Have you tried Songbird?
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I haven't tried any media players yet but the first I'm going to try is BitPerfect. It seems to be the least intrusive, retaining the 'look' of iTunes but handles the music end well (check out their blog from the designer). You can get it directly from the iTunes app store. If anyone knows why it should be avoided, I'd like to know. All the best, Nonoise |
My rough order of preference: Fidelia -detail and dynamics, get the full version $79 Amarra - just feels good, too pricey Decibel and Audirvana are tied. Pure Music- this may rank much higher, honestly it has been awhile on this one. Bit perfect is in the middle somewhere- I haven't spent a lot of time with the newer versions. |
I use Fidelia, but the cheaper version, ($20). Works fine with a lovely interface. It just uses iTunes as your library but plays and converts if needed without any hiccups. I also use BitPerfect. Even cheaper, ($5). But you retain the iTunes interface. The only issue with BitPerfect is that it's not Airplay compatible. |
I just downloaded BiPerfect and it's.......perfect. Playing through the Centrance DACmini is kind of a revelation, of sorts, in a way, whatever. It's never sounded so good. It's also the first time I've had tons of visual clues hitting me all at once, continuously, accompanied by some slight shifts in location, tone, etc., like it was righting itself. Best $5 tweak I've ever done. This is fun. |
Here is the site for BitPerfect: http://bitperfectsound.blogspot.com/ For some reason I can't get it to come up at the iTunes app store. Just click on 'Purchase' in the main title and it will take you there. I believe it only works on Macs. Enjoy |
Erndog, The Apple Store should have it right when they say you need OS X 10.6.6 or later. You can double check at the designer's link above. Bpopman, No, sorry, it doesn't work with AirPlay. But it will respond to my iPod Touch as a remote using the built in AirPlay from my iMac. And yes, it sounds great. At least to my ears. All the best, Nonoise |
Gmahler2u, I don't select buffer size or upsampling size. I'm under the impression that it's done automatically. If there is a provision for further tweaks, I haven't done any yet. As for the "tick, tick, tick" sound you are getting, I am a total loss. I believe you should email the designer and ask him. He is very good at responding and should know what to do. Two emails that I sent him were answered within 10 minutes (I must have caught him while at work). All the best, Nonoise |
I tried the trial version of Pure Music for 15 days and now I'm trying the trial version of Decibel. In my system, Decibel wins hands-down. Now I will admit that I might not have tweaked Pure Music as well as I could have, but Decibel clearly improved the music in every way possible. The downside to Decibel is that you have to load tracks into the player before playing them, which takes away much of the spontaneity of playing music from the computer. |