whatever s/w you use ?

I have both FooBar2000 and MusicBee on my work system, but as my work keyboard is a basic one with no media keys it's always a bit of a pain when somebody walks into my office and I have to maximise the app and then fiddle around with my mouse to pause it. There's no problem with people listening to music where I work, but it's more tolerated than actively encouraged and so I like to keep it as discrete as possible (no desktop stacks, and in-ear phones).

Ideally I'd like to have FooBar2000 running minimised in the background and have some simple controller to run it that doesn't involve multiple key strokes. Something that controls the basics such as allowing me to maximise the app, scroll through tracks, set volume etc. It's occurred to me that the iDrive from my car, and it's functionality, would be ideal.

Is there any smart way to do it, or should I just buy another keyboard with media keys ? I have also thought about using a gaming mouse and setting up the buttons as media keys.

 

[gr8soundz]

You can edit Foobar's controls under File>Preferences>Keyboard Shortcuts. Should be able to add whatever setup you need.
 
For instance Alt+Enter starts playback. I just tested it while Foobar was minimized and it worked but I didn't test any other functions (like pause or stop) since I use media buttons on my keyboard.
 

 

[Music Alchemist]

How does everybody control whatever s/w you use ?

I have both FooBar2000 and MusicBee on my work system, but as my work keyboard is a basic one with no media keys it's always a bit of a pain when somebody walks into my office and I have to maximise the app and then fiddle around with my mouse to pause it. There's no problem with people listening to music where I work, but it's more tolerated than actively encouraged and so I like to keep it as discrete as possible (no desktop stacks, and in-ear phones).

Ideally I'd like to have FooBar2000 running minimised in the background and have some simple controller to run it that doesn't involve multiple key strokes. Something that controls the basics such as allowing me to maximise the app, scroll through tracks, set volume etc. It's occurred to me that the iDrive from my car, and it's functionality, would be ideal.

Is there any smart way to do it, or should I just buy another keyboard with media keys ? I have also thought about using a gaming mouse and setting up the buttons as media keys.

 
Click here for comprehensive foobar2000 keyboard shortcuts info.

 

[kilkil]

Music bee also has global hotkeys. I set mine to alt and p for pause, up and down arrow as volume, left and right arrow for next and previous song.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Right now, I am enjoy the sound quality Sony's Hi-Res Audio app a lot. The bad part is it must be used with Sony DAC. This app is VERY basic, all about the sound. It actually sounds better than Amarra which I've loved for many years and have been a supporter since v1.0.
 

 

[gr8soundz]

There are a number of oem software players but, like Sony's, they only work with certain equipment.
 
I've tried players by Fostex and Teac but after install they look for dacs made by each company. Can't play anything unless said dacs are detected and selected as playback devices.

 

[DudeMyCans]

Thanks everyone.

 

[AppleheadMay]

How does everybody control whatever s/w you use ?

I have both FooBar2000 and MusicBee on my work system, but as my work keyboard is a basic one with no media keys it's always a bit of a pain when somebody walks into my office and I have to maximise the app and then fiddle around with my mouse to pause it. There's no problem with people listening to music where I work, but it's more tolerated than actively encouraged and so I like to keep it as discrete as possible (no desktop stacks, and in-ear phones).

Ideally I'd like to have FooBar2000 running minimised in the background and have some simple controller to run it that doesn't involve multiple key strokes. Something that controls the basics such as allowing me to maximise the app, scroll through tracks, set volume etc. It's occurred to me that the iDrive from my car, and it's functionality, would be ideal.

Is there any smart way to do it, or should I just buy another keyboard with media keys ? I have also thought about using a gaming mouse and setting up the buttons as media keys.

 
 
I'd get a nice keyboard with media keys for the ease of use and for what you need it for.
Some players have a remote control app for your phone/tablet but that won't give you quick access to play/pause, skip and volume since the phone goes to sleep mode all the time. I use roon with the IOS remote but for play/pause, stop, skip, mute and volume I use my keyboard.
 
If you're in Europe I have an as good as new Corsair K70 Rapidfire RGB lying around here that can go for a bargain. The volume roller is especially nice.
Only reason I'm getting rid of it is because I found it so good I upgraded to the bigger K95 Platinum RGB after a month. Got both their top wired mice too, awsome stuff! But I love mice, got Logitech's three best wireless ones as well. I'm probebly as addicted to computer input gear as to headphones.

 

[Stratos24]

Thanks for the MusicBee recommendation.  Very well-rounded software package.  It sounds great and the additional lyrics and artwork selection while online make it a really enjoyable music player.  Still playing with the many other included features.

 

[Benik3]

How does everybody control whatever s/w you use ?

I have both FooBar2000 and MusicBee on my work system, but as my work keyboard is a basic one with no media keys it's always a bit of a pain when somebody walks into my office and I have to maximise the app and then fiddle around with my mouse to pause it. There's no problem with people listening to music where I work, but it's more tolerated than actively encouraged and so I like to keep it as discrete as possible (no desktop stacks, and in-ear phones).

Ideally I'd like to have FooBar2000 running minimised in the background and have some simple controller to run it that doesn't involve multiple key strokes. Something that controls the basics such as allowing me to maximise the app, scroll through tracks, set volume etc. It's occurred to me that the iDrive from my car, and it's functionality, would be ideal.

Is there any smart way to do it, or should I just buy another keyboard with media keys ? I have also thought about using a gaming mouse and setting up the buttons as media keys.

I use Logitech G500 which has 3 buttons for thumb. So I use the middle one for play/pause. It's very handy, especially when I'm playing I need to quickly stop the music
I just had to change association of the play/pause button from "Multimedia: play/pause" to "Playback: play/pause" in MusicBee and of course set it to global. Otherwise it didn't detect the button from another application...