Convenient and most “music lover” software for computer

What is required from a good software player? First of all - omnivorousness. The software must understand all audio file formats that are relevant to music lovers. Equally important is ease of use. In addition, the player must correctly output audio streams to the hardware converter and delicately perform audio processing if necessary.

Let's take a closer look at these important nuances. And let's start with supporting various formats. The most popular among music lovers is encoding with lossless compression, the so-called lossless files. Special algorithms allow you to save the entire volume of audio information, reducing the file size by half on average. Often, lossless recordings also have high resolution (up to 24 bit / 192 kHz), so a modern software player must be able to fully work with such content. And also with various images - file copies of optical media Audio CD or SACD. They can be stored as archives (eg ISO), or as unarchived CUE+APE/FLAC tandems. Unlike single tracks, tandems are structured differently: the entire album or collection is saved as one audio file, and the starting points of each track and the track names are written in the CUE list, a kind of navigation map for the player. Accordingly, if the album is conceived by the authors as a solid sound canvas with compositions smoothly flowing into each other, then you will be able to listen to them without jumps and pauses, while maintaining the ability to move between tracks. If such an album is encoded as separate tracks, then the player must support the Gapless function - automatic removal of pauses at the edges of the recording for an imperceptible transition from the end of one file to the beginning of another.

Music lovers place a number of additional requirements on modern players. One of them is support for the ASIO studio standard. Many internal audio cards have a corresponding driver operating mode; it allows you to route audio streams from the player directly to the device, bypassing the operating system’s processing and routing software. What does this mean in practice? Transmits data with bit precision. Any manipulations with the audio stream occur only with the knowledge of the user! The most popular conscious optimization is equalization. May audiophiles forgive us, but in inexpensive systems installed in ordinary residential premises, frequency correction does more good than harm. In addition, equalizer is different from equalizer. In recording studios, such devices (more precisely, their software analogues are increasingly used) are used everywhere, but this does not prevent the output from receiving excellent tonal quality and a holographic sound stage. In modern audiophile software players for computers, equalizers are, as a rule, very decent. They perform audio processing in 32-bit format, so if “associated losses” in the form of phase distortion are heard, they are rare and on very expensive equipment. At the same time, the equalizer greatly helps to level out the frequency response of speakers or headphones, compensating for “dips” and eliminating “humps”. Of course, the user himself must clearly understand what and how to “tweak” to make listening even more enjoyable. For example, to prevent clipping and compression (a consequence of automatic overload protection) it is better not to go beyond the zero level when adjusting the equalizer: if you need to raise some range, say, by 4 dB, then you need to raise the unselected area and lower the rest.

Today, there are many software players available for Windows-based computers, most of which are completely free. However, a significant part of these solutions do not fully meet the requirements of the modern music lover who uses a PC as the main means of listening to music. We have selected for you three of the most interesting, in our opinion, players that we can recommend with complete confidence.

The information and conclusions presented in this test are relevant for the most recent versions of the software available at the time of publication of the article (December 2015).

3rd PLACE – Winamp

Price – free
Project website –

The current version at the time of publication of the article is 5.666 (yes, exactly three sixes). Hell of a player?

Once upon a time, Winamp was practically no alternative player, if we talk about the combination of functionality and omnivorousness within the existing list of free software. Today, although this product is in demand, it is by no means unique. In recent years, Winamp has remained virtually unchanged in appearance, although it offers modern functionality in full. True, initially its distribution package does not include everything that you would expect from such a product. For example, support for ASIO and CUE lists has to be added using numerous plugins. Also, hostility can be caused by standard interface options - with small buttons, small fonts and a huge number of windows, the information in which is sometimes duplicated (in the screenshot there is a slightly “combed” version). Or you can download any of the many alternative interfaces. It would seem that after all the manipulations the player acquires the necessary functionality and looks acceptable. However, the age of the product makes itself felt. At the same time, no problems with stability on new operating systems have been noticed, so if the WinAmp concept is close to you, then we will not dissuade you.

Pros: multi-window, beloved by some users, for displaying all conceivable information at once, a large number of plugins to expand functionality and change the appearance, the player and plugins are free.

Minuses: The buttons and fonts of the basic interface are too small, the standard functionality is not amazing and needs to be expanded with plugins.

2nd PLACE – Foobar2000

Price – free
Project website –

The current version at the time of publication of the article is 1.3.9. The screenshot shows version 1.3.7, which looks no different from 1.3.9

If there are still Windows users in the world who do not know about the existence of the Foobar2000 project, then it’s time for them to join. This player is not only free, but also omnipotent! More precisely, the basic Foobar2000 is pleasant and easy to use, but does not offer any incredible functionality. But within the community, so many plugins have been created for it that it seems there are no unimplemented functions left. However, if you install only a basic player and one plugin to support APE (Monkey Audio), then nothing more is needed to listen to stereo recordings. Lossless formats? No problem, up to 24/192. Breaking into tracks according to the CUE file for seamless playback? Easy, although Gapless mode for individual files can only be done using a plugin. ASIO support? And she is. And also an upsampler (good with some sound cards) and a really cool graphic equalizer. Those who like to listen to multi-channel recordings can equip the player with appropriate modules that provide support up to DVD-Audio and SACD (DSD). As for the rather boring and somewhat old-fashioned interface, there are also a huge number of so-called skins for it, which radically change not only the design, but also the structure of the windows.

Pros: there are all the attributes for use in a good audio system, an abundance of plugins for almost limitless expansion of functionality and changes in external design, the software itself and the plugins are completely free, good functionality out of the box, and a laconic interface.

Minuses: support for some popular formats needs to be “screwed in” using plugins, controversial ergonomics and visual archaism of the basic interface.

1st PLACE – AIMP

Price – free
Project website - www.aimp.ru

The current version at the time of publication of the article is v4.00 Build 1680

Even experienced Foobar2000 and Winamp users can find the AIMP software player to be a pure delight. Firstly, it has a superbly designed interface with large buttons, a clear waveform of the recording being played back, and display of relevant information, including covers. Nothing superfluous, but everything you need is at hand. Including access to audio processing tools and interface configuration. After installation, the rail is configured in a couple of minutes. This is due not only to the already mentioned initially simple and understandable interface structure, but also to the fact that the entire set that a music lover needs is already “hardwired” into the distribution. Compatibility with Lossless files (FLAC, APE, etc.), CUE lists, ASIO output mode is native, and a customizable Gapless playback mode (with or without attenuation) is also available. So, if you don’t have a desire to adjust the already pleasant appearance of the player using various “skins” that need to be downloaded separately, then you won’t have to delve into plugins at all! In addition, AIMP offers a grabber function for Audio CDs (although we would recommend using EAC reference grabber) and an audio file converter (all popular formats are supported, but conversion to MP3 is not available due to licensing restrictions), can automatically register tags, and even has a scheduled function. If we talk about sound quality, it’s hard to find fault: the developers pay special attention to this issue, so all manipulations with streams are performed in 32-bit format. At the same time, the asset includes such “frivolous” effects as chorus, flanger, reverb, and even changing the speed and tempo of playback, as well as pitch. This set will be appreciated by those who often listen to source recordings, including interviews from voice recorders. It is difficult to find a more convenient player with out-of-the-box functionality that is relevant for a true music lover. Moreover, the product is completely free. Bravo.

Pros: convenient and visual interface, all relevant functionality for music lovers is provided out of the box, built-in file converter, player is completely free.

Minuses: If we're really being picky, the built-in converter can't encode audio files to MP3.