Do any of these iTunes alternatives offer any noticeable improvements in audio quality? My setup is toslink out -> baresford dac -> audioengine a5s, wondering if it's worth switching over.
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Best Mac audio player?
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hi pili, i found vox to be a lot more 'bassy' than itunes, the g.e. seems to be better and sound quality is more 'raw' and clearer. i definately prefer vox. but i have still kept itunes as well. just give it a go mate, i think you will like it. best regards. tug.
At full volume iTunes is bit perfect. Unless you're the kind of person who uses features called things like "bass boost", this is as good as you could possibly get.
Other software may or may not meddle with EQ, but I'd not want to use any that did.
For those who've switched from Windows to Mac and miss the ease of just, let's say, dragging 5 news songs you just downloaded onto the player and you're off and running (instead of being forced into the experience of opening a full application at some point and having to deal with a walled garden shopping mall) I like the MPlayer. It's here: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html.
Itunes not importing mp3s!?
I have music I want to put into itunes, it IS in mp3 formating. When I drag and drop into itunes it does nothing, I have hundreds of other mp3s that drop in no problem. I have tried manually going through user/music/itunes/ and manually placing them into the correct folder according to artist and album; nothing.
I am VERY agitated that I can't listen to my music without downloading a really crappy media player. I do not like itunes, it merely has the best organizational system... as apposed to VLC, VOX, Cog, ect...
If I had it my way I would be using Winamp but I have a mac...
I have tried converting them to mp3s with downloadable software, it just crashes so I deleted that crap. I just wanna listen to my damn music, suggestions?!?!?!?!?!
I have music I want to put into itunes, it IS in mp3 formating. When I drag and drop into itunes it does nothing, I have hundreds of other mp3s that drop in no problem. I have tried manually going through user/music/itunes/ and manually placing them into the correct folder according to artist and album; nothing.
I am VERY agitated that I can't listen to my music without downloading a really crappy media player. I do not like itunes, it merely has the best organizational system... as apposed to VLC, VOX, Cog, ect...
If I had it my way I would be using Winamp but I have a mac...
I have tried converting them to mp3s with downloadable software, it just crashes so I deleted that crap. I just wanna listen to my damn music, suggestions?!?!?!?!?!
You've got to realize that iTunes is supposed to be your file manager for music, movies, etc. Using Finder to do so is really against how native OS X apps are designed to work.
Architectural Nonsense
No one mentioned the main problem I had with iTunes: It makes its own "internal" copy of EVERY SONG (and most movies) you ever listen to or watch. It also collects album covers and all kind of useless crap off of the web which relates to what you listen to. WHAT NONSENSE!!! I have an 80 GB collection of mp3's of my most favorite music. When I lassoed the hits for just one band, and tried to play them all at once, iTunes wasted a few minutes of my time, and then CRASHED. I never did get to hear the group of songs. I sent the crash error to Apple as it requested. I have had this MacBook Pro for 2 weeks now, and I checked the iTunes folder: It contained 2.3 GB of stuff. So iTunes was collecting over a GB per week of REDUNDANT trash on my system. Who told Apple they could do that? Have they gone off the deep-end??? I suspected that was what was going on, because it was SOOOO SLLOOOOOOWWWW, and space was disappearing. I immediately trashed iTunes and the multi-gigabytes of trash it collected. That's why I'm here: I'm looking for something simple and serviceable that will just play music, not duplicate every single unique sound I ever listen to in my life.
Who would even conceive of such an insane architecture? What if all computer apps saved a copy of every piece of data they ever handled or processed? The "architects" at Apple who conceived of such insanity should not only be fired, but they should be barred from ever working with computers or music again. Ever!!!
Unless something else is going on here... What group would be interested in creating this kind of obfuscation to hide something inside a program which runs on virtually every Mac virtually all the time??? Think about it.
