What's the best MP3 player?

[TheCritic]

My biggest problem with Windows Media and HTC Audio manager is the lack of an equalizer... my JBL noise-canceling headphones need just a touch of treble boost to be perfect.

I've been using CorePlayer (http://www.coreplayer.com/)... it seems like overkill for just music.

Is there a better one I don't know of? Maybe a bit of visualization would be nice... but an equalizer and good playback are the priorities (currently having a bit of a problem with occasional skips on playback in all three players mentioned above).

What's everybody else using? Ideally I'd like something able to interact with the HTC Home music tab and the HTC W100 (http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=148542) (I'm thinking about getting one).

Also, I was excited to find out about the HTC system-level equalizer (http://www.freewareppc.com/multimedia/htcequalizer.shtml). I guess it has problems with WMP but I couldn't seem to make it have an effect on any playback at all. Does it not work with the Kaiser/Tilt?

[conf]

I use Pocket Music :D

[Menneisyys]

My biggest problem with Windows Media and HTC Audio manager is the lack of an equalizer... my JBL noise-canceling headphones need just a touch of treble boost to be perfect.

I've been using CorePlayer (http://www.coreplayer.com/)... it seems like overkill for just music.

Is there a better one I don't know of? Maybe a bit of visualization would be nice... but an equalizer and good playback are the priorities (currently having a bit of a problem with occasional skips on playback in all three players mentioned above).

What's everybody else using? Ideally I'd like something able to interact with the HTC Home music tab and the HTC W100 (http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=148542) (I'm thinking about getting one).

Also, I was excited to find out about the HTC system-level equalizer (http://www.freewareppc.com/multimedia/htcequalizer.shtml). I guess it has problems with WMP but I couldn't seem to make it have an effect on any playback at all. Does it not work with the Kaiser/Tilt?

1. CP is one of the best players CPU usage-wise, particularly if you use non-hardware (!!) equalizers.

2. not all HTC models are supported by the HTC Equalizer, as has also been pointed out in my related article. (And, in addition, it forgets its settings when a new song is started, unless you use a gapless player.)

[Menneisyys]

3. I'll soon publish the Multimedia Bible. In there, I give you all a FULL picture of multimedia apps.

[TheCritic]

3. I'll soon publish the Multimedia Bible. In there, I give you all a FULL picture of multimedia apps.

Looking forward to it! Any insight into my skipping problem?

It'd be great it the bible could also detail the pros and cons of the W100! I mainly like it for the microphone... have to remove my current adapter to answer a call... but I otherwise like my current one. It allows you to charge (or sync) while listening (http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-Multi-Adapter-T-Mobile-Sprint/dp/B000UHY6XU/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-9055977-9918355?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1194276744&sr=8-3).

[wovens]

I love MortPlayer. It's got an equalizer and is skinnable. There is also a Today plugin (also skinnable).
I use it mostly for audiobooks in mp3 format. It can go to background when playing music and as far as I know it is still free. It supports a variety of media formats via plugins that can be added as needed. Highly configurable, it does do file association and what I like most, it has a sleep timer/alarm to music.

[faisals]

HI,
I am using full version of core player.
Its starts slowly and begins palying htc demo.
Then if asked to scan sd card it freezes. But if it scans individual folders, it performs fine. Can there be any file in the sd card that makes it freeze.

Will try Tcmp to see if it works.

[dgaud007]

I tried PocketMusic, TCPMP and Pocket Player. To me PocketPlayer has the best features, great sound quality and the new versions run without problems.

[hotdog53]

I tried PocketMusic, TCPMP and Pocket Player. To me PocketPlayer has the best features, great sound quality and the new versions run without problems.

I think GS player is the best MP3, radio, and streaming audio player out there. it's a small app, doesn't consume memory, skinnable, equallizer, surround sound, echo, bass boost, many more options, and best of all....free!

[hotdog53]

I think GS player is the best MP3, radio, and streaming audio player out there. it's a small app, doesn't consume memory, skinnable, equallizer, surround sound, echo, bass boost, many more options, and best of all....free!
Screenshot of the player with stainless skin.

[galaxys]

I agree, GS player is the best overall per many previous polls here.

[hotdog53]

Screenshot of the player with stainless skin.
Better screenshot

[hotdog53]

Better screenshot

GS player with the "Kenwood" skin.

[gibs]

I tried PocketMusic, TCPMP and Pocket Player. To me PocketPlayer has the best features, great sound quality and the new versions run without problems.

is it pocketplayer on your 2nd screenshot ? I can't see a cover browsing screenshot like your on their website...:confused:

[40th Floor]

[center]take down by owner

[Menneisyys]

Real DSP code for EQ. Studio-quality reverb. Useful crossfeed (for headphone listening). You won't find any of that anywhere else - I don't mean toy implementations. Starts in one second with 1500 files ready to go: mp3, m4a (aac and alac), flac, wma. Perfectly gapless playback of live tracks for lame- and itunes-encoded mp3 and m4a (aac and alac), flac, and lossless wma. Perfectly gapless means absolutely no notice of the track change. Runs acceptably with all effects (reverb, eq, whatever) on a 170 MHz OMAP 730. Runs on a PXA310 at the lowest speed (speed step). Any display size, from 176x220 to 800x480. So on, and so forth. And it works on 2003 up to WM6; SP/WMStd, too.

