Paul le Fou ([info]paul_le_fou) wrote,
@ 2007-06-14 16:35:00
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Music player programs
Sound off - what program do you use to play/listen to your music?

I've been using iTunes for years, and while I really like the levels of organization it affords me, it seems to slow down my computer more and more every update I get - my computer will freeze up for 5 seconds every time it changes a song, for instance. Also, I've been reorganizing my hard drives and am going to have to re-do my playlists and data, so I figure if there's another program to use, now's the time to check it out.

Suggestions, comments, snide remarks, go go.

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[info]animextreme
2007-06-15 07:00 am UTC (link)
I've gotta be honest, I can't stand iTunes. Huge interface, doesn't support ogm files (and probably a number of others), doesn't support queueing of songs, doesn't start where you left off on the playlist, and so on. I use WinAmp. A lot of people dislike Winamp, but I don't think they realize the functionality.

Keyboard shortcuts to live by: j (jump to file) - I find this to be even more effective than iTunes' search, because it seems to search by ID3 tag and file name (maybe even directory? Not sure). It just means you need to remember less to get to what you were thinking of.

q - queue a song. It's like making a mini playlist within your playlist. Probably most useful if you're DJing for a net radio station and didn't want to have to search for songs on your HD. I use it fairly often just for listening. You can queue songs from the "jump" dialogue, making it even easier; you can also sort the order of your queue list from the jump dialogue as well.

I don't use the Media Library. I used to have many playlists, but these days I just have one huge one. The order of the music just reflects time periods in my life - nice way to rekindle some memories. Using the Jump function, there's no need for separate playlists anymore.

I'd also HIGHLY recommend the Enhancer plugin (google for it, you should be able to find it on the Winamp site). It normalizes the volume and can be used to increase/decrease bass/treble; it can also add reverb if you like. Once I had that, the music just sounded so much better. Any other application is painful. My media player supported Winamp DSP plugins, so my anime even got a sound boost. Some people dislike volume normalization, so maybe it's not for you, but I think it adds a ton more depth to the sound. Only downside is that for all those times you said "I can't hear the difference between a low bitrate and a high bitrate" - this'll make the differences more apparent, especially for piano music.

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