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Good music player for OSX
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Mr. Bob
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Mar 9, 2004, 12:15 PM
 
I know iTunes plays music, but it is actually a really cheesy program overall. I got used to winamp, which the new version kicks mucho asso. Is there some kind of 3rd party program for OSX? I would rather have something similar to the form of winamp, is there a macamp of some kind?

Does any have an idea? What do you use for playing music?

Thanks
     
dampeoples
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Mar 9, 2004, 12:17 PM
 
I use iTunes, but have read that some people use Audion.
What is it that makes iTunes cheesy to you?
     
kovacs
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Mar 9, 2004, 12:45 PM
 
I wouldn't trade iTunes for any other app in the world but some seem to prefer Audion, it has skins and more and better visuals, it also has a multi window lay out like WinAmp....

I use iTunes in combination with Synergy. I also use Mp3 Rage as an external MP3 tagger and cataloging app....

iTunes+Synergy+Mp3 Rage = a very powerful combination

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/3847
     
Jacke
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Mar 9, 2004, 12:49 PM
 
Originally posted by Mr. Bob:

Does any have an idea? What do you use for playing music?
I don't really use iTunes either, since I have a lot of my music on data cds that would cause problems with iTunes. I used MACAST Lite for a while, which is a great little program, but I got annoyed by the hourly interuptions of the non-registered version (I'm a poor student, but otherwise I would've paid for it).

A lucky link brought me to similiarly named MacAmp Lite, which is now provided with free register numbers due to the sad demise of Subband Software. The latest version is slightly buggy, but you can't beat the price...

For Audio CDs I use the excellent little SimpleAudioCD Player, which is provided as freeware. Minimum space hogging as you can set it as small as 32x32 pixels Not perfect but good enough for me.
     
pwolfe1
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Mar 10, 2004, 03:13 AM
 
if you liked winamp, you should try xmms. you would have to use it through X11, but it is fast and light, supports winamp themes, and has a ton of cool features
     
Carbonic
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Mar 10, 2004, 11:41 PM
 
hey how do i use XMMS on X11???
     
starman
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Mar 11, 2004, 09:33 AM
 
Originally posted by Mr. Bob:
I know iTunes plays music, but it is actually a really cheesy program overall. I got used to winamp, which the new version kicks mucho asso. Is there some kind of 3rd party program for OSX? I would rather have something similar to the form of winamp, is there a macamp of some kind?

Does any have an idea? What do you use for playing music?

Thanks
What in God's name do you think Winamp has over iTunes? Seriously. I've been using iTunes on my PC for many years and iTunes kicks it ass.

Mike

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mdc
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Mar 11, 2004, 10:10 AM
 
if you ask me, the new winamp is such a copy of itunes anyway.
     
brutal
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Mar 11, 2004, 10:32 AM
 
Originally posted by starman:
I've been using iTunes on my PC for many years and iTunes kicks it ass.

Mike


on a serious note though, I LOVE Itunes, and I use it both on PC and Mac.

I like the library better and I like the sound better.
     
Millennium
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Mar 11, 2004, 10:49 AM
 
If it's skins you want, go with Audion. It's about as close as you can get right now.

There is a MacAmp for OS9, but an OSX version was never released (and the OS9 version has not been updated in some time). This actually marks the third effort to either port WinAmp outright or make a WinAmp-alike, but the history is long and confusing, involving quite a few disputes over exactly who has the right to the name "MacAmp".
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typoon
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Mar 11, 2004, 11:10 AM
 
Originally posted by Mr. Bob:
I know iTunes plays music, but it is actually a really cheesy program overall. I got used to winamp, which the new version kicks mucho asso. Is there some kind of 3rd party program for OSX? I would rather have something similar to the form of winamp, is there a macamp of some kind?

Does any have an idea? What do you use for playing music?

