[analogbox]

I second J river's Media Center. It's not free but it does what foobar and itunes do and better. I've tried all the media players out there but I found nothing better than it.

 

[Mikeb]

If you are only interested in playing music files with JRiver you can get their free download version of Jriver Media Jukebox from here Media Jukebox its the same as JRiver Media center without the video/tv bits it has asio and plays all formats that foobar will. I personally still favour Foobar (latest version) when running Vista where using WASAPI and the latest SoX upsampler sounds the best.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Kernel streaming is less of an ass to implement than ASIO tbh + does exactly the same minus options that are really only intended for recording and mastering purposes.

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davvy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I highly recommend J-River Media Centre. You have to pay for it, but only something like $30, which is money well spent.

You don't have to pay for it if you just need it for music. The full version adds video support and a DRM license. I like the free version better because there is no license I have to maintain. Only thing I don't like is that I can't stop it from bringing up amazon.com link or check for upgrades with the free version when internet is on.

The author of foobar says himself that all media players sound the same if using the same settings so if you hear a difference then it is a placebo effect once again.

 

[analogbox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Only thing I don't like is that I can't stop it from bringing up amazon.com link or check for upgrades with the free version when internet is on.

You can set the Media Center to start wherever you'd like on the premium version and I don't see why it wouldn't be in standard version as well.

 

[forcecommand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif ........ The author of foobar says himself that all media players sound the same if using the same settings so if you hear a difference then it is a placebo effect once again.......

So what is the same settings?

Also placebo effect could be eliminated by using random A/B comparision, and I still hear the difference of players and recognize them correctly. How to explain this?

 

[bob13bob]

the comments about placebo effects in the majority of hte population are intended for the majority of the population, not audiophile head-fi members. with our gear there are differences, just like most prefer to listen to music on "straight" out of the audio receiver with no digital processing which degrades the music. There is a difference.

the foobar author probably meant that the sound is dependent on the decoder more than hte software, the thing is, some software like foobar is easier to put the decoder you want on it then others. So all software is not even cloes to being the same.

 

[MrKazador]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forcecommand /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what is the same settings? Also placebo effect could be eliminated by using random A/B comparision, and I still hear the difference of players and recognize them correctly. How to explain this?

If media players like Foobar2000 and J River use the same audio decoder and renderer(kmixer, ASIO, DS) it will sound the same.

 

[AlyssaBelle]

deleted... think i'll just try the free version...lol

 

[recorder]

Guys, be aware that J River Media Jukebox no longer supports ASIO, so if you still have version 12, stick with it.
The developers claim that advanced features like ASIO are only going to be supported in the paid Media Center version going forward.
 
I downloaded Musicbee recently, and I will never go back!!
I have not seen any posts about Musicbee on this forum, and it does everything you could ask for in a music player including ASIO.
And it's FREE!
 
Steven Mayall, the developer admins the Musicbee forum, and respond to wish lists, bug reports, and general issues promptly, and posts updates almost weekly.
 
If any of you care to take it for a test drive, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure was.