A: Each has its own pros and cons. Someone, focusing on the totality of all factors, chooses a video player with a cold calculation. Others find for themselves one significant plus and do not pay attention to all the existing shortcomings.

The most popular video players are the most popular for a reason. For the most part, they have very few drawbacks and stand out among other competitors with many pluses, which, moreover, practically cover all the minuses.

So, here are the best media players currently available for Windows 10. Windows Media Player is not among them. This article assumes choosing a video player among the most functional players. And Windows Media Player can't boast of that. But if you only need to view and increase / decrease the volume, then this article will be for informational purposes only.

Media Player Classic

Media Player Classic is one of those programs that can bring nostalgia to sophisticated users in the 30+ age group. Released way back in 2003, it has been a favorite alternative to Windows Media Player under everyone's favorite Windows XP. This somewhat slowed down its development in 2006 and since then the project has been developing as two separate branches: Home Cinema (MPC-HC) and.

Home theater is the best choice for the average user who wants a lightweight, simple video player that still supports the latest standards and video formats.

The Black Edition is a heavy duty version with a lot of features, innovations and improvements, but it's not that easy to use.

Both video players work out their reputation very well and have earned their popularity among video lovers for a reason.

Media Player Classic-HC

And that's really the biggest selling point of Media Player Classic: high performance, low resource usage, small install distribution size - really easy in every way. It reads most number of formats without issue and supports some advanced features such as subtitle download, video capture and Skype integration.

An overview of the benefits and notable features of Media Player Classic:

• Intuitive and easy to use interface.
• Extremely light which means high performance on older machines.
• Advanced features such as subtitle download and Skype integration.

Download: Media Player Classic (Free)

VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is without a doubt the most popular media player in the world. If you look at the AlternativeTo website, you can see that VLC is in the top position with over 5400 likes. Media Player Classic is several times behind this indicator and has less than 900 likes. VLC is definitely the king of free apps for Windows. But does that mean that VLC is the best choice among video players? Let's deal with this.

VLC is a sophisticated and powerful all-in-one multimedia combiner. It has advanced settings and options that can be configured for any sophisticated user. Hence the main downside of VLC: it doesn't provide better performance on older hardware. And indeed, VLC on not the top-end hardware more than 3 years old does not behave in the best way, trying to freeze periodically.

But if you don't like fiddling with settings and prefer to use software that works right out of the box, just open the VLC video player and watch whatever you want.

VLC Media Player

VLC can stream live video. if there is a direct URL link, it can play all standard media types, including CDs, DVDs. VLC supports the most popular video formats such as MP4, AVI and MKV. No need to download, install and fiddle with additional codecs. They are contained directly in the installation kit.

An overview of the benefits and notable features of VLC Media Player:

• Supports most multimedia codecs.
• Supports playback of files, discs, external devices, webcams.
• Customize appearance with VLC Skin editor.
• Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. Open source.

Download: VLC Media Player (Free)

PotPlayer

PotPlayer was originally developed by Daum, but is now owned by Kakao. The video player is the second most popular player from South Korea behind VLC. But don't let this fact fool you. Try installing PotPlayer first and see it in action. If VLC didn't have such a "powerful" past, I think PotPlayer would probably be the king of free media players.

PotPlayer

VLC and PotPlayer have a lot in common. They are both all-in-one solutions for users who just want to install something and not have to deal with additional configuration. Everything works right out of the box. But unlike VLC, which can struggle with large files or cutting-edge video formats, PotPlayer always works. If you mostly watch Blu-ray movies and videos, PotPlayer is simply indispensable.

But if you still want to customize the settings and turn the video player into your own cinema, PotPlayer will let you do it. In fact, it has more settings than even VLC. In addition, there are many additional features such as scene previews, bookmarks, clip recording and more. Plus, it uses fewer resources than VLC.

An overview of the advantages and notable features of PotPlayer:

• A detailed interface that is sleek and uncluttered.
• Supports most multimedia codecs.
• Supports playback of files, discs, external devices.
• Supports network streaming with most major protocols.
• Improved handling of large files (Blu-ray) and advanced formats.
• Available only for Windows.

Download: Daum PotPlayer (Free)

ACG Player

Now that we've covered the big three video players, I want to highlight a special video player that can be found in the Windows Store. It is called ACG Player and is one of the most underrated video players. If you think that Media Player Classic is lightweight and not demanding on resources, I advise you to pay attention to ACG Player.