Thanks
That's actually pretty interesting why you think it's a cheesy program overall. I know several users who couldn't wait to switch over to iTunes when it came out for windows because they didn't like WinAmp. Most of the people I know even Windows users LOVE iTunes.
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absmiths
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Mar 11, 2004, 12:46 PM
 
Here's another vote for "WinAmp sucks." I was so happy when SoundJam MP came out because it was the first program with good library support. iTunes library management is awesome, and WinAmp's skins are really lame (hardly flow-oriented at all).
     
mitchell_pgh
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Mar 11, 2004, 12:50 PM
 
Ugh, I remember the MacAmp days... crap...

iTunes 1.0 wasn't anything to write home about, but now at version 4, it can't be beat with it's visuals, library, database, cover art, etc. etc. etc.

I Use SoundJam... <joke>
     
Mediaman_12
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Mar 11, 2004, 05:12 PM
 
perhaps he is missing skins with microscopic buttons and knobs? I don't remember seeing a WinAmp skin without this 'feature'.
     
Chuckit
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Mar 11, 2004, 06:37 PM
 
Originally posted by Mr. Bob:
I know iTunes plays music, but it is actually a really cheesy program overall. I got used to winamp, which the new version kicks mucho asso. Is there some kind of 3rd party program for OSX? I would rather have something similar to the form of winamp, is there a macamp of some kind?

Does any have an idea? What do you use for playing music?
I use iTunes. It's a great, free program.

I suppose one other possibility would be Mint Audio. It's a decent little thing from what I've seen of it, but I don't think Unsanity is developing it anymore.
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Luca Rescigno
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Mar 11, 2004, 06:53 PM
 
A PC-using friend of mine has downloaded iTunes, but he prefers Winamp by a lot. Basically, it's because of the way he uses it. He keeps Winamp open all the time, minimized along the top edge of his screen. It takes so little CPU compared to iTunes (<5% vs. 20-30%) that it doesn't really affect his performance at all. All his music is already organized in folders, so he doesn't really need the library system. I can see why someone would want Winamp, since it's so small and nondemanding. I prefer iTunes though, because it allows me to keep all my music really close at hand, instead of having to organize it all myself.

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Krusty
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Mar 11, 2004, 08:47 PM
 
My 2 cents:
WinAmp is good at what it does (straight up music player .. unlike WiMP and REAL which try to be jack-of-all-trades media players). I still prefer iTunes.. even on windows ... because of fantastic library/organization. "Skins" mean zero to me as watching and admiring the look of my music player grows old after .. oh ... about 5 minutes. The low-profile of WinAmp is a plus but iTunes really isn't THAT much thicker if you minimize it and it has a much more legible/easily clickable interface than WinAmp.

Still, WinAmp is a fine product. Can't knock anyone for using it if they don't need the benefits of iTunes. Try MacAmp Lite X (as linked by Jacke) is has pretty much the same "best features" as WinAmp, IMHO.
     
Mr. Bob  (op)
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Mar 13, 2004, 07:24 AM
 
Hmmm, I guess some people are so insecure about their opinions that they have to give me crap about liking WinAmp over iTunes. But hey, I guess some people are just kind of immature and foolhardy.

Anyway, iTunes to me is a music store, with the ability to play music. I have winamp open all the time, and it sits very nicely at the bottom of my screen. When I call iTunes cheesy, its because it has all kinds of stuff that is really not needed when you just want to play music. Winamp is very good, has all the stuff you need, a good amount of stuff that you want, and all in a nice package that fits in a small place on the screen "which iTunes can do but doesn�t have all the info as winamp." Basically to me, iTunes tries to hard to be a music player, music store, and all other kinds of stuff, that doesn�t matter. I like aesthetics, "winamp and iTunes both look nice" but needless crap is needless crap, and also iTunes takes too much space and processing utilization for me. However, if you do like iTunes more, then that�s fine by me.

But, when people give crap to another person because they don�t like a program, well I guess you have to make up for the small chinchin somehow.
     
