Apr 21, 2020 To visualize your music using VLC Media Player, you'll need to download and install the program first. Then, select 'Media' and press the 'Open File' button. Proceed to select 'Audio' and pick your preferred visualizer by tapping on 'Visualizations'. Sit back and let VLC Media Player apply the selected effects on your audio track. The Best Music Players for Mac For A Better Music Experience. Everyone knows that the days of iTunes as a music player app on Mac are over. We tested the best alternatives and created this list for you. Whether you are a casual music listener or an audiophile, there's a suitable app for everyone in this list of the best Mac music players. Everything VLC needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed. This makes it one of the most hassle-free music players as it can play virtually anything as soon as it's installed.
If you own a Mac, you already have a high-resolution media file server at your disposal, with very little tweaking required to pass high-quality audio to your audio gear. I recently decided to set up my Mac in this way, to deliver hi-res throughout the signal chain--from my music library, to the player, to the DAC, to my preamp, amp, and loudspeakers (or preamp to headphones). Here is how I did it.
Building Your Hi-Res Music Library
The process starts with ripping or downloading music files directly to either your Mac's internal hard drive or an external drive, or designating a cloud site for your file storage (more on this in a minute). I store my music library on a 3TB Seagate external drive. Many people prefer to use an external drive because loading up your main hard drive with music files can potentially slow your computer's overall performance, especially when you get to the end of your drive's storage limits.
Opinions will vary on what constitutes hi-res audio, but I set my sights on resolutions equal to or better than 24-bit/96-kHz. We all know that your system is only as good as its weakest link, so I started with either 24/192 or 24/96 FLAC files. Hi-res files may be offered in the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) or AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) format, as well as DSD (Direct Stream Digital) and MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). DSD is the Philips/Sony system used to create the SACD (Super Audio Compact Disk) format, while MQA is a very clever codec that compresses the relatively little energy in the higher frequency bands to make the files smaller while retaining a hi-res result (it's also a good format for streaming services). To get the highest quality, you will want to avoid lossy formats like MP3 (Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3), AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), and OGG (Ogg Vorbis, the name Ogg derives from the jargon word ogging) that sacrifice audio quality for file size. This was important when storage was expensive, but now storage is plentiful and cheap.
Hi-res music files are available for download from a number of websites, including: HDTracks.com,
primephonic, HiRes Download, iTrax.com, B&W's Society of Sound, Acoustic Sounds, Chandos, and�Blue Coast Records. If you're looking for suggestions on high-quality audio recordings, check out the reviews on our sister site, AudiophileReview.com. Here are a few great-sounding albums (all available as hi-res downloads) that I'd put on my list of desert island discs:
Santana: Abraxas
Mozart: Great Mass in C minor
Thelonious Monk Orchestra: At Town Hall
The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers
Bob Marley: Legend (you are on a desert island, after all)
Steely Dan: Aja
Jethro Tull: Aqualung
Cloud Backup
About a year ago, I grew concerned that my entire life's savings of music--some of which is irreplaceable original music from the various bands I've been in--was all in one place, so I looked to the cloud for a backup/disaster recovery solution. My current total storage need is approximately 2.4 TB. Apple's iCloud offers five gigabytes of free storage, which isn't nearly enough for my music files, so I opted for the 2TB plan that costs $20 per month. I had to leave some of my more esoteric albums off the iCloud drive to fit under the 2TB size limit.
Another cloud option is Google Drive, which offers 15 GB for free or one terabyte for $9.99/month; then it jumps to 10 TB for $99.99 monthly. Microsoft looks at storage a bit differently, tying its One Drive storage to the MS Office suite. When you purchase MS Office 365, you get 1 TB of storage. All your Excel spreadsheets, Word docs, and PowerPoint presentations are automatically stored there and are available for collaboration between users. There isn't anything preventing you from storing your music library there, but access is via Microsoft's Groove Music Pass, which is $9.99 per month in addition to the $99 annual cost of MS Office 365.
Amazon's Drive allows you to upload up to 250 songs for free. Subscribe to Amazon Prime ($99 annually) and get 5 GB of storage; for another $59.99 per year, you get unlimited storage. I currently use Apple's iCloud because I've been deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem from the first-generation iPod, but Amazon's value proposition is compelling. I am strongly considering making the switch. (If anyone out there has made the switch, I'd love to hear about your experience in the Comments section.)
Clash of clans for the mac. Well, whom are you waiting for?Of course, if you are launching the app for the first time, it's going to take a bit long to load all those stuffs.
Playback Software
Once you have begun to build your hi-res audio library, how do you play the files in a way that maintains their high bit and sample rate? I chose to download the VLC media player to my Mac (it's free) because it's capable of 24/96 and 24/192 native hi-res output. The VLC player can be downloaded here.
