Which playback software do you recommend?

Posted by: novak on 04 March 2012

Happy Sunday, folks!

I have just been looking into various forms of 'audiophile' playback software for Mac.

I use a 2011 Mac Mini, Wireworld Supernova Cable into a Naim Dac, onto a Supernait. I currently play tracks through Enqueue, which is easy to use. My files are FLAC.

I have read up on Amarra, Fidelia and others, but I'm just not clear on whether these offer any improvements?

What are your recommendations and thoughts on the best software to use?

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by HuwJ

I used to use itunes in to my nDAC (I also have a SN) via an optical cable. It was always poor in comparison to the USB sticks. I tried Amarra etc but found the difference negligible and the hassle of messing with them painful.

Running apple lossless off my ipod classic sounded better. I'm using spotify premium off my ipad and I'm pretty sure that sounds better than my Apple portable via optical - but it has been a while.

I now have an NDX in to the nDAC and it really does sound a lot better than my Macbook did.

I'm yet to be convinced you can get a good sound from a PC or Mac (unless you spend as much as you would on a Naim Streamer with someone like Item).

Regards

Huw

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by James L

Enqueue looks OK. Nice and simple.

A couple of things I look out for in a player -

Does it automatically switch sample rates?

Will it convert file formats?

Does it have a Remote app?

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by tonym

I agree there's really not much difference between the various types of playback software for the Mac but it's worth trying a few; most offer a free evaluation period.

I finally settled on BitPerfect. Only a few quid, works perfectly in the background and unlike iTunes it'll automatically switch sample rates.

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by Guido Fawkes

I agree with tony I use Decibel to play FLAC though, but I can't hear any difference between different players that are set up for bit perfect replay As an experiment try iTunes with the Equaliser. This Woodwoodian tool will destroy bit perfect replay, but you may prefer what you hear. So some player may deviate from the perfect, but still be more enjoyable. So I'd either stay with what you have or try a few and choose which one suits best. I quite like iTunes, but it is not FLAC friendly

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by sheffieldgraham

Originally Posted by James L:

Enqueue looks OK. Nice and simple.

A couple of things I look out for in a player -

Does it automatically switch sample rates?

Will it convert file formats?

Does it have a Remote app?

James,

All the above provided by Fidelia. Are you still using it?

Guido,

It's also i-Tunes friendly and can convert to many file formats including FLAC.

Novac,

There's also a free trial period.

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by James L

Graham,

Yes, still using Fidelia.

However I have a USB to S/PDIF adaptor on the way as I feel the (current) optical connection has a flavour/character all of it's own (which changes depending on the cable used) which makes everything sound 'same-y'.

Will advise how the new hook-up goes!

Posted on: 04 March 2012 by Mike Smiff

VLC is worth a try as its free and plays FLAC.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by sheffieldgraham

Originally Posted by James L:

Graham,

Yes, still using Fidelia.

Will advise how the new hook-up goes!

I understand from your "Homogenised" post you're getting a Halide Bridge. I'll be interested in how you find it compared to optical. There seem to be many opposing views on the Forum.

Which post will you advise us on? This post or the above?

Other than CD what is your digital source?

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by MediaMatt

Hi Novak,

as you already have your music files in FLAC format, you may want to take a look at Audirvana. It works either as a standalone player or a front-end for iTunes. It also allows for non-iTunes formats, like FLAC, to be played & cataloged from iTunes so you may find it useful for handling your FLAC library.

I've been using it for a few months now & I really like it. It can also be controlled from the free Apple Remote app. There's a free 15-day trial so I'd recommend you giving it a go.

Cheers,

Matthew

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by matpip

Sorry about the stupid question, but what's wrong with itunes?

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by Fozz

For the mac (and PC it appears) I would suggest you try songbird. Free and good.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by pcstockton

Originally Posted by matpip:

Sorry about the stupid question, but what's wrong with itunes?

No flac

No secure ripping

No auto sample rate switching

No easy converting (is there)

No wav tagging

No upnp

No multi-zone music (unless you want to hear the same thing everywhere)

Just to name a few of 100s of possible shortcomings.

-Patrick

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by Guido Fawkes

ITunes is very good in my view - at least on a Mac. They'll always be preferences, but iTunes makes perfect rips and creates a bit perfect stream from ALAC and AIFF and WAV files. It has a very good user interface. There is very little wrong with it. Some folk prefer other players and that is fine. In the test I've done all players configured for bit perfect replay did just that. It would be nice if iTunes automatically configured itself to match the sample rate of the track being played though. We all have our own likes and dislikes and that is reflected on the forum. If you like iTunes then use it and you'll get fine results. I use it with the Bit perfect add on to get the sample rate right. As I don't have a PC then I can only use software that runs on OS X or Unix/Linux. And I remain very happy. Though it will take a back seat when the NDS arrives.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by James L

iTunes is a lot better these days with Lion but compared to Fidelia, iTunes plays files whereas Fidelia (et al) plays music.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by winkyincanada

Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:

It would be nice if iTunes automatically configured itself to match the sample rate of the track being played though.

