best audio playback

[mrsteve0924]

wasnt sure where to post this but will try here...

what's everyone's go-to application for audio file playback? i just basically use WMP or Itunes. never really gave other programs much thought. but i always thought that WMP sounded much much better than itunes.

can there be that big a difference in sound quality between different applications?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I use WinAMP
It has built in podcast and network location functionality, which is exactly what I need.

Sound quality will have to do with the audio file and your hardware, not the program.

 

[mrsteve0924]

Sound quality will have to do with the audio file and your hardware, not the program.

yea you would think it would only be dependent on those things. maybe it's just the playback or equalizer settings? WMP has SRS bundled with it and i guess i just like the way that sounds. i could never find an itunes equalizer preset i liked and i have no idea what i am doing when fooling with the manual equalizer. i just make it worse.

 

[EarthDog]

The EQ concept couldn't be much easier...The left is the bass and right is the treble. Play with it each one and see what it does.

That said, SRS and an EQ do totally different things. One is for surround sound (SRS), and the other (EQ), is to adjust the sound (bass and treble).

 

[c627627]

If you have your main computer connected to your main monitor as well as to your big screen Plasma TV, then the enjoyment of visual effects of Winamp's Milkdrop visualization on your HD TV in the background should be second to none.

I haven't found anything better yet when it comes to that...

 

[mrsteve0924]

The EQ concept couldn't be much easier...The left is the bass and right is the treble. Play with it each one and see what it does.

That said, SRS and an EQ do totally different things. One is for surround sound (SRS), and the other (EQ), is to adjust the sound (bass and treble).

SRS WOW effects seem to add a little more to the audio experience besides surround sound.

 

[EarthDog]

Tonaly, it (SRS) adds bass (Trubass IIRC). Otherwise it is only spatial effects, focus and 3D sound... here is a snippet of what it does:

3D Sound retrieves the spatial information from any stereo recording and restores the original three dimensional sound field. The result is a much fuller, realistic and rich sound experience. Focus corrects for the positioning of a sound source by selectively shaping the frequency characteristics of the input signal. The result is an optimal sound image, regardless of the location of speakers, headphones, etc. When combined with 3D Sound, Focus creates a completely immersive sound experience, much like that which was experienced at the time of recording. TruBass provides deep, rich bass to small speaker systems without the need for a subwoofer. For systems with a subwoofer, TruBass complements and improves the bass performance. TruBass technology actually monitors the low-frequency content of an audio signal and continuously optimizes the frequency and amplitude spectrum of the output signal. The result is a fuller bass perception without some of the traditional side effects (vibrating walls, sound distortion, etc.)

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Everything done with SRS can typically be done in your audio drivers, as an FYI.