Pics are probably temporary (nevermind the xp covers; the same on WM). There are a couple of movies available, too.


I only wish your stuff were available for non-US customers for purchase... I'd happily shell out the $25-$30 for it.

[Menneisyys]

I agree, GS player is the best overall per many previous polls here.

GSPlayer is pretty cool, but its CPU usage isn't very good and lacks a lot of important features (AVRCP, really good reverb etc.)

[Demens]

GSPlayer is pretty cool, but its CPU usage isn't very good and lacks a lot of important features (AVRCP, really good reverb etc.)

Just out of curiosity. Why would reverb be important?

[Menneisyys]

Just out of curiosity. Why would reverb be important?

Just listen to iPlay's reverb and you'll see ;-) You will LOVE it when used with headphones.

(Assuming you have access to their homepage. The vast majority of the world is banned from there - including my European ISP's. I can't even write a damn review of the trial version of the app because of this...)

[dgaud007]

is it pocketplayer on your 2nd screenshot ? I can't see a cover browsing screenshot like your on their website...:confused:

Yes. Both screenshots are from the Conduits Pocket Player. The 1st is my version of a skin by Jimmer (posted at the conduits website) and the second is the new content browser with album art support available in v3.5. Strange you couldn't see it at their website. I just checked and they show it in the animated screenshots.

[gibs]

Yes. Both screenshots are from the Conduits Pocket Player. The 1st is my version of a skin by Jimmer (posted at the conduits website) and the second is the new content browser with album art support available in v3.5. Strange you couldn't see it at their website. I just checked and they show it in the animated screenshots.

thanks, but this player is too slow for an Artemis.
I had to remove it 10 minutes after...


for me the best today is HTC Audio Manager (I don't like HTC apps but this one rock)

The reason, is beacause access to songs is easy and similar to an ipod, tags are good (unlike pocketplayer), the sound quality is very good...

The only problem, it doesn't show cover for the moment.

I have tested Pocket player , mort player , GS player , Pocket music , core player, tcpmp...

[40th Floor]

There you go again, Menn. If you don't know something, why pretend you do? Oh, right, haha, it's all about you, after all. Do the t-shirts you wear all say,

Read what I wrote.
I am the Menn.

LOL - Shallow, with very little real substance, but then not much found on the internet is more than that. The stuff you write, that is. I bet you thought I was talking about you. haha It's true, though. So much of what you babble on about (and that is what it is) is not much better than nonsense. I suppose your audience can't tell the difference. haha LOL, really, truly, but oh, there goes the gong.

Here's a pretty picture to brighten this otherwise drab message

http://phantasm.40th.com/gfx/blue_black.png

That's Phantasm v8. iPlay v6 is fine if you like kitchen sinks, but all I ever use is PMP. It blows everything else away (that may be shallow, and of very little real substance, but it's true, and that's what counts).

[littld]

I downloaded the zip for this file and tried it out. Let me save you wasting time on it.

It starts by asking for an activation code, but there's no instruction on where to get one from. It says "See insert for code" but I don't know where to get an insert from.

Then an error message (abort, retry, ignore) which says Media setup failed. No databases found.

There is another program which appears to deal with setting up the databases (I guess this) and when I try to run that, it says that required information was not valid. I think it means not supplied (does not use standard interface so it's difficult to get it to do things, maybe cos its in demo mode). There is no help file (or at least it doesn't open if there is).

Unfortunately, even the screenshots don't inspire much. I think they were selling tape players with that green digital display in the 70s!

So in summary, it isn't intuituve, isn't attractive and doesn't work.

I assume it's work in progress, so perhaps the developer may work on these three issues. Once these three minor issues are fixed I think it could be very good.

[Demens]

I downloaded the zip for this file and tried it out. Let me save you wasting time on it.

I had almost exact experience while trying out the "demo-tease-kind-of-thing-that-doesnt-even-allow-you-to-do-anything-thingie"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1681256&postcount=5

[Menneisyys]

There you go again, Menn. If you don't know something, why pretend you do? Oh, right, haha, it's all about you, after all. Do the t-shirts you wear all say,

Read what I wrote.
I am the Menn.

LOL - Shallow, with very little real substance, but then not much found on the internet is more than that. The stuff you write, that is.

I see you like to be banned from all the Windows Mobile forums ;) No wonder you've also been banned from AximSite :D

So, tell me, what did you mean by "If you don't know something, why pretend you do?" Please elaborate! Tell me ANY subject "I don't know anything" but I still write about! Feel free to pinpoint ANY factual error I've ever made! Let me hear!

(Anyone that doesn't know who this guy is and why he has been banned from several other leading Windows Mobile forums: read http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=147371 , http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=148599 , http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=119752 and http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=140481 . Cool, eh? He loves making enemies, even people that, otherwise, he would depend financially on. For example, I can very well leave out iPlay from the Multimedia Bible. Yet another often-cited and depended-on resource that won't even list iPlay, let alone compare it to the other players. It's easier for me because one app less, not to mention I don't have to deal with the developer :D )

[littld]

I had almost exact experience while trying out the "demo-tease-kind-of-thing-that-doesnt-even-allow-you-to-do-anything-thingie"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1681256&postcount=5

Great video! Wish I'd seen that before trying it out. From reading some of the posts, I don't think the guy wants anyone to use it.

