Best windows software player

[beerandmusic]

I started a previous thread, but just called it best Software player, but got too much input on MACs, and i refuse (like the vast majority of pc users) to bite the apple.

 

Apple has decent players (or so i have heard, e.g. A+), but there is nothing decent for windows players. They are all missing something.

 

So i plan on keeping this thread going until I either buy another product (i already bought jriver, but it is too bloated for my liking, and HQPLAYER bests it for SQ), or end up buying a hardware media server that has a windows control point.

 

I believe I have tried all the windows offerings (except for roon) and am not happy yet...mainly because of my love of DSD. There isn't one decent windows player or control point for windows for one or more reasons.

 

Here's the list.

 

ROON - I have not tried, nor will i ever try because of it's $500 price tag. Others have said the SQ is inferior to HQPlayer, and I believe it. Why would anyone buy a product for $500 that has inferior sound to a product 1/3 the price. Many will suggest to spend $700 and use HQPLAYER with ROON. I personally don't want to have to spend $700 to get a decent player, and don't want to have to use 2 players to get satisfaction. Also, what FOOL would spend $500 when they know they have sold it for $350, unless their pocket are so deep where $700 won't affect them financially...not my camp anyway.

 

HQPLAYER- Best SQ available today with a reasonable price, but oh, that GUI...not intuitive, difficult to do simple tasks...even his best supporters don't like his GUI.

 

AUDIOGATE - Great if you have a KORG DAC, and even if you don't it will sound better than 90% of the players out there, but it only supports Native DSD with Korg DACS.

 

JPLAY - sounds great, no native dsd, and no gui.

 

RESONIC - sounds great, very fast, but no native DSD. In beta testing, and they "say" they are currently working on ASIO for native DSD implementation....great potential here.

 

JRIVER - one word, BLOATWARE. many people like it, but i easily can hear HQPLAYER best it in SQ and out of the box it is not native DSD friendly... you can get there after about 3-4 settings, but again, HQPLAYER easily bests it for sq and much simpler to get going.

 

FOOBAR - with plugins, native DSD capable, but you need 2 different plugins and the end result is subpar HQPLAYER for sound. Probably the best currently available for windows due to HQPlayers GUI and flexibility...but i am still searching for one that supports native DSD out of the box, has a decent GUI, and will rival the sound of HQPLAYER.

 

There are a slew of others, but not that i am aware of that supports NATIVE DSD, which i believe is the best format for SQ.

 

What we need is Audivarna for windows or something similar....is anything in the works?

 

If not, my next purchase will likely be a aurrendar once they have a windows control point (they market that it is in the works).

[beerandmusic]

Buy a Mac - you'll never look back BTW I use JRiver on a Mac

 

if you are talking amps, i will agree....

 

too old to change os's these days. Retired from IT after 40 years, and never bit the apple, and not going to start now.

[beerandmusic]

I will continue to update "MY" list in this thread as i recall, learn about existing, and as more products come available.

 

HQPLAYER- Best SQ available today with a reasonable price, but oh, that GUI...not intuitive, difficult to do simple tasks...even his best supporters don't like his GUI.

 

AUDIOGATE - Great if you have a KORG DAC, and even if you don't it will sound better than 90% of the players out there, but it only supports Native DSD with Korg DACS.

 

JPLAY - sounds great, no native dsd, and no gui.

 

RESONIC - sounds great, very fast, but no native DSD. In beta testing, and they "say" they are currently working on ASIO for native DSD implementation....great potential here.

 

JRIVER - one word, BLOATWARE. many people like it, but i easily can hear HQPLAYER best it in SQ and out of the box it is not native DSD friendly... you can get there after about 3-4 settings, but again, HQPLAYER easily bests it for sq and much simpler to get going.

 

FOOBAR - with plugins, native DSD capable, but you need 2 different plugins and the end result is subpar HQPLAYER for sound. Probably the best currently available for windows due to HQPlayers GUI and flexibility...but i am still searching for one that supports native DSD out of the box, has a decent GUI, and will rival the sound of HQPLAYER.

 

XXHIGHEND - non-starter no DSD

 

MEDIA MONKEY - according to the internet this is most popular commerical program for windows - for me, non-starter, no DSD...although the interface looks very nice.