The DJ
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Mar 13, 2004, 05:49 PM
 
I always use VLC media player
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mitchell_pgh
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Mar 13, 2004, 07:46 PM
 
Originally posted by Mr. Bob:
Hmmm, I guess some people are so insecure about their opinions that they have to give me crap about liking WinAmp over iTunes. But hey, I guess some people are just kind of immature and foolhardy.

Anyway, iTunes to me is a music store, with the ability to play music. I have winamp open all the time, and it sits very nicely at the bottom of my screen. When I call iTunes cheesy, its because it has all kinds of stuff that is really not needed when you just want to play music. Winamp is very good, has all the stuff you need, a good amount of stuff that you want, and all in a nice package that fits in a small place on the screen "which iTunes can do but doesn�t have all the info as winamp." Basically to me, iTunes tries to hard to be a music player, music store, and all other kinds of stuff, that doesn�t matter. I like aesthetics, "winamp and iTunes both look nice" but needless crap is needless crap, and also iTunes takes too much space and processing utilization for me. However, if you do like iTunes more, then that�s fine by me.

But, when people give crap to another person because they don�t like a program, well I guess you have to make up for the small chinchin somehow.
I think you are internalizing the two Applications. You aren't everyone. I like iTunes because it does EVERYTHING (plays MP3 and AAC, organizes playlists, organizes the music, organizes the cover artwork, rates the music, is integrated into iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie, it's where I can buy music, audio books, listen to internet radio, stream music to other computers in my house or coworkers, show visuals etc). It's a monolithic approach to an application. It's also very simple, but it is a resource hog (compared to other MP3 players. The GUI is also larger then what some like. (if you have dual 17" screens, iTunes isn't such an issue) I also like iTunes because it takes care of organizing my files. Some hate it, but I don't mind the file structure.

If I were looking for something that was relatively simple which wasn't a resource hog, I would be looking for something more like WinAmp. I think Audin is a likely application. There are also a bunch on Versiontracker.

You said it with "Basically to me, iTunes tries to hard to be a music player, music store, and all other kinds of stuff, that doesn�t matter."...

I wouldn't consider much of the features needless, in fact most of them were DEMANDED by the Mac community. It's cool if it's not for you, but it doesn't make iTunes bad because it can do almost everything.

I also don't think this takes up too much room.



If it does, perhaps you should upgrade that 14" CRT
     
poocat
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Mar 14, 2004, 01:45 AM
 
uh.

wow. sorry bob, i used to think you could just get help here.
you did, best links were provided in the first three posts. but i'm sorry that it's hard to get people to read your post and reply kindly.

it's so clear. there's no asking why itunes or why not. he just wanted help!
no one cares why we like or don't like itunes. that wasn't the topic.

woosh.

audion's pretty good, imho,

poocat.
     
Earth Mk. II
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Mar 14, 2004, 01:52 AM
 
Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
I Use SoundJam... <joke>
Hey.. I actually paid for SoundJam. It freckin' rocked.
/Earth\ Mk\.\ I{2}/
     
mitchell_pgh
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Mar 14, 2004, 08:44 AM
 
Originally posted by poocat:
uh.

wow. sorry bob, i used to think you could just get help here.
you did, best links were provided in the first three posts. but i'm sorry that it's hard to get people to read your post and reply kindly.

it's so clear. there's no asking why itunes or why not. he just wanted help!
no one cares why we like or don't like itunes. that wasn't the topic.

woosh.

audion's pretty good, imho,

poocat.
I agree, but he opened it up when he started "but it is actually a really cheesy program overall" in reference to iTunes which I and many others feel is feature complete and almost an icon of the iApps. To give such a blanket statement to one of arguably best iApps is foolish. I would also argue that most of us continued to give insight in to other MP3 players even after we defended the application. If he really only wanted information, and not additional input, he should have rephrased his question to something like this. Besides iTunes, what MP3 applications use very little resources (similar to WinAmp)

My Point: If you don't want debate, simply state the facts, not opinion.
     
   
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