The first thing you'll notice is the streamlined modern interface and touch controls. The player is focused primarily on mobile gadgets with Windows Mobile. In particular, for a Windows tablet, this is perhaps one of the most recommended among lightweight and convenient video players. But even on the desktop version, the player will not be left without attention. To manage it has a very impressive list of keyboard shortcuts.

ACG Player

Advanced features include gesture settings, multi-window mode, playlist management, online stream playback, and the ability to customize the display of subtitles and animations.

In short, ACG Player is the only video player in the Windows Store worth using.

An overview of the benefits and notable features of ACG Player:

• Simple gesture-based interface. Great for tablets!
• Supports most multimedia codecs.
• Supports playback of files, discs, external devices.
• Lightweight and modern design.
• Available only for Windows.

Download: ACG Player (Free)

Bomi Player

Bomi is another player that deserves more attention from users, mainly because it strikes the perfect balance between features, convenience and performance. I had no trouble running it on an 8 year old laptop. All in all, it looks great and it works great.

Key features include support for advanced subtitle formats, simultaneous display of multiple subtitles, streaming video by URL, GPU hardware acceleration, unlimited playback history (if you close the video player and restart it later, playback will continue from where you left off), playlist saving.

Bomi Player

Bomi is a free and open source video player. Although the latest updates were made in 2016, Bomi is still relevant for devices two or three years old or more.

An overview of the benefits and notable features of Bomi Player:

• Simple interface.
• Supports most multimedia codecs.
• Supports playback of files, discs, external devices.
• Hardware acceleration for fast GPU playback.
• Advanced features like subtitle search and unlimited playback history.
• Available only for Windows. Open source.

Download: Bomi Player (Free)

What video player do you use on Windows?

Of course, if the main source of video for you is YouTube, RuTube or social networks, then you are not interested in any video players. But if you have DVDs, Blu-rays, downloaded movies or other video files, then one of these video players can come in handy.

My favorite among all the players is PotPlayer and Media Player Classic, which I have been using consistently for several years now.

What alternatives do you use to watch videos? I would like to hear your preferences. Perhaps others will be interested to know about it, write in the comments your favorite video player.

A program for synchronizing Apple devices with computers based on Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, playing media files and accessing the largest store of licensed content.

Here is a powerful multimedia application that allows you to synchronize multimedia information on your PC with Apple devices - iPhone and iPad. iTunes is the only official tool for transferring videos and music to Apple gadgets, as well as updating their software via cable.

Adobe Flash Player is a free multimedia player for Windows and Android, distributed as a separate application and is responsible for playing video, sound and flash animation.

Normal display of multimedia content in the browser without the Flash Player plug-in will be impossible.

AIMP Universal Player plays all common audio formats and offers easy playlist management.

Fans of the progressive audio player from Russian developer Artem Izmailov can now enjoy their favorite interface on tablets and smartphones. The author decided to transfer his gray-orange creation to the Android platform. And although the appearance remained almost the same, the functionality of the mobile version is somewhat inferior. However, a number of application features are identical for both PC and Android devices.

GOM Media Player is a player capable of playing all common media formats, capturing video and audio, taking screenshots, applying effects.

Thanks to the built-in support for most of the used codecs, Gretech Online Movie Player plays any video files, including damaged and underloaded ones. The developers have implemented a search by the program for the necessary decoder on the Internet, if such a need arises. This means that instead of the standard message for a number of similar programs "This file cannot be played", you will see the sentence "Find a codec".

The powerful media player KMP player is installed on the computer of every third cinephile in the world, and has recently become incredibly popular among users of Android and iOS gadgets.

KMPlayer is able to open any known format, since it has a built-in codec pack. With it, you can watch your favorite movies without any worries, both at home on your computer and while traveling - on your tablet or smartphone.

A program for playing local audio and video files, as well as movies from torrents. The application contains a built-in catalog of TV channels and radio stations.
ComboPlayer is a versatile multimedia player that allows you to solve many tasks. With it, you can play videos and music tracks located on local drives, watch movies from torrents online without downloading them, as well as watch TV shows and listen to the radio. To do this, the program contains a built-in library of links to stable broadcast sources.

A program for playing videos and music with an integrated set of codecs that can play movies in high quality immediately after installation.
This is a modern media player with a built-in DXVA codec package that can play all common types of audio and video files without additional settings. The application can play both local content and streaming broadcasts and underdownloaded objects. Thanks to the integrated timer, you can specify the time to turn off the computer (for example, after the end of the movie).

A program for playing all popular types of audio tracks and video files. The utility includes a set of codecs and can open films in Ultra HD format.