 

WTF - support native dsd, but no GUI.

[beerandmusic]

Can we assume that you've given up on your Teac NT-503's internal/firmware DSD file player and have instead opted to use one of its DAC inputs tethered to a computer?

 

Was it a sound quality issue, eg, how does the NT-503's own player compare to HQPlayer outputting to the NT-503's DAC?

 

 

I found using upnp (minimserver and upplay) was quite comparable to using hqplayer and usb implementation. I havn't done serious comparisons at length to be able to say i prefer one sq over the other. I will continue to compare....but to be honest, my biggest desirability is remote control from a PC. As you know the upplay did that for me via upnp, but it was slower than usb. I now am running remote desktop to the media pc so i have my windows control...so for the time i am favoring going back to the windows programs and usb implementation, than using upplay.

 

As suggested, i am not content with current windows offerings.

 

I may end up with sonore and roon, but roon will have to change their price structure and have better sq first (once spoiled by hqplayer, i won't tolerate something less sq wise), and i certainly am not going to buy both roon and hqplayer. I am certain a better offering is on the frontier.

[beerandmusic]

There are two great free programs not on your list:

1. Bug Head - best sounding player imo, not your most user friendly interface. I use Remote Desktop from my IPad

2. HYSOLID - HYSOLID | Hi-Res PC audio player (free) This by far the bests the bunch on your list. There is a thread on the jplay site for you to read as well. You can use jplay asio as output. The gui is very intuitive, and responsive on both iDevice and droid device.

 

 

I have tried hysolid already, and discounted it for one reason or another, which i don't

recall right now...but i will revisit so that i can update the listing.

 

Bughead i have heard of but haven't found a windows download...can you share a link? I believe that was the japanese program which directions are also in japanese. I will still try and include in my list if you can share a link?

 

I am thinking that Hysolid may be the same mfr as the one that comes with the TEAC? i will know once i see it, but if it is, it was no where in comparison to hqplayer imho.

[beerandmusic]

Guess the full GUI media players are going to sound inferior compared to the limited/non GUI players due to the bloat. So if you want a GUI, guess your going to have to distinguish which players offer a proper GUI/format capabilities and which don't, then evaluate on SQ. That is why I went with JRiver, plus needed video HQ audio capabilities.

 

Looks like you have, Roon, JRiver, Foobar. Pick your poison. Expensive, cheap, free. JRiver is the only one to play back video.

 

 

i have jriver licensed and even paid update fees in last month, but still don't use it...i gave it another try, but the sq wasn't on par.

Audiogate, foobar, and free trial of hqplayer are my current players that i use.

I don't hear as much a difference on low res files, but where audiogate and hqplayer shine is when listening to native dsd.

[beerandmusic]

BTW I use HQPlayer and I'm happy

 

 

is it the only player you use regularly?

[beerandmusic]

Here is a link for bughead - it is not very easy to understand so it my not be your thing:

Infinity Blade HQ (Bug Head Emperor) worth trying - Computer Audio - JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

 

I also want to add that I paid for jplay, jriver and now HQPlayer.

 

Thanks for all the information. i will definitely try bughead (already tried jplay), but if you have tried bughead and stuck with HQP, i will likely feel the same.

 

I have used bughead/jplay for the last year and a half and couldn't be happier until now.

I am now using HQPlayer upsampling to DSD512 and using Alchemy desktop to get around some of the HQ front end shortcomings...

HQPlayer up-sampling is really where it is at as Miska stated above.

 

 

For HQPlayer, I really don't want to see anything added other than a tree browser for my needs (GUI wise)- even better would be a HQPlayer service without a front end with a third party such as Alchemy using Miskas' API to control the app.

 

Sounds like Miska has found another strong supporter of HQPlayer in you, and like everyone else you would like a tweek to the GUI....can you explain what you mean by wanting a treeview? It already has that? Do you mean a treeview you can play from without having to add to playlist or what are you asking for? The top pane that he calls library view, is what i would call treeview?