I'll look forward to PocketMelody which might just arouse interest.

I'm still laughing at the idea of a windows mobile software developer going round being banned from windows mobile forums and generally annoying people.

[CharlyV]

Strange freak. Hopefully, he snort the white powder not so often.

[40th Floor]

V9

http://phantasm.40th.com/gfx/ipaq310.png

on an iPAQ 310

[40th Floor]

I see you like to be banned from all the Windows Mobile forums ;) No wonder you've also been banned from AximSite

From 2006? Haha, yeah, a bunch of high schoolers. However, my stereotype of betaboy as a used car salesman is right on the money. And the other guy, whose name I never remember, is such a two-faced jerk that it was well worth it. He edited the sig, though, so much less interesting reading now. I don't care. You do? Who cares.

[QUOTE=Mennei]So, tell me, what did you mean by "If you don't know something, why pretend you do?" Please elaborate! Tell me ANY subject "I don't know anything" but I still write about! Feel free to pinpoint ANY factual error I've ever made! Let me hear!. Don't assume I follow your "READ WHAT I WROTE" yelling, but I was asked about my mp3 recorder, and how you claim its cpu use was -- well, whatever you said -- complete nonsense. You have no clue about anything that's going on and that just proved it to me. Haha. Anyway, rather than let that slide, I put it in an FAQ (iplay faq). In short, iplay was recording perfectly to a 1 GB microdrive on an ipaq 3650 way before you even heard of an ipaq, and for hours straight - no problem. CPU is exactly as the cpu meter in iplay indicates, and the FAQ explains this. The point is, you go on and on about this (some number you pull out of ... thin air) as if it means anything. You made it all up, without a clue.


(Anyone that doesn't know who this guy is and why he has been banned from several other leading Windows Mobile forums: read http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=147371 , http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=148599 , http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=119752 and http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=140481 . Cool, eh? He loves making enemies, even people that, otherwise, he would depend financially on. For example, I can very well leave out iPlay from the Multimedia Bible. Yet another often-cited and depended-on resource that won't even list iPlay, let alone compare it to the other players. It's easier for me because one app less, not to mention I don't have to deal with the developer :D )

See, there you go again. And you wonder why? haha

Hopefully no [ QUOTES ] got messed up. And posts without loggoing out...

[Twistit]

Great way to make sales, just a black site with a mailto button..
rofl

[40th Floor]

Great way to make sales, just a black site with a mailto button..
rofl
Sounds about right. There's a button?

[Menneisyys]

Don't assume I follow your "READ WHAT I WROTE" yelling, but I was asked about my mp3 recorder, and how you claim its cpu use was -- well, whatever you said -- complete nonsense. You have no clue about anything that's going on and that just proved it to me. Haha. Anyway, rather than let that slide, I put it in an FAQ (iplay faq). In short, iplay was recording perfectly to a 1 GB microdrive on an ipaq 3650 way before you even heard of an ipaq, and for hours straight - no problem. CPU is exactly as the cpu meter in iplay indicates, and the FAQ explains this. The point is, you go on and on about this (some number you pull out of ... thin air) as if it means anything. You made it all up, without a clue.


Man, that (early 2005) was well before acbTaskMan or the other tools correctly charting CPU usage. Therefore, I had to use the CPU charter module of the XCPUscalar, which is far inferior to current (and far less reliable than) current CPU / power usage charters like acbTaskMan.

Yeah, you certainly are "fair". You're telling me I don't know anything about Windows Mobile based on the simple lack of tools (at the time of writing) while not taking into account that, back in 2005, there were no tools to, with some apps, correctly measure the CPU usage of an app.

Now that we've seen you've lied again, let me ask you to tell me any other factual errors. So?

And don't come telling me that your player does have a CPU meter. Yes, it does. However, I had to rely on third-party tools, without direct access to the WinAPI, to do the same.

[zhenius]

any player with cross fade feature?

[Mort]

any player with cross fade feature?
AFAIK, PocketPlayer's the only one.
Can't do it in MortPlayer, rewriting the used routines to work fine when two songs are played at the same time is very hard to impossible (some GSPlayer plug-ins seem to use global variables, they crash even if I try to get the tag infos of the upcoming track while another song's being played).

[Menneisyys]

any player with cross fade feature?

As Mort has pointed out, Pocket Player only. Pocket Music's implementation is far inferior.

Also make sure you read my related article: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=2nd%20Multimedia%20Bible%20snea k%20peek%3A%20crossfade%20%26%20gapless%20playback %2C%20media%20compatibility%20and%20power%20usage

[zhenius]

thanks guys. i'll try and check out what you guys said.

[hotdog53]

thanks guys. i'll try and check out what you guys said.

I came across a new MP3 player(IBE player) made in 2007. It has features similar to GS player. Give it a try!