What is the best music player (software)?

[Hellenback]

   
If you believe that software can make a difference, JRiver is doing a few things which should make it better than Foobar.
If all you want is bit-perfect playback, I don't think it matters what software you use, and JRiver should sound no better or worse than any other bit-perfect player.
 
The thing about JRiver is that everything is integrated into one package. I don't need to figure out what plugins I need to get to enable ASIO output or WASAPI Event, and what I need to get DSD playback working - it's all built in out of the box.
 
JRiver also has native support for VST plugins, so if you want to use them, there's no need to mess about trying to get VST Bridge applications working. (I never got them working right)
This can be quite important for headphone users, as the best quality sound is normally achieved with a crossfeed or HRTF plugin. (I like Redline Monitor)
 
And once you start doing processing to the audio, it's working with 64-bit precision to avoid degrading the quality.
Even if you don't want to be using EQ or VST plugins, there are features like R128 Volume Leveling built in which benefit from this.
 
It also has a lot of very advanced library management features, and in addition to top-quality audio playback, you also get the best video quality playback as well.
Rather than only playing to one device at a time, with the Zone feature, JRiver running on one PC can be the center of your home audio/video system, handling playback to any number of devices. It's far more powerful than a simple music player like Foobar or iTunes.

As you seem to be aware, all of the audio "bells and whistles" you mention are available for foobar. It is a bit difficult to configure fb if you're new to it but I've been using it so long I doubt I'm going to spring for $50 for things I know how to configure in my sleep (or don't need).
 
1. I don't listen to anything that truly requires cross-feed with headphones (although foobar has competent components for it)
 
2. I don't "process" audio
 
3. I don't volume level as I usually like to hear things as recorded/mastered. If there's a significant volume difference I use the remote or the volume knob (or replay gain, but rarely as in I can't remember when I last used it).
 
4. I don't like/use "advanced library management features" as I prefer to configure things manually (ie playlists, tags etc.). Foobar's audio library is very straightforward, fast and comprehensive. I can load a Terabyte of music into an NG playlist in literally 2 seconds (with the columns UI). I use "Everything" search if I need to find something quickly outside of any audio/video software.
 
5. If I had a large house I might need video management but I just plug my 55" plasma into the HDMI out from my computer (as a second monitor) and use VLC to watch everything other than BR movies.
 
So, I will still likely give the trial of JRiver #18 a spin but as you've highlighted most of it's advantages already, I don't see at this point how I'd need/want to shell out the cash.
 
To each their own and I'm glad you have a player you're happy enough with to pay $50 for (until #20).
 
@Ari33 Thanks for the link...although it's for Mac computers it's still very informative

 

[TheGame]

   
If you believe that software can make a difference, JRiver is doing a few things which should make it better than Foobar.
If all you want is bit-perfect playback, I don't think it matters what software you use, and JRiver should sound no better or worse than any other bit-perfect player.
 
The thing about JRiver is that everything is integrated into one package. I don't need to figure out what plug-ins I need to get to enable ASIO output or WASAPI Event, and what I need to get DSD playback working - it's all built in out of the box.
 
JRiver also has native support for VST plugins, so if you want to use them, there's no need to mess about trying to get VST Bridge applications working. (I never got them working right)
This can be quite important for headphone users, as the best quality sound is normally achieved with a crossfeed or HRTF plugin. (I like Redline Monitor)
 
And once you start doing processing to the audio, it's working with 64-bit precision to avoid degrading the quality.
Even if you don't want to be using EQ or VST plugins, there are features like R128 Volume Leveling built in which benefit from this.
 
It also has a lot of very advanced library management features, and in addition to top-quality audio playback, you also get the best video quality playback as well.
Rather than only playing to one device at a time, with the Zone feature, JRiver running on one PC can be the center of your home audio/video system, handling playback to any number of devices. It's far more powerful than a simple music player like Foobar or iTunes.

Can you suggest a good VST or Plug-in with JRiver MC 19 for an equalizer? I do not like the one built-in to the player itself. Any you recommend (paid or free)?

 

[StudioSound]

  As you seem to be aware, all of the audio "bells and whistles" you mention are available for foobar. It is a bit difficult to configure fb if you're new to it but I've been using it so long I doubt I'm going to spring for $50 for things I know how to configure in my sleep (or don't need).

 
For me, the biggest convenience was actually the video side of things. It keeps you up to date with the latest version of LAV Filters and madVR automatically, and you don't have to configure anything to get it working - just pick the "Red October HQ" setting.
 
But when you move between machines, it's nice to not have to spend a lot of time reconfiguring everything when 90% of what you need is already set up optimally.
 

  2. I don't "process" audio

 
If you even adjust the volume inside the PC, that is processing the audio. Things like EQ do as well.
And for that matter, adjusting volume inside JRiver is probably better than adjusting volume inside most devices if you have a 24-bit output and are using less than 48dB of adjustment.
 