 

Can you explain the alchemy integration with hqp you speak of? that sounds like it may be the ticket for me as well, if you can use another GUI but his player. I know roon users are doing this and are happy. Can you give me step-by-step instructions on what i need to do to accomplish this?

[beerandmusic]

If you are not doing upsampling with HQPlayer, you are not really using it at all.

 

You should be playing your low res upsampled to DSD to really hear what it is about. And you can also upsample DSD to higher rates.

 

The vast majority of the music i listen to now is already 2xDSD or higher. Even if you say i am not using your upsampling, your player still sounds far above the rest, but i will keep that in mind if i ever have a need to listen to something lower than 2xDSD...not sure i would upsample 2xDSD to 4xDSD..but i will give it a whirl in the future...right now, still looking for a decent gui, and this alchemy may be the ticket i have been looking for.

[beerandmusic]

I have fooled with many of these and some on iOS but my requirement is that it must support multichannel as well as DSD.

Granted.

 

C'mon. It ain't that hard and, in fact, it can be made more customized to one's particular preferences than any other.

 

I agree about the sound but it is no easier to implement than JRiver.

 

So, I use both and drag the selection from JRiver to HQPlayer. So far, the best of both worlds.

 

Thanks...it seems most everyone that likes HQPlayer uses a different GUI. I would likely jump on that bandwagon also if i knew how? Although i want something a bit more integrated than "dragging from one player to another"? I think i hear that others have integrated ROON and Alchemy such that they use their interface but it plays to hqplayer. That sounds far more enticing, than "dragging from one to another"? As for Jriver, it's not difficult, but i just forget where the 3 settings are...you would think they would make native dsd a default setting where you wouldn't have to "look" for these settings. Maybe they just figure a lot of people don't have dacs that support native dsd...but they should make it just one setting rather than 3 hidden in different spots...jmo...enough of a pain where i feel the "gripe" is substantiated.

[beerandmusic]

^^^^ Since i have paid for Jriver, and i like the interface well enough, i think i would like to use jriver to play to hqplayer if that is possible? Not interested though if i would have to "drag" from one to the other...is it possible jriver can be configured where it is a bit more integrated?

[beerandmusic]

You only have to find it once.

 

not as often as i change my hardware and software (wink). I have probably uninstalled/reinstalled jriver a dozen times, and still look for it every time.

[beerandmusic]

No. I have pressed that matter.

 

Bummer....wishful hoping.

How is ROON able to and not jriver? was ROON customized specifically for HQPLAYER? Regardless i will never pay $500 for a subpar SQ player, and not going to buy two players for $700...so doesn't really matter. Maybe alchemy is a worthy front end....i will research that...and in the mean time Miska said he will add the functionality i was seeking in next release...so that may be enough for me....i am not going to pay $700 to see Miles Davis biography on my player.

[beerandmusic]

Have a look also at Muso with HQPlayer if it fits your bill

http://klarita.net/muso.html

 

Interesting...at first look, this appears as a better interface than alchemy.

How much is 20 euros?

Can you post a quickstart guide for use with HQPlayer?

----

update....

Decided to give it a whirl...before i go ANY further, i went to options and see a section for file formats, and these are listed by default...

.mp3 .mp4 .m4a .flac .ogg .ape

 

Before i go further, does it support DSD files?

If not, it's a non-starter for me.

 

I would hope that it would support whatever the player supports, and I know hqplayer supports DSD, so fingers are crossed.

 

If we get passed that, i also noticed where i can pick the player, but it didn't have HQPlayer listed..just said none connected and HQPLayer is currently running, so what is the trick there? I hate reading manuals (grin).

[beerandmusic]

You just add "DSF" to the file formats

 

This is a thread from NextHardware.com where you can find valuable indications (translated from IT to EN)

Muso - a library manager for HQPlayer in Windows

 

 

Thank you sir! Sounds promising!

[beerandmusic]

Thank you sir! Sounds promising!

 

muso looks like a very nice interface.... i think that author and Miska should team up to provide a player available to the world.

[beerandmusic]

Yes Roon has been customized to interface with HQplayer. The pair work together very well. I use Roon and HQplayer to up-sample all my music files to DSD512.

 

Also, Roon can be rented for $119 per year and the subscription can be cancelled at anytime.