Audio Music Player For Macbook Pro
As an alternative to VLC, you might consider the VOX Music player, which is also free and can be downloaded here.
Why not just use iTunes? The iTunes Store only sells music in the compressed AAC format, and the iTunes player doesn't support the most widely sold lossless format: FLAC. Some hi-res file formats like AIFF may be played by iTunes but will not be at their native hi-res rates. Beware: If you convert a 24/96 FLAC file to ALAC, for example, you will not get the original file's full resolution.
Connections
There are three ways to get hi-res audio out of your Mac: 1) through an optical Toslink cable connected to the headphone output; 2) through a USB cable; and 3) through a standard stereo eighth-inch mini-jack connected to the headphone out--which will use the Mac's excellent internal DAC that supports up to 24-bit/192-kHz.
I suppose you could also count Bluetooth as the fourth way, but I'm not convinced that, even with A2DP negotiating between the transmitter and receiver the best CODEC available, you aren't losing audible quality in the wireless transmission.
Any of the above three connections ensures output of your audio files at the full resolution. Options one and two are still in the digital domain, so you will need to convert the signal to analog before sending it along its path that ultimately leads to your analog ears. The HTR archive is full of reviews that will steer you to a great digital-to-analog converter (DAC) at any price point. Just remember to make certain that the DAC supports the highest quality files in your catalog.
The next component in line is either your preamp or integrated amp. My setup includes a tube preamp that has both a headphone output and individual right and left line-level RCA outputs, which then feed either my tube or solid-state amplifier (I have one of each). Either amp then leads to my loudspeakers. If I'm listening through headphones, they are fed directly from my preamp.
My Results
I am enjoying incredible results using my Mac as a hi-res server. When comparing hi-res FLAC files via VLC to music coming from my iTunes library at 16/44.1, the difference is truly amazing in terms of imaging, dynamic range, extended high and low frequencies, clear and detailed mids, and the all-important warmth, air, and intimacy. When listening to the same song, switching only the file resolution, the iTunes files sounded flat and one-dimensional. Don't believe me? I recently read an excellent open-access paper on our ability to hear differences with high-resolution audio that can be found here.
You Can Take It With You
Want to enjoy your higher-quality audio on the go? That's become a lot easier, too--thank to players like Astell & Kern's AK240, Sony's NW-ZX2, Onkyo's DP-X1, Questyle's QP1R, and HiFiMAN's HM802s and HM901s. Do these players offer an improvement over a basic standard-res player? Yes, but remember that your environment and choice of headphones will impact your ability to hear all the differences.
Final Thoughts
Of course, there are a lot of excellent hi-res digital audio players on the market that would make a great addition to your gear rack, if you prefer a dedicated component. But if you're looking for high quality on a budget and you already own a Mac, then why not work with what you already have right in front of you? My results were outstanding.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the importance of how the music came to exist in the first place. The composition, the quality of the musicianship, the groove (or the tempo in classical pieces), the production, the mix, and the mastering process .. all of these have great impact and ultimately contribute to what resonates with you. I've heard amazing music that was recorded in the 50s and really poor-sounding music that was recorded mere months ago .. so technology is one thing, passion another.
Additional Resources
� Chasing the Holy Grail of Audio at HomeTheaterReview.com.
� Examining My Love/Hate Relationship with Video Discs at HomeTheaterReview.com.
� What's the Ideal Speaker Driver Configuration? at HometheaterReview.com.
Summary: This post recommends 8 best MP3 music player software to help you play music in lossy and lossless audio formats like MP3, AAC, ALAC, M4A, OGG, WMA, FLAC, and more. You can free download any best MP3 player on your Windows 10/8/7 PC or Mac.
Are you looking for the best MP3 player? With so many media players on the market, you may feel hard to choose one specific music player. Actually, the default player like Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player or iTunes on PC/Mac can easily play various audio files for you. So you definitely want some new features when you look for the best MP3 music player.
Do you want to play music in some rare formats, or like the advanced features from a particular MP3 player? Before picking a new music player, you should figure out what you particularly expect from it.
MP3 Music Player
As we mentioned above, this post will show 8 best MP3 music players to help you get better audio playback on computer. Some of them can give you new features and functions, some can offer you a high quality sound experience. We will tell the details and differences to help you quickly find the best MP3 player you really need.
My Results
I am enjoying incredible results using my Mac as a hi-res server. When comparing hi-res FLAC files via VLC to music coming from my iTunes library at 16/44.1, the difference is truly amazing in terms of imaging, dynamic range, extended high and low frequencies, clear and detailed mids, and the all-important warmth, air, and intimacy. When listening to the same song, switching only the file resolution, the iTunes files sounded flat and one-dimensional. Don't believe me? I recently read an excellent open-access paper on our ability to hear differences with high-resolution audio that can be found here.