Originally Posted by Hellenback /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
3. I don't volume level as I usually like to hear things as recorded/mastered. If there's a significant volume difference I use the remote or the volume knob (or replay gain, but rarely as in I can't remember when I last used it).

 
Volume leveling does not affect the mastering of an album. JRiver's Volume Leveling feature smartly switches between track and album mode depending on the current playlist.
So if you're just playing an album from start to finish, the track dynamics are not changed at all. But when it switches over to the next album, you don't have to touch the volume control because it's played back at the same level.
 
Volume Leveling is also important from an audiophile perspective, because it plays back highly dynamic recordings and very compressed modern recordings at the same level.
This means you can actually hear the difference in dynamic range between tracks rather than the highly compressed loudness-war versions sounding "better".
 

5. If I had a large house I might need video management but I just plug my 55" plasma into the HDMI out from my computer (as a second monitor) and use VLC to watch everything other than BR movies.

VLC is not a high quality player. It's designed to be fast on low-end systems, and play just about anything you can throw at it.
 
The madVR video renderer used in JRiver offers the highest quality video playback with a 16-bit processing engine that utilizes your graphics card's power for image processing. (image scaling, color correction, and other processing)
It will also play Blu-ray movies if you have decryption software installed (e.g. AnyDVD HD) and it skips all the menus & trailers when doing this - it goes directly to the main feature with the highest quality audio track selected.
 

  Can you suggest a good VST or Plug-in with JRiver MC 19 for an equalizer? I do not like the one built-in to the player itself. Any you recommend (paid or free)?

I don't really use EQ, but I know a lot of people like the Parametric EQ options inside JRiver rather than the basic "Equalizer" DSP option.

 

[Schonen]

Still not worth what it costs and all video players utilize your graphics hardware.

 

[aprairie]

Cost vs value is subjective. For me, cost of jriver delivers way more value vs free options for what I ext to do with my system.

And trust me, not all players use your GPU the same. Full disclosure, I work at AMD and can tell you not all players are equal in terms of performance, power consumption, quality etc. Is there one that is "best"...I don't think so. But they are not all equal.

Drew

 

[itchyears]

Went from winamp to Foobar and never looked at anything else really
 
Mind you never ever really set up foobar I just use it with defaults and it sounds fine

 

[StudioSound]

  Still not worth what it costs and all video players utilize your graphics hardware.

Most video players are using DXVA's built in decoding and scaling which is generally rather poor quality.
madVR uses your graphics card's pixel shaders to run custom scaling code which looks a lot better.

 

[nagual]

To me it's the Jaguar Free RTOS http://www.jaguaraudiodesign.com/ (running from the pendrive),  for streaming music.

 

[Imamuppet]

Foobar2k with wasapi event.

 

[HPiper]

I prefer Foobar as well, though there is absolutely nothing wrong with JRiver either. One thing that makes me real happy is I found dbpoweramp had an hdcd encoder and Foobar has an hdcd decoder so I can now listen to all my hdcd's in true hdcd sound. Not a huge thing but I can certainly tell the difference, subtle though it may be.

 

[StudioSound]

  I prefer Foobar as well, though there is absolutely nothing wrong with JRiver either. One thing that makes me real happy is I found dbpoweramp had an hdcd encoder and Foobar has an hdcd decoder so I can now listen to all my hdcd's in true hdcd sound. Not a huge thing but I can certainly tell the difference, subtle though it may be.

If you are using dBpoweramp to convert 16-bit HDCD rips to 20-bit in a 24-bit container with the HDCD plugin, make sure you don't add the +6dB boost.

 

[Schonen]

Cost vs value is subjective. For me, cost of jriver delivers way more value vs free options for what I ext to do with my system.

And trust me, not all players use your GPU the same. Full disclosure, I work at AMD and can tell you not all players are equal in terms of performance, power consumption, quality etc. Is there one that is "best"...I don't think so. But they are not all equal.

Drew

Give this free video player a shot and tell me what you think of it.
 
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/PotPlayer

 

[nagual]

PotPlayer main difference, imho, is the audio (english is far from being my first language. so, with it I can understand  dialogues in films, that I can´t with other players).  Anybody else has experienced this (wasapi enabled) ?

 

[Schonen]

I just installed the "touted" JRiverMC. As soon as I opened it it scanned my whole PC and added every damn file it can play to my library, including my porn collection. Then I clicked Performer Store wondering what it is and it installs some online store software without my permission. Plus it has built in links to amazon etc. SQ is same as foobar, mediamonkey, Musicbee, etc. They want me to pay $59.99 for this abortion? Seriously?

 

[TheGame]

You can select which files to import, it does not import all your media files automatically unless you click the option for it to do so.

 
 
 
As far as the Performer Store goes, yes it will install the Performer Store software IF you want to use it, and it tells you it is installing it. If you do not want to install it, just cancel the install.
 
If you think the other players you mentioned are better than JRiver then that's great, save yourself the money. What matters most is what sounds best to you and fits what you're looking for in music player software.