A brilliant $5 app called BitPerfect does this without any fuss. It is a stellar app. Runs completely in the background but does auto switching of bit depth and sample rate. It also allows the allocation of high priority of processing power to the media player by the OS. I can't recommend it highly enough.

But as Patrick points out, iTunes just plays a single stream of music. Doesn't do anything flash. Lack of native FLAC support is a weakness. I just convert those few FLACs I end up with.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by NickSeattle

Bit Perfect fails to play my Apple-DRM'd music. I only have five such tracks. I have given up on them and bought the CDs! All is well.

To answer OP, I use iTunes (with and without BitPerfect and PureMusic) and SBT. I am about to load JRMC on my project-PC and give it a whirl. Some of you may not have heard of it; a friend of mine says it is rather special.

Nick

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by pcstockton

Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:

iTunes makes perfect rips

No it doesn't actually. Perfect is a VERY strong word. Not ripping hidden tracks and pre-gap data is just one glaring oversight. There are others but this is one that everyone can hear. Where was that lead in Miles played? Where is the crowd at the beginning of that live Ray Charles? Pre-gap may be rare, but perfection has a fairly strict definition. Sorry.

-Patrick

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by pcstockton

Originally Posted by NickSeattle:

I am about to load JRMC on my project-PC and give it a whirl. Some of you may not have heard of it; a friend of mine says it is rather special.

Your friend is wise.

Posted on: 05 March 2012 by Guido Fawkes

As I said different folk will make the case for their own preferences. The DRM problem with BP was one I was unaware of - thanks Nick I'll watch out for that. I don't understand the comment about Fidelia as it produces the same bitstream as iTunes; you can capture it. I did this for several players using Abbey Road as my test album and it was identical every time. If there is a piece of music where there is a difference then I'd be interested to know so I could try it. I can't argue with Patrick's statements as I don't have any albums that exhibit these problems. I meant perfect in the sense that the PCM data (music) in every track I checked was the same whether ripped by CD Paranoia, XLD or iTunes or in some cases Naim. If you are concerned about iTunes missing things then the free XLD program will do all the pre-gap stuff and load the resultant files directly in to iTunes Yes iTunes does not play FLAC files so if this is important to you then use Decibel or another player. I have two music stores. One is in iTunes on a disc attached to a Mac Mini. The other is on a Vortexbox. When the NDS is available then all my playing will be through Naim players so the Vortexbox will reign supreme. This is because Naim has chosen UPnP and the Vortexbox supports it whereas Apple uses DAAP. Given this approach I cannot see any advantage in my ever using a PC - the only thing I could do with a PC that I cannot do now is rip HDCD with dBPA and a friend has already done this for the ones I have. So I would still maintain if you have a Mac as your computer then iTunes is fine. There are other players and these are fine too. So James choice of Fidelia works for him. I cannot hear any difference between correctly set players, running on the same Mac, but I can hear a difference between different hardware. The best I have achieved is using the player from Naim fed by a Vortexbox. Folks should simply use the player that works for them on their chosen platform. Set up properly they will sound the same on 99% of songs -in my humble opinion, of course.

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by tonym

Sensible posts from Mr Fawkes. If you've a Mac, iTunes makes sense and is fine. If you're wanting automatic bit-rate switching then BitPerfect's the best choice because it runs perfectly happily in the background and is dirt cheap.

Patrick, please excuse me for maybe getting misled, but having studied your postings I do get a slight sense that you're not 100% sold on iTunes? Forgive me if I've read this wrong.

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by Foot tapper

Tony,

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by BigH47

I don't know what has happened but I cant't get V1 of BP to work.

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by pcstockton

Originally Posted by tonym:

Patrick, please excuse me for maybe getting misled, but having studied your postings I do get a slight sense that you're not 100% sold on iTunes? Forgive me if I've read this wrong.

If I had a Mac, and a Mac only, I would use XLD and iTunes. There aren't many other decent choices that I know of.

That said, if either platform had something serious to offer me I would buy one as my dedicated audio computer without prejudice.

I used iTunes for years (on a MB and a PC) until I was shown other far superior options. And I still use it daily to sync my iPhone with Outlook.

In the rare case you end up with a CD with Pre-emphasis (I have more than a few), iTunes comes in handy for burning a de-emphasized CD, that you can then rip properly in EAC

-Patrick

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by novak

Interesting to read up on these, and thanks for the input.

So far I have tried:

iTunes (nice interface but no flac)

Songbird (seemed to be full of bugs)

PureMusic (attaches to iTunes, so same applies)

Enqueue (Nice use interface and seems to sound good)

Amarra (Looks awful, can't do libraries unless you use iTunes - and expensive too)

My choice is: Fidelia.

There's not much between this and Enqueue, but I think it might be a little more refined in SQ, but it's only very subtle if it is. The interface looks to be stable and haven't had any problems so far.

Posted on: 06 March 2012 by James L

I like Fidelia.

One thing it doesn't do is you can't start playing a track by highlighting the selected track and start the song with the space bar. The only way, as far as I can see, to start a track is to double-click. A tad annoying.

In comparision to iTunes, I don't get ear fatigue with Fidelia.

iTunes has always sounded "bitty" to me.