You Can Take It With You
Want to enjoy your higher-quality audio on the go? That's become a lot easier, too--thank to players like Astell & Kern's AK240, Sony's NW-ZX2, Onkyo's DP-X1, Questyle's QP1R, and HiFiMAN's HM802s and HM901s. Do these players offer an improvement over a basic standard-res player? Yes, but remember that your environment and choice of headphones will impact your ability to hear all the differences.
Final Thoughts
Of course, there are a lot of excellent hi-res digital audio players on the market that would make a great addition to your gear rack, if you prefer a dedicated component. But if you're looking for high quality on a budget and you already own a Mac, then why not work with what you already have right in front of you? My results were outstanding.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the importance of how the music came to exist in the first place. The composition, the quality of the musicianship, the groove (or the tempo in classical pieces), the production, the mix, and the mastering process .. all of these have great impact and ultimately contribute to what resonates with you. I've heard amazing music that was recorded in the 50s and really poor-sounding music that was recorded mere months ago .. so technology is one thing, passion another.
Additional Resources
� Chasing the Holy Grail of Audio at HomeTheaterReview.com.
� Examining My Love/Hate Relationship with Video Discs at HomeTheaterReview.com.
� What's the Ideal Speaker Driver Configuration? at HometheaterReview.com.
Summary: This post recommends 8 best MP3 music player software to help you play music in lossy and lossless audio formats like MP3, AAC, ALAC, M4A, OGG, WMA, FLAC, and more. You can free download any best MP3 player on your Windows 10/8/7 PC or Mac.
Are you looking for the best MP3 player? With so many media players on the market, you may feel hard to choose one specific music player. Actually, the default player like Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player or iTunes on PC/Mac can easily play various audio files for you. So you definitely want some new features when you look for the best MP3 music player.
Do you want to play music in some rare formats, or like the advanced features from a particular MP3 player? Before picking a new music player, you should figure out what you particularly expect from it.
MP3 Music Player
As we mentioned above, this post will show 8 best MP3 music players to help you get better audio playback on computer. Some of them can give you new features and functions, some can offer you a high quality sound experience. We will tell the details and differences to help you quickly find the best MP3 player you really need.
Audio Music Player For Mac Windows 7
Best MP3 Player for Windows 10/7/8 PC and Mac [NO.1]
At the first part, we will give you the best MP3 music player review. Whether you want to play some rare audio formats, or care much for the audio playing quality, this music player won't disappoint you. Install mac os mojave on macbook pro 2011.
AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is specially designed to play various media files, including Blu-ray and DVD discs. You may prefer an all-featured video and audio player when you look for the best MP3 audio player. Surely you want to play all media files with one software. In that case, you don't need to install several players on computer. That why we recommend the powerful Blu-ray Player first.
- ● It is compatible with all frequently-used lossy and lossless audio formats like MP3, MP2, AIFF, AAC, ALAC, M4A, WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, MKV, OGG, M4B, RA, RAM, FLAC, and many more. It guarantees you won't face the unsupported formats/codecs issue.
- ● Support 5.1 surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS). This MP3 music player pays more attention to the audio playback quality and effect. It can give you a cinema experience with perfect sound quality.
- ● Play Blu-ray/DVD disc, folder, ISO file and videos in any popular formats with great visual and sound experience.
- ● Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Mac OS.
Music Player - MP3 Audio Player for Windows 10 [NO.2]
Music Player is a free MP3 music player for Windows 10 computer. It highly supports almost all audio formats like MP3, AAC, M4A, WAV, AIFF, MIDI, OTA, MP2, MOD, MTM, UMX, MP1, XM, MO3, and more.
- ● As one of the best MP3 players, it is equipped with a powerful equalizer which enables you to adjust sound effects as you like. The pre-set music tone styles include Normal, Pop, Rock, Classic, Hip hop, Jazz, Dance, Folk, Heavy, and more.
- ● It offers a changeable theme and changes color automatically or based on album or music.
- ● Quick search feature help you quickly browse and play music by albums, artists, songs, playlists, and folders.
- ● This best MP3 player only supports Windows 10 or higher and Xbox One.
Winamp - Free MP3 Player Download Music [NO.3]
Winamp is one very popular free MP3 music player which can help you play all types of songs in any popular audio formats,such as MP3, AAC, M4A, WAV, AIFF, and so on. It enables you to manage the music library on iOS device like iPhone/iPad/iPod through some compatible plug-ins. Now it consists of over 20,000 skins and loads of plug-ins.