 

 

will never do a subscription nor will i ever pay $500...won't happen..not this camp...

[beerandmusic]

I use Roon and HQplayer to up-sample all my music files to DSD512.

.

 

yes, you can do that with HQplayer alone without having to "rent".

[beerandmusic]

After all that, I would think that you would remember. Perhaps you need more RAM. ;-)

 

i have a memory leak (wink back)

[beerandmusic]

Well if it turns out that you can't tell the difference between your NT-503 playing the DSD files and HQPlayer playing the same files through the NT-503's DAC, couldn't you ignore the annoyance that you'll only be using ~5% of JRiver's functions and use its UI (that you like well enough) just as a controller for the NT-503 as a network audio player?

That is another option worth consideration... I haven't tried that...definitely worth consideration. I will probably play with MUSO first though...it seemed like an interesting offering. I will do some sq comparisons of both though before i buy muso...but i will buy HQPlayer regardless, once i check out his next release. I really don't mind his interface or any "plain" interface...i don't need to read biographies or see pretty pictures when i want to listen to music....if i wanted pretty pictures i would watch a multichannel 4K bluray. Next release of HQPlayer may be enough for me for my stereo sessions...i already know i like HQplayer's SQ. Also as Miska pointed out, that his product shines when upsampling, so maybe i will try some of my older flacs again....i have been spoiled by native dsd for over a year now....but may revisit the old stuff.

[beerandmusic]

It is a matter of will. Ability is not the issue.

 

Someone else stated that ROON was customized specifically to support HQPlayer, and that is why? Are you saying now that Jriver does have the ability to use HQPLayer (without dragging)? I am confused as to your term "ability"...

[beerandmusic]

Well if it turns out that you can't tell the difference between your NT-503 playing the DSD files and HQPlayer playing the same files through the NT-503's DAC, couldn't you ignore the annoyance that you'll only be using ~5% of JRiver's functions and use its UI (that you like well enough) just as a controller for the NT-503 as a network audio player?

 

Also, my guess is that it is because of the UPNP protocol that makes the ethernet a little slower in response...the volume didn't work on upplay to the teac either....although the mute would. Not sure if i would have other UPNP issues that i don't experience with direct usb implementation, even using jriver...but definitely a consideration.

[beerandmusic]

The title of this thread is best Windows software player, not best free Windows software player.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

Maybe you should think about more music and less beer. Roon costs less than a case of beer each month.

 

 

Best is a relative word. Roon is NOT the best by any means. It's SQ is subpar HQPlayer, so if i had to say which is BEST, it would be HQPlayer....Roon may have best gui, but it is NOT the best player. And is NOT the best bang for the buck either. It fails in both those categories (best for buck and best sound)....Now if you want to say what is the best 2 player combo at inflated price, then roon could share that with HQplayer...but on it's own ROON is a non-starter by anyone doing their homework. Anyone that would buy ROON for $500 that doesn't buy HQPLAYER either doesn't want to run 2 players, is non-informed, or cares more about pictures than SQ.

[beerandmusic]

Pricing judgements aside, it is the combination of ROON plus HQplayer that leverages the best in class metadata and user interface of Roon with the unsurpassed SQ of HQplayer.

 

I am grateful that both companies made the choice to work together to create this best in class solution, a solution neither company could have achieved without this partnership. This shows that the owners of these companies are committed to excellence. By placing quality first they choose to give consumers this unique option.

 

Nevertheless it is indeed more expensive as both companies need compensation. That seems fair enough to me. I am happy to pay more for products of this quality.

 

Many people don't want to run 2 players...but i won't argue that for $700, some configuration settings, running of 2 players, you probably have the best available today...or you can use hqplayer and have the best SQ for $200, or $200+ for HQplayer/muso and have best SQ.

 

I just don't want to spend $700 AND have to run 2 players....i plan to try HQPlayer/muso for $200+...but would love it if a single player could come along for $200 that had a "decent" gui and rivals Hqplayers SQ...that is my quest.

[beerandmusic]

To the OP mentioning HYsolid..it is not a windows offering...control from android/ios only... I am looking for best player that can be controlled from windows.