--John Beresford Tiption, III
No one mentioned the main problem I had with iTunes: It makes its own "internal" copy of EVERY SONG (and most movies) you ever listen to or watch. It also collects album covers and all kind of useless crap off of the web which relates to what you listen to. WHAT NONSENSE!!! I have an 80 GB collection of mp3's of my most favorite music. When I lassoed the hits for just one band, and tried to play them all at once, iTunes wasted a few minutes of my time, and then CRASHED. I never did get to hear the group of songs. I sent the crash error to Apple as it requested. I have had this MacBook Pro for 2 weeks now, and I checked the iTunes folder: It contained 2.3 GB of stuff. So iTunes was collecting over a GB per week of REDUNDANT trash on my system. Who told Apple they could do that? Have they gone off the deep-end??? I suspected that was what was going on, because it was SOOOO SLLOOOOOOWWWW, and space was disappearing. I immediately trashed iTunes and the multi-gigabytes of trash it collected. That's why I'm here: I'm looking for something simple and serviceable that will just play music, not duplicate every single unique sound I ever listen to in my life.
Who would even conceive of such an insane architecture? What if all computer apps saved a copy of every piece of data they ever handled or processed? The "architects" at Apple who conceived of such insanity should not only be fired, but they should be barred from ever working with computers or music again. Ever!!!
Unless something else is going on here... What group would be interested in creating this kind of obfuscation to hide something inside a program which runs on virtually every Mac virtually all the time??? Think about it.
--John Beresford Tiption, III
hi guys,
i see that a lot of you are not happy so i just want to tell you what i do, its just my way but if it gives you any ideas then im glad.
1) got vox installed (got itunes,cog,vlc also, i just prefer vox) using it with Logitech z2300.
2) created a folder to the right of the dock, store all my mp3s in it, when i want a track i just drag it to vox.
the same with albums, & mp4s. i have them all in grid as apposed to stack.
this works perfectly for me.
also they are all backed up, so i dont worry!
the mp4s are also in itunes for ease when streaming to atv2 if not i use airflick.
just a note: i have extended the leads from the Logitech cos my room is 14 by 12 and use my mac as my sound system. vox in my opinion gives me the sound i like the best (just a personal thing i guess)
i see that a lot of you are not happy so i just want to tell you what i do, its just my way but if it gives you any ideas then im glad.
1) got vox installed (got itunes,cog,vlc also, i just prefer vox) using it with Logitech z2300.
2) created a folder to the right of the dock, store all my mp3s in it, when i want a track i just drag it to vox.
the same with albums, & mp4s. i have them all in grid as apposed to stack.
this works perfectly for me.
also they are all backed up, so i dont worry!
the mp4s are also in itunes for ease when streaming to atv2 if not i use airflick.
just a note: i have extended the leads from the Logitech cos my room is 14 by 12 and use my mac as my sound system. vox in my opinion gives me the sound i like the best (just a personal thing i guess)
That's simple enough to fix. Just untick the 'Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library' option in Preferences.
Lots of hate here for iTunes, but I have to say that it is still the best overall audio manager I have come across for OS X. With a few added AppleScripts to enhance productivity, and some add ons here and there it is pretty good. Although there are some alternatives out there (Songbird coming to mind first), none of these will accomplish all my requirements. [Music, music videos, podcasting, visualizers and iPod syncing]. So while iTunes is not perfect by any means, on OS X your options are frankly pretty limited in this field.
I hated the new iTunes 10 icon at first as did many others, and even replaced it for a while, but it actually quickly grew on me and now I quite like it. The new greyed out menus are also a good idea in my opinion as they move the focus to where it should be, on the content. Still it took a little getting used to.
I just wish that iTunes was skinnable, as I like the dark default look of Songbird over iTunes.
I hated the new iTunes 10 icon at first as did many others, and even replaced it for a while, but it actually quickly grew on me and now I quite like it. The new greyed out menus are also a good idea in my opinion as they move the focus to where it should be, on the content. Still it took a little getting used to.
I just wish that iTunes was skinnable, as I like the dark default look of Songbird over iTunes.
iTunes is poor!
I've got a pretty good setup here, not a standard hi-fi setup but iTunes just kills anything I play through it.
I'm currently using my PC while my mac's in for repairs (screen died) and the sound quiality coming from Windows Media Player 11 100% beats iTunes!
