iTunes or Foobar 2k for music playback?

[Gareth82]

Hi everyone,

Out of iTunes and Foobar 2k which would be the best to use for computer based music played through a DAC?

Also can iTunes and Foobar be set up so the volume control and mixer are not used so that i can get a bit perfect stream to the DAC?

And if so, how would i do this on a netbook/laptop running windows 7?

Thanks

 

[Jason36]

Hi Gareth, I use both iTunes and Foobar2k, but purely because I like to keep my Apple Lossless and FLAC files separately. If I could only use one, then I would personally choose Foobar because it accepts FLAC as well as ALAC and other formats.

As for bypassing the PC's DSP settings this is really easy as I have done it myself recently using either the ASIO or WASAPI plugins. There is a lot of information on various sites regarding how to do this, but it is pretty simple and allows the signal going to the DAC to be BitPerfect. however as I said previously you won't hear a difference in sound...the plugins are more for reducing the Latency in the signal when sending to the DAC.

What DAC are you intending to choose?

 

[Gareth82]

Thanks for the reply.

I would have a budget of between £200-£300 for a DAC so was looking at the Matrix Mini i Dac, DacMagic, Rdac and MF V Dac.

Iwas thinking of getting a streamer but when i added up the cost of getting a streamer and Nas i think it would be easier and more flexible going for a netbook, external hard drive and DAC. I have noticed quiet alot of streamers can't do gapless playback etc and that although the SB Touch can, i know there is some issues getting SB Server to run on a NAS and if i have to run a server on a netbook/laptop maybe i would be better going for a netbook/DAC approach.

 

[Anonymous]

Out of iTunes and Foobar 2k which would be the best to use for computer based music played through a DAC?

I use foobar and MusicBee

Also can iTunes and Foobar be set up so the volume control and mixer are not used so that i can get a bit perfect stream to the DAC?

Foobar and MusicBee can be configured in Asio or Wasapi output (bitperfect)

MusiBee has wasapi out-of-the-box and Foobar needs a plugin, but both work very well.

 

[Lee H]

Curve ball...

MediaMonkey for me. Great organiser of tracks, easily maintained library, party mode to stop people fiddling with it when you don't want them to, sync to mobile devices, rips & converts.

 

[Gareth82]

Thans for the replies.

I have been messing around with Foobar and i do like it and like the idea of the skins and add ons you can get, navigating the libary takes a little getting used to compared to iTunes.

I will check out Musicbee and Mediamonkey and see what they are also like.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Curve ball...

MediaMonkey for me. Great organiser of tracks, easily maintained library, party mode to stop people fiddling with it when you don't want them to, sync to mobile devices, rips & converts.

MusicBee does all that and a little more...

Try it, you won´t regret.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been messing around with Foobar and i do like it and like the idea of the skins and add ons you can get, navigating the libary takes a little getting used to compared to iTunes.

I will check out Musicbee and Mediamonkey and see what they are also like.

Thanks

Foobar is great but kind of a DIY media player...

To me, MusicBee is one of the best free mediaplayers these days. It´s kind of a free J River version...

But you should try both to see wich one suits your taste better.

MusicBee as also a very good and active support forum.

 

[Gareth82]

I downloaded MusicBee after you mentioned it and i must say that i do prefer it to Foobar, plus i like the fact that there is a helpfull forum for tips and skins etc..

I will also keep Foobar and may use it sometimes, but for now MusicBee is my first choice so thanks for telling me about it.

Are there any Tips/Tricks and skins etc that you would recommend for MusicBee?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

One of the nice things of using a netbook is that you can choose the software, and upgrade to other (NAS) data sources.

I use Mediamonkey and Foobar. The latter nowadays because of the way you can use an android app as remote control over http that works better for me than alternatives like Monkeytunes. But I miss the classical/modern split of Mediamonkey that is very convenient.

 

[Anonymous]

One of the nice things of using a netbook is that you can choose the software, and upgrade to other (NAS) data sources.

I use Mediamonkey and Foobar. The latter nowadays because of the way you can use an android app as remote control over http that works better for me than alternatives like Monkeytunes. But I miss the classical/modern split of Mediamonkey that is very convenient.

 

[Anonymous]

And kernel streaming as prefered output to the dac.

 

[Gareth82]

Would the spec of the netbook being used make any difference?

And what would be considerd the best usb DAC for between £200 - £300?

 

[Anonymous]

Are there any Tips/Tricks and skins etc that you would recommend for MusicBee?

Thanks

I like to keep things simple and use MB default skin

Also disabled all DSP and crossfade options, replaygain included, so that nothing gets in the way of music.

Besides that it´s important to select a bitperfect output like Wasapi (my choice) or Asio.

If you keep everything simple and minimal you can´t go wrong on sound quality.

 

[Anonymous]

And what would be considerd the best usb DAC for between £200 - £300?

Well that´s a good question because everyone as it´s own opinion...

I have an HRT Music Streamer II DAC.

If you don´t mind the fact it´s a USB only DAC, then it´s one of the best at these prices.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/hrt-music-streamer-ii

 

[Gareth82]

Thanks for the reply.

The HRT Music Streamer II was one i was thinking of as i only really would need a usb input. I was also considering the MF V-Dac or a Matrix Mini iDac.

For me it's between the HRT Music Streamer II and Matrix Mini i think. The HRT has had very good reviews and is nice and small and powerd by the usb bus, the thing i like about the matrix is that it has a digital display with the current bit rate (handy to make sure i am getting a bit perfect playback) and is also a headphone amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Matrix Mini is an interesting DAC but it's limited to 48k via USB ...

If you are considering a USB DAC only, then you should consider a 24 bit / 96k asynchrounous type (no need for 24/192 in my opinion).

HRT Music Streamer also shows the bitrate...

http://www.stateofgrace.net/polk/HRT_front.jpg

It´s not as pretty as a display, but still very informative.

 

[cassper]

Here is my 5p. In my opinion Foobar is much more of a music player than Itunes. Itunes is barely a library management program with a playback functionality. Foobar is fully customizable with an option of components etc. As a music player player only, foobar vs itunes is like Ferrari to Vauxhall.

Regarding the PC playback - I use Creative X-fi optical out into Musical Fidelity V-DAC. Actually I own three DACs, MF V-DAC, CA Dacmagic and Beresfrod Caiman. Each one is excellent on its own merit, all three sound very decent (within its own sound signature), all three have USB. Whichever you buy you will be happy. Caiman even has a fairly decent headphone amp, so if you plan on using headphones, it is a good thing to have.

 

[Gareth82]

Thanks for telling me that, didn't realise that about the matrix mini. Looks like it may have to be the HRT Music Streamer then. Does it come with a usb lead or is it best to buy a better quality one?

 

[Anonymous]

It doesn´t come with a USB cable, so you will have to buy one.

Any USB 2.0 certified cable will do, but if you want something better, try Audioquest.

I have this one: http://www.whathifi.com/review/audioquest-forest-usb-15

 

[Gareth82]

I'll be sure tp order one of them when i get the DAC then. Thanks