TheEliteOne Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I have the Promedia 5.1's and an Audigy 2 soundcard. I was wondering what is the best software to PLAY mp3's or wma's on that will take full advantage of my soundcard/ speakers so it would sound the best?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I don't know about pay for software, but the best sounding free player I have heard (in my opinion) is Real Player. I have listened to Winamp, Windows Media Player and Real Player. I personally like Real Player the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 I don't know about sound quality... but sorry m00n... I've given up on real player a long time ago... it always seems that i "must download the newest version" and it installs itself to run in the background.... that just bugs the $h1t out of me. Kinda like quicktime... who knows how many times i've removed it from my startup programs, it always insists of puting itself back. I guess i'm an old fashion type of guy who is a PC control freek... I'm currently using an older version of winamp (small) but i haven't ever used my PC for any serious listening. That might change soon as I may plug it into an old reciever with a pair of Paradigms and a sub. Sorry if my post seems more like a rant than a recommendation... cause that is what it is... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 i too use the old version of winamp... http://classic.winamp.com there's nothing you can't do with it and it does it very smoothly. i use the cbwamp skin (cuz the default skins for winamp are ugly). winamp also rocks for playing music through networks and all that crap...i was even just reading about some german invention that uses winamp to play MP3 audio through your electrical outlets! and winamp is free. and lastly, winamp has a very handy graphic EQ <> well that's my sales pitch for wat it's worth...i've tried all the other programs out there (jukebox, real player, etc etc...). my second choice would be windows media player (and that's free too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 MooN, Interesting and may I ask please define what more did you hear with RealPlayer? What is the setup you use(sound card,speakers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 eAR, here at home I have an old Sound Blaster Live Value card, Klipsch Pro Media 4.1. Where I noticed the most difference was at work with some built in sound card, not sure what it is. I just found it to have a smoother sound to it than Winamp. Especially when you turn on Winamps eq. All that thing does is distort the sound in a bad way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 I hate EQ's for normal music listening... I use Winamp classic, with the Direct Fading (or crossfading) output device. I forget exactly what it is called... but it is not the wav out one. It sounds pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 MoOn, Just leave the EQ OfF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 ---------------- On 8/17/2003 7:57:18 AM TheEAR wrote: MoOn, Just leave the EQ OfF. ---------------- tHeeAr, I have fooled around and fooled around with the eq. I can get it to sound generally better with the EQ on, but at some point in time it always seems to distort. So... Yeah, I do leave them of. So, when I have compaired the three, it was were all eqs were off. Your turn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Moon - if it's distorting, why don't you try backing off the preamp stage? Pull it down a couple dB until you see all the peaks again, then EQ to taste. Those of us who do it for a living generally use subtractive EQ over additive, simply because of the tendency of any EQ to distort signal when you boost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Griff, what's subtractive eq'ing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Back them sliders down, baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 I hate to bring this one up, but we have banned real player from our network. Everytime we loaded it, a bunch of spyware always appeared with it. I have been using Winamp here also with my soundblaster live with the digital out to my receiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Agreed, that's why I no longer use Real Player. Strictly use Winamp 2.80 and Windows Media Player 9 Series with my lowly SoundBlaster PCI512 soundcard (and the latest QuickTime for my brother's Nikon digital camera). Works for me, and my ProMedias are quite pleased! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 ---------------- On 8/15/2003 11:46:57 PM TheEliteOne wrote: I have the Promedia 5.1's and an Audigy 2 soundcard. I was wondering what is the best software to PLAY mp3's or wma's on that will take full advantage of my soundcard/ speakers so it would sound the best?? ---------------- I have an Audigy 2 and use my workstation exclusively for sources. It connects to my HK preamp --> McIntosh 2125 amp --> Klipsch La Scalas. I use Winamp 3 for all of my mp3 and Audio CD files. It has the best sound in my opinion. I have used it since at least 1997 and have found none better. Go here and download if you don't already have it. www.winamp.com There is also a digital effects plugin that you can get for it called DFX. It allows you to virtually increase 'Fidelity' of the mp3 your listening to as well as providing 'Ambience', '3D Surround', 'Dynamic Boost' and 'HyperBass' settings. I listen to only 320kb mp3 when I listen to them at all. If I use the DFX plugin it's only to add a little 3D surround and I set that at 1 on a 1 to 9. I don't know for sure but I think that maybe such plugins add some distortion by their nature but I'm not absolutely certain. Winamp for sure. It's the best mp3 player out there and is compatible with Microsoft's Direct sound processing found in Windows XP. Be sure to update your Direct X components so that you'll have the latest updated files. Also might try Sonique mp3 player as well. It's also a good one. www.sonique.com Regards, Tony B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Subtractive EQ is when you cut frequencies that offend you, rather than boosting frequencies you favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 I used to have a Soundcraftsman EQ that had balancing LED's on it, so that you could monitor the input against the output to keep both relatively the same. It was a good way to learn how to keep things balanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Some of you computer guys may have already seen this thread... but for those who haven't, there is a NEW discussion on this subject at ArsTechnica in the following thread... Ars Discussion: the best audio player for Windows? So far seems to be : 1) WinAmp 2.xx 2) WMP (windows media player) I guess i fall into group (1) for efficient use of resources... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 After reading the thread that Formica posted in his post above I'd have to say that Foobar2000 is a good player to start with. I may use it from now on. Simple. Great sound. Takes hardly any system resources and offers many audiophile features such as 24\32 bit output, etc. Download and check it out. http://www.foobar2000.org/ It doesn't have the fancy skins but it does have the ability to output great sound which is what it's about anyway. Tony B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Another very good player is UltraPlayer. It is free, and the MP3 decode is supposed to be one of the best. http://www.ultraplayer.com Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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