It is a shame however, I would think iTunes would be the one to use, but I'm 110% against it. Shame I have to use it for the iPad and iPhone, if I didn't I'd just dual-boot XP for WMP!
Any suggestions to why iTunes is terrible at delivering audio? This is also the case when you use a mac as direct in on a PA system... Always found this issue! You need to DI the output before hitting the table!
I've got a pretty good setup here, not a standard hi-fi setup but iTunes just kills anything I play through it.
I'm currently using my PC while my mac's in for repairs (screen died) and the sound quiality coming from Windows Media Player 11 100% beats iTunes!
It is a shame however, I would think iTunes would be the one to use, but I'm 110% against it. Shame I have to use it for the iPad and iPhone, if I didn't I'd just dual-boot XP for WMP!
Any suggestions to why iTunes is terrible at delivering audio? This is also the case when you use a mac as direct in on a PA system... Always found this issue! You need to DI the output before hitting the table!
Well the adding files into iTunes ala dragging etc sounds more like a permissions problem. I would check the security settings of the folder those mp3 reside in.
For me I still use iTunes. I have a pretty big library and I am used to the way it works.
My only grip is maintaining a single library for three machines. Wish Apple would make it easier! ALA iTunes Server!
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I've got a pretty good setup here, not a standard hi-fi setup but iTunes just kills anything I play through it.
I'm currently using my PC while my mac's in for repairs (screen died) and the sound quiality coming from Windows Media Player 11 100% beats iTunes!
It is a shame however, I would think iTunes would be the one to use, but I'm 110% against it. Shame I have to use it for the iPad and iPhone, if I didn't I'd just dual-boot XP for WMP!
Any suggestions to why iTunes is terrible at delivering audio? This is also the case when you use a mac as direct in on a PA system... Always found this issue! You need to DI the output before hitting the table!
In what quantifiable way have you experienced that iTunes actually is worse at delivering audio? Can you describe how you have measured this unbiasedly?
Yes I have often wondered about this. Are there any workarounds for managing a single large library across different macs in the house?
Are you using analog or digital out? There is a massive difference.I've got a pretty good setup here, not a standard hi-fi setup but iTunes just kills anything I play through it.
I'm currently using my PC while my mac's in for repairs (screen died) and the sound quiality coming from Windows Media Player 11 100% beats iTunes!
It is a shame however, I would think iTunes would be the one to use, but I'm 110% against it. Shame I have to use it for the iPad and iPhone, if I didn't I'd just dual-boot XP for WMP!
Any suggestions to why iTunes is terrible at delivering audio? This is also the case when you use a mac as direct in on a PA system... Always found this issue! You need to DI the output before hitting the table!
Very true. iTunes isn't perfect, but there simply isn't a better alternative out there, and to be honest, iTunes is already quite an achievement. I've actually always loved using it.
rsync's your friendkdum8 said:
There isn't anything better for the mac then iTunes and there never will be. That is until Apple comes up with something better.
You can use winamp in a vbox (or windoze in bootcamp (ugg)) but VLC is an alternative to iTunes and what I use.
I find iTunes very annoying but have to use it to sync my iPhone and podcast subscriptions.
I find iTunes very annoying but have to use it to sync my iPhone and podcast subscriptions.
Pico player is the best audio player. This players can aces any amateur you create from the drop-down menu in iTunes, a standard play, pause, skip and track, and provide random playback. PicoPlay is a free download of the Mac OS X only. Also, PicoPlay is a barebones music player for OS X that plugs into your iTunes library.
Sorry, I just saw your question. Analog out is depending on your computers DAC (Digital to Analog Convertor) which is usually just okay. Digital out passes the data off to an external DAC to handle the conversion and, generally, they're a lot better. Ex I use: AirPlay > Airport Express > Optical cable > Onkyo HT receiver. It's all digital until it hits the Onkyo's wonderful DAC.
Most likely WOW or some other audio processing garbage.
I agree though, modern audio players put out bit perfect audio. The weak link is the soundcard's DAC.
You can eliminate syncing podcasts by using Instacast (iTunes link) if you normally listen to them on your iphone. It beats the pants off of using the iPod app to play podcasts.
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