Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Best PC Music Player (Read 6167 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Best PC Music Player

I just saw this thread a few days ago and have been trying to find it, but cannot.

Anyway, I'm asking for advice on the best PC music player. I see a LOT of people use Foobar with the balance using Winamp 2.

Here is how I rank importance for my PC music player, in order.

1. Library Management - especially tagging
2. Portable player interface (especially IPOD)
3. Sound quality
4. multiple formats (MP3, APE, AAC primarily)
5. GUI display
6. Album art display and lyrics for 'now playing'
7. System resource use

Right now I use the very unpopular MMJB. It really helps for my two most important criteria. I do NOT use MMJB to make MP3s. I use EAC to make WAVs, which I save on CDs as Monkeys and on my PC using Razorlame with 3.90.3 APS.

All of the commments I saw on why people love Winamp and Foobar have to do with sound quality and system resource use. Not really that important to me. I use my PC to manage my collection and 'test listen' to songs. My main listening is done in the car and on portables.

I'm wide open to alternatives to MMJB. Does Foobar satisfy my top criteria?

Best PC Music Player

Reply #1 –
For a relativly small footprint (system resources) Foobar does a good job. Although, for some reason it uses more resources for playback than my main program, Media Center.

MC does a fairly good job at tagging, others will say go for the free stuff. Whatever.

For organizing it has no match (my opinion).

It can sync with iPod. (MC)

MP3, APE (creator programs MC) are no problem. AAC, however can give you a headache. Tagging sucks (anyone care to port?)

GUI - Well, that has more to do wth what you want to see.

The rest - No Problem.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #2 –
I have MediaCenter 8 and its not bad. Like you said though, the tagging is not good. It does play a variety of formats though.

People in this forum do not seem to use it. How do people manage their tagging requirements and library organization using Winamp or Foobar? Do these programs have great plug-ins for this?

Best PC Music Player

Reply #3 –
Quote
1. Library Management - especially tagging
2. Portable player interface (especially IPOD)


I would have to say those two are the primary areas dBpowerAMP Audio Player is aimed (shortly I will add smart sycnronization between a Music Collection and a Portable Player).

iPod Support is coming out of beta this week.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #4 –
I'm suprised nobody (up to this point) has mentioned that the new Winamp 2 (2.91, to be specific) can do everything you want, and supports nearly every sound format out there thanks to first- and third-party plugins.  It has a library feature which will allow you to organize, sort, and search a database of your music, and will even allow you to catalog music which is on your CDs.  A plugin will allow you to view album art, and I'd have to say that the only thing you listed that I haven't tried out with Winamp is your "portable player interface" ability.  Not exactly sure what you mean by that, anyway.  I'd have thought that your iPod would have come with interface software of it's own.  To answer your last question, however, Foobar will not handle any of your "fancier" requests.  It is built to play music, plain and simple.  It displays no art, and the only way you can keep a library of your music is by creating a global playlist.  It is, however, being developed at a very fast pace, and may in the future be capable of handling anything you throw at it.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #5 –
Spoon, your player is quite good, and I am testing it. I may end up spending the $19 and going with your player (it does not do most of the coolest things without the power pack). Skin support is stil lweak, but improving every time I check your site.

Re: Winamp 2.91, do you have the name of the plug-ins you mentioned? While I am familiar with many plug ins for Winamp, I do not know of the album art or library plug ins.

Also, by portable interface, I mean the ability to transer songs to a portable player. The IPOD comes with MMJB, which is what I use right now. There is a speraret application (Eaphod I think it is called?), but it is not an integrated player.

MediaCenter rocks but costs $40 for the new version. I have version 8 installed. its about the same as MMJB except it plays a wider variety of codecs.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #6 –
Quote
MediaCenter rocks but costs $40 for the new version. I have version 8 installed.

Are you sure? If you bought an MJ8 license before 12-2002 you should be able to just use MC. However, after that the upgrade will still cost you a few bucks, but not full price.


edit: spelling

Best PC Music Player

Reply #7 –
hmm. there is now a built-in library in wa 2.9x. but your input plugins will have to support it.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #8 –
So far dBpowerAmp seems to do most of what I want. Spoon, are there any expected plug-ins to display album art and/or lyrics?? Also, when do you think the Ipod plug-in and smart synchronization will be ready? I'm very close to deciding to use this as my permanent player and spending the $19 to register for Sveta portable audio.

It's a nice player you have created.

