Please recommend a no-BS audio player for Windows 7

[andrew732]

I need an audio player for Windows 7 64 bit that 1) can handle more or less any conceivable bit depth, sampling rate, and audio file format, 2) gives me a large, easy-to-see spectrum analyzer and graphic equalizer, and 3) has a recognizable menu bar with things like File, View, Help, etc. Heavyweight audio editors like SoundForge or WaveLab are not on the table; I just need a quick and easy player. Also, I don't have any need for fancy media library management.

Like just about every aspect of Windows XP, Windows Media Player 11 did all the above perfectly. But of course, only the atrocious Media Player 12 is usable on Windows 7. Media Player Classic and WinAmp don't seem to do what I need either, although at least they have freaking menu bars and with enough codecs, they can handle just about any type of audio file. I refuse to use iTunes or any Apple products.

I use PotPlayer for video and it seems like the last video player I will ever need, plus it does it all with its own built-in codecs. Is there something that's kind of an equivalent to PotPlayer but for audio? Thanks.

[El Heggunte]

foobar2000

Not sure if you'll think it looks like PotPlayer, though

[ozok]

I'm sure somewhere someone created a skin for fb2k to make it look like PotPlayer.

[transporterfan]

AIMP is a cracking player with a variety of skins and is easily customisable. The old version (v2.61) has a converter and recorder built in too.

http://www.aimp.ru/
http://www.aimp.ru/files/skins/k/Kenwood_KX-4520_full.jpg

http://www.aimp2.us/

[Hoser Rob]

VLC is actually my favorite win7 music player of the ones I tried, and I tried every one I found. No complaints about format/codecs there, and the playlist features are excellent. It's also very configurable.

Foobar does indeed have good peformance but it's just so damn clunky to use and there's far too much dependence on 3rd party plugins for features I consider basic, and that can really cause problems when you update. Sorry, but I just frakkin' hate foobar ...

I use linux more for music and my favorite audio player ever is Clementine. No format problems there either. There's a windows version but I've never tried it. Programs ported from Linux are good for format compatibility (like VLC too) using their own libraries. They have to be.

[AllisOne]

@transporterfan

AIMP3 (the newest version at the moment is 3.55) has a converter and a recorder as well.

And http://www.aimp2.us/ according to the AIMP developers is a fake: http://www.aimp.ru/index.php?do=news&id=61

@ http://www.aimp.ru/ you can chose languages: Russian or English.

[transporterfan]

@transporterfan

AIMP3 (the newest version at the moment is 3.55) has a converter and a recorder as well.

And http://www.aimp2.us/ according to the AIMP developers is a fake: http://www.aimp.ru/index.php?do=news&id=61

@ http://www.aimp.ru/ you can chose languages: Russian or English.

Thanks for the info on v3.55.
I know it's a fake (http://www.aimp2.us/) but as far as I know it's not dangerous. Just a donation scam.

[AllisOne]

Just to clarify you need to add some encoders manually to Modules folder (probably because of licences), like lame_enc.dll for .mp3 or neroAacEnc.exe, faac.exe or qaac.exe for .aac or .m4a/.mp4. Check Encoders.xml file.

[hello_hello]

I've been using foobar2000 for years. It's very versatile in that it can be configured lots of different ways and there's lots of plugins for it. It'll convert from one format to another and rip CDs. I use foobar2000 for converting movie/TV series soundtracks more than my video conversion program. It can take a bit of getting used to though and might take a bit of experimenting to configure to your liking. As you can see from my screenshots my foobar2000 setup is different to El Heggunte's foobar2000 setup.

[DarrellS]

I use foobar to convert some files that dBpoweramp won't (with foo files) but for playing and managing music, I use MusicBee. I used to use MediaMonkey but it became too much of a resource hog.

http://getmusicbee.com/

I never took the time to get foobar to look like hello_hello or even El Heggunte or I'd probably just use foobar.

[hello_hello]

DarrellS,
I've always thought there should be a place for foobar2000 users to share their configurations, given setting it up nicely can be a bit time consuming, especially if you're not familiar with it, and especially as sharing them is quite easy to do. Maybe there is a place I'm not aware of.

Here's my configuration. It includes the decoder plugins I use so once the files are copied to the correct location foobar2000 should decode all the common formats. Items can be added to existing/new playlists via the left and middle mouse buttons (once the media library location has been set and foobar2000 has scanned it).

There's a text file included with instructions as to where to copy the configuration files and how to do same basic GUI configuring stuff etc. If anyone decides to try my configuration, please report back as to whether it worked as expected. There's no reason why it shouldn't. Of course you'd need to download foobar2000, install it and run it once before replacing the existing configuration files with the attached ones.

[DarrellS]

Here is the foobar2000 forum...

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=28

Thanks for the configuration files.

[andrew732]

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like Foobar2000 might be the way to go, although it is awfully ugly and clunky. I may just try to find a way to use Media Player 11 on Windows 7.

[hello_hello]

I gave MusicBee a spin today. I'm pretty set in my ways and tend to dislike new software at first unless it does something new and exciting, but I didn't mind MusicBee. In fact I'm starting to like it. I still don't know my way around it very well, especially in respect to how things are added to playlists, but it seems like a nice player.
The main advantage (for me) I can see foobar2000 has over MusicBee is it's converter preset system is a bit more versatile and allows you to use DSPs while converting. If you're not into that sort of thing, MusicBee seems to make a good converter too. I haven't messed around with it yet in respect to discovering if it'll decode formats such as AC3 or DTS but it has a 15 band EQ which was on andrew732's wish list, It doesn't seem to have a spectrum analyzer built-in but maybe there's a DSP that'll do it. I haven't got as far as downloading DSPs yet.

I guess I should take AIMP for a spin too when I get a chance.

[antonred17]

I think Winamp is still a cracking choice for a non sound editing use.

[2Bdecided]

VLC is actually my favorite win7 music player of the ones I tried, and I tried every one I found. No complaints about format/codecs there, and the playlist features are excellent. It's also very configurable.

It doesn't support gapless playback, and it doesn't play audio or video back at the right speed or a consistent speed (except by pure luck). http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=104958 It does have very good codec support, but so do several other players.

Each to their own. Some people like iTunes.

Cheers,
David.