2. pc-audio
  3. 126460-80

Best Sounding Computer Audio Player For PC


 I have been using Foobar2000 to play computer audio through my DAC. It is simple and straight forward. But I am wondering if there is a better sounding players out there. I tried JRiver and thought the sound was slightly better. But JRiver is designed for not only music but video and well as photos. There is a lot of overhead that I really don't need or want.

 So what other audio players have better sound than Foobar2000?
128x128lostbears
lostbears's avatar
lostbears OP
538 posts
 

I have a Synology 415+ NAS that I use to store music and video.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,379 posts
 
HQ Player is the obvious consensus answer according to the online comments of the most enthusiastic computer audiophile crowd. The downside is you need a more powerful computer than typical and it is more complex to use than JRiver or similar. Built-in digital EQ is a bonus if you are into that. Many tout it's ability to upsample and convert PCM into quad DSD. Whether or not you can take advantage of it depends on your choice of dad since quad DSD is just coming into common use. 

All that being said, I don't do any of it because I prefer a simpler solution using a NAS and network player(aka single purpose tiny Linux computer made specifically just to run audio) with a tablet-based & phone-based control app. Search microRendu if you care about that whole thing which gets off your topic. Cheers,
Spencer 
lostbears's avatar
lostbears OP
538 posts
 

Spencer, microRendu looks very interesting but would not work for me. My NAS is not in the same room (or floor) as my stereo. Also it does not say what DACs it supports. My DAC uses a special USB driver so I am guessing it wouldn’t work.

dbtom2, I browsed the roon website. The overall concept is interesting. But I don’t think it is what I am looking for.


gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
Windows Media Player 12
uberdine
100 posts
 
PCs are too noisy for proper sound. You can pick up a decent second hand macbook with an ssd drive on ebay for less than $800, install Audirvana Plus for $75, connect your dac, and you have a superb standalone music player for less than a grand. The software comes with a pdf explaining how to optimise your laptop for best sound. Basically you want to run it off battery power, use the correct usb port, set Audirvana preferences so that you're in Type One Integer Mode, then fiddle with the computer's main volume so that you can max out the volume on Audirvana. I run the dac straight into a power amp and it sounds incredible.
I tried PureMusic and Amarra as well: They both sound great but I prefer Audirvana by quite some margin.

Avoid iTunes at all costs. It sounds horrific. Just. Just awful.
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