Functional multimedia combine that reproduces most common formats. This application contains a number of technologies for optimizing picture quality, increasing the maximum playback volume and fine-tuning the sound of the audio sequence. Windows Player has a very simple classic interface, conveniently displays the track list and can play high-quality content on computers without Direct3D acceleration support.

Media Player Classic Home Cinema is one of the best video players for playing audio and video files, which has replaced the famous Media Player Classic. The free media player has a large set of codecs, thanks to which it can play almost all known video and audio file formats. Has a simple and intuitive interface. Fast - due to the absence of unnecessary functions and skins. Does not load RAM and works great even on weak computers. It weighs a little over 13 MB. It has support for a large number of languages, including Russian. During installation, the language is detected automatically.

Video player features

Classic settings as in most of these players - launching a movie, music or video from the "File" menu, or by simply dragging it into the player window from Explorer;

• Working with hot keys - almost all options can be controlled using the keys;
• Ability to download and connect subtitles;
• Ability to save any frame as an image in BMP, JPEG or PNG formats;
• The ability to create sets of thumbnails of video file images with a certain number of columns and rows.

View tab:

• In the options of the "View" tab, you can enable or disable various items for displaying controls, statistics, file information, playlists, status bar. And also manage these options using the Ctrl keys and the number row from 0 to 9.
• Scaling the window with the Alt + buttons (numbers from 1 to 5).
• Alt+Enter keys - full screen mode.

Video rendering The program has tools for rendering (mathematical calculation of all filters, effects, animations to reduce them to just one static frame).

• image tear test;
• displaying statistics on the screen;
• display current time and file name.

Video frame settings

In the case of a video that has non-standard dimensions, we can adjust various parameters of the video frame.

• Half size;
• Normal size;
• Stretch to window size;
• Fit a video frame into a window;
• Fill the screen and crop the frame;
• Change aspect ratio.

The option "On top of all windows" makes it possible to run the player on top of all windows. Work in a browser and view videos, including those downloaded via torrent.

Player settings

The player has a wide range of possibilities. To go to the "Settings" menu, select the "View" tab and select the last item in the drop-down list. A window will open where we can make various settings.

Association of various file extensions for video and audio playback.
When installing the program, the question may arise how to make it automatically start any video. This is done in a few clicks.
Select "View" - "Settings" - "Formats".
Check the box "Associate with all formats". And click "OK" to confirm.
Or we select the formats we need, tick off the most common ones; MPEG-4, 3GP, AVI, Mkv and others.


You can mark associations only when you start the video player "With administrator rights", to do this, click on the appropriate button under the list of associated files.

• Here we can check the explorer and autoplay context menu items.
• Set up hotkeys.
• Change the program logo.
• Set up the web interface for online video playback.
• Set up shaders to play files in non-standard formats that require the imposition of some kind of effects on the video.
• Work with built-in filters.

Simple and convenient player

The player has navigation options common to DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and other formats or containers that require navigation.

• Bookmarks are a handy feature to continue watching a movie from the second you left off.
• In the options, you can activate the automatic transition to the next video file or disable this feature.
• We can customize the toolbar buttons (video playback control panel).
• An excellent volume up function, very convenient when the sound of a movie or audio is initially quiet in a video. When the volume is normalized, in the gain parameters, the volume will be increased.
• You can convert the frequency.
• Perform audio offset if the audio track is behind or ahead of the image.
• In the "History" column, it makes sense to check the boxes for all the "Remember history and positions" items.

By setting these parameters, the player will remember the file and the next time you open the same video, it will continue playing from the second where you stopped and closed the player.

The window location and size settings make it possible to open the player not with the default size, but as convenient for us.

Media player for computer

You can download a free media player in Russian for Windows 7 on our website. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions. To find out which version to download, you need to know the bit depth of the system. You can do this by left-clicking on the "Computer" icon on the desktop or in Explorer, then selecting "Properties" from the context menu.
Here we can see the capacity of our system.
Usually in Windows 7 all video files are launched in a standard player.

1. To play a video through Media Player Classic, you need to right-click on any video file on your computer.
2. In the context menu, select the "Open with" option.
3. We switch to the item "Select a program".
4. Next, switch to the "Browse" menu.
5. In the window that opens, find the Media Player Classic folder.
6. We choose our program. Click the "Open" button.
7. Next, check the box "Use this program for all files of this type."

After that, all files of this type will automatically open in MPC.


