what's a really clean sounding media player?

[thomsbrain]

i've been happy user of winamp for years now, but i recently got some nice headphones, and lo and behold, i find out that winamp sounds like garbage. i've always known the built-in EQ was awful and have always left it turned off, but it turns out that even the straight signal is distorted, too. windows media player sounds cleaner, but it sucks for other reasons. anyone know of a player that isn't bloated and sounds clean? or is there another decoder I can use in winamp that is better than the stock one?

BTW, I'm using a very high quality sound card with good D/A and a sheilded breakout box. output from CD's is clean and like I say, windows media is an improvement, so I'm pretty sure it's winamp.

 

[yellowperil]

Winamp sounds fine to me. Maybe your levels are set too high (clipping)

 

[Looney]

I don't think it's the media player that's important, it's the codec and your sound card ability.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Moralpanic
I don't think it's the media player that's important, it's the codec and your sound card ability.

hence the codec part?

Sonique has always claimed their MP3 decoding engine has better fidelity than Winamp's, and I've always agreed.

Give them a try.

Plus, Sonique's equalizer is much more extensive than Winamp's.

 

[fs5]

I got OSS-3D enhancer, works for winamp and wm9 but not itunes
http://www.oss3d.com/usite/index.html

 

[thomsbrain]

i'll check out sonique.

levels aren't a problem, as it does it at any volume and my audio card is capable of balanced outputs (+4db) but is only running at unbalanced levels (-10db) because it runs to my receiver instead of to a mixing console. my VU meters never seem to peak above -18db, which is way below the sound card's max, and i know the receiver has plenty of headroom, too, since i can actually set it to the +4db setting and only the loudest peaks will distort its input. and CD's play back nice and clean. ok, i'm gonna download sonique now.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Moralpanic
I don't think it's the media player that's important, it's the codec and your sound card ability.

hence the codec part?

Sonique has always claimed their MP3 decoding engine has better fidelity than Winamp's, and I've always agreed.

Give them a try.

Plus, Sonique's equalizer is much more extensive than Winamp's.

oh, i thought all players would call on the same codec. Ok, i never knew each player came with their own.

 

[IEatChildren]

Or download the MAD plugin for Winamp. It does improev the sound quality a decent amount if your sound card can handle it, which I'm assuming it should if you're into sound quality.

 

[thomsbrain]

i'll check out MAD next.

i'll keep testing them, but my initial thoughts about sonique are that the download process is lame (but i faked it all anyway so big deal) and that the sound is better than winamp. it has a little less sparkle but there is less distortion. however, windows media player still sounds better. the highs seem to have more realism. but i'll keep listening and try some different songs to get a better idea.

 

[screw3d]

foobar2000

 

[thomsbrain]

MAD seems really good, it's smoother than windows media player and there is more clarity than any of the ones i've tried. plus it works in winamp, which i like, because i hate change. bass is much tighter and clearer, especially when there is more than one bass sound playing at once. big bass drum hits don't affect the bass guitars nears as much. highs are clear and detailed without being harsh. mids are lifelike and the soundstage is good. i'll go with this for a while, hopefully it doesn't give me any problems down the road.

i'll check out the OSS-3D, although I think with these headphones any DSP will just be getting in the way. but you never know, maybe i'll love it.

 

[slydecix]

QCD

 

[beer]

iTunes sounds noticably better than winamp for me.

 

[thomsbrain]

i can't get OSS-3D to enable itself. i can select it and edit the options but it just says inactive on the top no matter what i do. alas.

 

[pennylane]

Get foobar if you don't like winamp. Although I suspect the MAD plug-in may help... could it be the mp3's themselves?

Oh and... what kind of headphones do you have? Sound card?

 

[thomsbrain]

the cans are sennheiser 580's, and the card is an Echo Darla 24, which is a recording-oriented 24bit/96KHz card.

the MAD plugin helped, without a doubt. i like the winamp GUI a lot better than any other program I've seen, so I think I'll try this for a while.

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

I'm gonna try out primarily use my laptop... wonder how much of an improvement

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

huuuuuuuuge difference...........mad is great

 

[Willoughbyva]

Which version of winamp are you using the 5rc8?

 

[Bassyhead]

Originally posted by: screw3d
foobar2000

 

[Viper GTS]

Decoding MP3 is a very straightforward process, the wav stream generated by a media player using a proper plug-in should be identical to any other player.

Of course make sure the EQ is disabled, but beyond that there should be no difference in the raw audio generated from the compressed file.

Are you sure you're not hearing the limitations of the MP3's you're listening to?

I have some very good quality VBR AAC you can try if you'd like.

Viper GTS

 

[Vic]

Either the MAD plug-in for Winamp or Foobar2000. IMO both sound much better than any WMP. Watch the quality of your mp3's too.

 

[IgorFL]

I also recommend this:

XMPlay

 

[thomsbrain]

i certainly do hear the limitation of some of the MP3's with my audio setup, but with a good rip, I can hear the difference between the winamp decoder and the MAD decoder, so it's not just the files. with the MAD and a good file, it sounds damn near CD quality now. of course i haven't tested with any MP3's of CD's I have yet, so I'll need to compare to see if it really is CD quality. it would sure be nice to have a setup where they sounded just as good.