- ● Compatible with most popular audio formats like MP3, AAC, M4A, ALAC, etc.
- ● Supports Shoutcast internet radio stations and New Spinner MP3 of the Day Online Service.
- ● Work as an iTunes alternative to sync iPod with iTunes music library.
- ● Compatible with Windows, macOS and Android.
- ● Can't download MP3 to music player and can't support MOV format.
foobar2000 - Professional MP3 Player Download [NO.4]
foobar2000 is a famous and advanced free music player for Windows 10/8/7 computer. This best MP3 player is very famous because of the high quality audio playback. It is designed with customizable user interface and simple features.
- ● Support popular audio formats like MP3, AAC, MP4, WMA, Vorbis, Opus, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, CD Audio, WavPack, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND, and more.
- ● Support gapless playback, full ReplayGain and advanced tagging capabilities.
- ● Support keyboard shortcuts to easily control the music playing process.
- ● Allow third-party developers to extend the player's functionality.
- ● Rip audio CDs and transcode all supported audio formats using the converter component.
RealPlayer - MP3 Player Converter Downloader [NO.5]
RealPlayer is one of the most popular video and audio playing software. It enables you to play various media files on Windows 10/8/7/XP PC, Android and Mac. It can work as the best MP3 player to help you enjoy music on your device. What's more, it is a totally ad-free music player. More than that, RealPlayer can work as an online video downloader to download YouTube and other web videos.
- ● Support any popular audio and video formats like MP3, AAC, MP2, AIFF, M4A, ALAC, WMA, FLAC, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV, MPEG, and many more.
- ● Browser plugin allows you to download online videos like YouTube and Facebook.
- ● Work as a MP3 music converter to convert video to MP3 file.
- ● Powerful online video search feature to easily search YouTube, Bing and other sites.
- ● Support lock-screen music playback controls and headphones controls.
- ● Require manual media refresh and some video formats like WMV or MOV can't be played.
MusicBee - The Ultimate Music Manager and Player [NO.6]
MusicBee is a free music player which can easily import songs from iTunes and music library. It is designed with a concise and elegant user interface. You can get a good user experience as long you download and user it. This best MP3 music player provides a simple way to find, manage and play all your favorite songs on Windows 10/8/7 computer.
- ● Support various audio formats like MP3, AAC, M4A, WMA, OGG, WAV, FLAC, APE, TAK, etc.
- ● Support podcasts, web radio stations and SoundCloud integration.
- ● Support 10-band or 15-band equalizer, DSP effects, automatic meta data import, and more.
- ● Support utilize high-end audio cards with WASAPI and ASIO.
- ● Support gapless playback and Groove Music (formerly Xbox Music).
- ● Support last.fm, CD ripping, and tagging tools.
- ● Support some WinAmp plugins to enhance the music quality.
MediaMonkey - Free MP3 Music Player [NO.7]
MediaMonkey is a free and all-featured movie and music player. It has the capability to play any audio/video files with high image and sound quality. This best MP3 player enables you to organize, browse, or search music by Artist, Genre, Rating, Year, and so on. It can also work as a great movie and music organizer to help you better manage all kinds of media files.
- ● Support various media files including MP3, AAC, ALAC, M4A, OGG, WMA, FLAC, MPC, WAV, CDA, AVI, MP4, OGV, MPEG, WMV, M3U, PLS, etc.
- ● Easy manage more than 100,000 video/audio files without bogging down.
- ● Sync Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod, and other devices, converting and leveling tracks.
- ● Rip CDs, burn music to DVDs and CDs, and convert audio formats.
- ● Manage volume automatically without worrying about the varying volume.
VLC Media Player - Best MP3 Music Player [NO.8]
VLC media player is definitely one of the best MP3 player software for all operating systems, desktops, mobiles or TVs. More than just a simple music player, it is a free, open-source and cross-platform media playing tool. It also enables you to stream media with ease. VLC is able to play all types of media files, discs and streaming files.
- ● Support almost all video and audio formats like MP3, AAC, M4A, ALAC, FLAC, MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, FLV, etc. and streaming protocols.
- ● Support nearly all codecs without the use of any additional codecs.
- ● Advanced control to set over the video, video/audio filters and sync subtitle.
- ● Offer many music visualisation options to better enjoy music.
- ● No spyware, ads-free and no user tracking.
- ● Fix and play even incomplete or broken video and audio files.
- ● Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/XP, Linux, Mac OS, Android and iOS.
With the default music player like iTunes or Windows Media Player, you can play music files on computer. But if you want to play some songs in rare formats, get better sound effects, or use new features, you can check the 8 best MP3 players above. We talk about basic information about them. You can pick your preferred free music player while reading. Please tell us in the comment if you have any MP3 music player recommendation.