One complaint (minor) - many of my MP3 files, all created with LAME APS, display in the collection application as 32,41, or 128 kbps. Checking them in MMJB - and just looking at the file size - they are all 190-250 kbps. Why does your player have trouble with this? Is there an expected fix or is it just something to live with? Again, its not a HUGE issue. They display correctly on the player.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #9 –
i prefer foobar. its only for those that dont care about GUI and want to just hear their music. After all do you really need visualization with your music? perhaps you have ADHD...        lol anyways foobar handles mp3s well and manages good playlists. its my placebo progg i just can't explain why i like it i just DO!

Best PC Music Player

Reply #10 –
You can't beat MJ8 or MC9. They are simply best in class (free or not). The advantages have already been laid out...

...but I love the efforts of the independents (coding the players as well as every branch of computer audio). Foobar is cool...I love the minimilistic yet high end (read purist) approach it exudes...and...it just works.

xen-uno
No one can be told what Ogg Vorbis is...you have to hear it for yourself
- Morpheus

Best PC Music Player

Reply #11 –
Quote
Foobar is cool...I love the minimilistic yet high end (read purist) approach it exudes...and...it just works.

That it does. But, for whatever reason, it still uses more of the cpu than MC. I'm still messing with the config on this one. Maybe one of these days I'll get that part of it sorted out.

About the only thing that drives me nuts with foobar is the 'strings' for playlists, etc. I want to listen to it, not spend hours toiling over playlist formatting. (<-- READ: Not one of them there programmer types- but trying hard nonetheless). Other then that, it is shaping up nicely.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #12 –
Quote
So far dBpowerAmp seems to do most of what I want. Spoon, are there any expected plug-ins to display album art and/or lyrics?? Also, when do you think the Ipod plug-in and smart synchronization will be ready? I'm very close to deciding to use this as my permanent player and spending the $19 to register for Sveta portable audio.

It's a nice player you have created.

One complaint (minor) - many of my MP3 files, all created with LAME APS, display in the collection application as 32,41, or 128 kbps. Checking them in MMJB - and just looking at the file size - they are all 190-250 kbps. Why does your player have trouble with this? Is there an expected fix or is it just something to live with? Again, its not a HUGE issue. They display correctly on the player.

The iPod first non-beta release will happen next week.

Smart synch, it should be within 4 weeks.

The bitrate is just displaying what is taken from the first few frames, so for ABR and VBR it is obviously wrong. I will make a note to calculate it from the file size.

Best PC Music Player

Reply #13 –
Hi there,
winamp 2.91 with audioinputs for almost any format and the albumlistplugin, 1by1 1.36 (the directory player) is the smallest audioplayer available and needs no longlasting playlistbuilding, it plays the files as they are organzided at your hd (complete folders) as well it supports winampplugins . for video i use ace-mediaplayer coz this is the only vidplayer supportin almost any format (for apple or realfiles an installed player in the back is necessary). This three progz allow to play almost any file and therefore this is the solution i suggest.
I've tested foobar, but i think 1by1 is much better.

shine on

Best PC Music Player

Reply #14 –
foobar2k has my spoiled.  i briefly tried dbpowerAMP but it's a little to flashy for my tastes, i have moved away from flashy gui's
helado con queso??

Best PC Music Player

Reply #15 –
I think I speak for a lot of people here whe I type this:
RiNgMaStEr, please get rid of your sig!!!
My eyes hurt!    (seriously, though)


Silly question.
What exactly does "library management" mean to you? What do you want/need?
I mean, I have all my music on one folder with subfolders representing albums arranged chronologically. I open FB2K, add directory and off I go.
Is this a wrong approach? Why is "library managerment" a big issue? How on earth do you people arrange you music so you need more "advanced" management?
Can someone explain? 
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Best PC Music Player

Reply #16 –
Quote
I t
What exactly does "library management" mean to you? What do you want/need?
I mean, I have all my music on one folder with subfolders representing albums arranged chronologically. I open FB2K, add directory and off I go.
Is this a wrong approach? Why is "library managerment" a big issue? How on earth do you people arrange you music so you need more "advanced" management?

The thing most notable to me (in using dbpoweramp) is that you can do things by tag info.. like looking up
a song title even if you don't know what album (directlory) it is in.  In "random play" mode you can add
qualifiers like just hearing one group, or maybe on December 24 you just want it to play Christmas music,
or block "parental advisory" stuff when your girlfriend's parents are visiting. B)

You could do similar sorting when selecting tracks to burn to a CD or load to a portable.
 

Best PC Music Player

Reply #17 –
I'm still not sure I need something like that but thanks!
You've finally cleared something that had been on my mind for a long time!
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Best PC Music Player

Reply #19 –
I'll check it out.