The player has such functionality and capabilities that are not available in the built-in Wmp or Vlc players. The latest version of Media Player Classic Home Cinema 1.7.13 was released on July 16, 2017. For users who speak English, you can visit the official website of the developer.

Download

The latest version of the media player is available for download on our website. The files have been checked for viruses and can be downloaded via a direct link.

ComboPlayer is a multimedia combine that downloads movies for you via torrents, opens files of all audio and video formats, shows online broadcasts, television, images from surveillance cameras, allows you to listen to radio, create your own media library and synchronize files between different computers. It is noteworthy that all functions, except for viewing a few special channels, you use absolutely free!

For those who need a versatile media player, KMPlayer is the undeniable solution, which can be downloaded for free and used for almost all known file formats. His best alternative is the Daum Potplayer. A developer who broke away from the KMP project made almost the same Video Player, only faster and more functional. We highly recommend checking it out.

An equally good solution would be to use VLC Media Player, which is perfect for Windiws 10 and Mac OS. It will show itself well if you need to play streaming video frequently and in large quantities. The best program for owners of old computers with a slow and slow system is a small Light Alloy player with minimal requirements for PC resources.

Consumers of TV and radio shows, fans of popular podcasts will love BS.Player. Its installation will make it possible to play not only recorded multimedia, but also watch analog or digital TV. If the user does not want to litter the hard drive with media, but watches them from the Internet, Real Player Cloud will do a great job of playing streaming "cloud" video. And for those who one day will encounter a damaged or under-downloaded video / audio, GOM Player will be very useful.

For those who have switched from Apple to Microsoft technology and are used to using the rich iTunes center, you should try Windows Media Player, a free product from Microsoft. If you are a music lover and are interested in which media players to download for free for your tablet, AIMP is perfect. It is most loved by users of portable devices.

For novice users who do not need special frills, but simply need a reliable, simple and stable player that takes up a minimum of system resources, Zoom Player Free is suitable. As they gain experience, they will be able to expand their knowledge and use the new features of the player. And for those who watch videos with subtitles, fast ALLPlayer will provide great opportunities.

The review did not include several more outdated, but still popular media players. Of these, AVS Media Player and WindowsPlayer deserve the most attention, as well as Crystal Player and Kantaris Media Player. Unfortunately, they are inferior to the presented products in terms of functionality or other important parameters of work.

This group includes versions with good features and interesting features.

Media Monkey

Price:$24.95 (Version 4 License, Gold edition, entitles you to all updates to version 4.x); $49.95 (Gold, lifetime license with the right to all updates); free version with reduced features.

Operating system: Windows (Windows 10 (desktop), 8 (desktop), Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP), iOS, Android, using a special add-on can be installed on OS X.

Advantages: free version is available.

Disadvantages: many essential audiophile features are missing.

For lovers of multi-room installations, for owners of mobile devices.

Tidal HiFi

Price:$19.99 per month (price may vary by country and plan), Ebay plan purchases available.

Operating system: Windows 7 and above, OS X, iOS and Android, compatible with Apple TV, CarPlay, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

In fact, Tidal can be called the crowning achievement of the streaming service today. It has a proprietary Tidal application (client), which is downloaded directly from the official website. In principle, both Tidal and Deezer and Qobuz allow you to play music through the browser, but only Tidal has its own program that is installed on the computer. The Tidal mobile app is not available in every country, but many people get around this ban by temporarily changing their credentials. To fully unlock the potential of this player, a necessary (though not mandatory) condition is the presence of a digital-to-analogue converter with support for the MQA codec. The MQA container, developed by Meridian Audio co-founder Bob Stuart, allows you to pack a Hi-Res file into a 24-bit/48 or 24-bit/44.1 kHz file, which is then decompressed by the decoder to a higher resolution. The player is good because it does not require "excessive movements" associated with downloading and storing files, i.e. all that is required from the listener is a paid subscription. Tidal HiFi has over 170,000 tracks in high quality. The features of the player include the fact that you can listen to it for a long time without any fatigue.

Advantages: ease of use on the principle of PnP (Plug and Play) or press to play (“click to play”).

Disadvantages: the quality of the MQA stream is still inferior to the original PCM (24 bit / 192 kHz) and DSD when playing directly Hi-Res audio from its own audio library, there is no ASIO support.

Which users are suitable for: for lovers of quick access to lossless music without the need to store their own collection on a hard drive.

Medium weight category, almost high end

Soft players from this category still have some drawbacks, but in terms of sound they will give odds to any regular OS media players.

Resonic Player

Price: for free.

Operating system: Windows 7 and up.

Specially optimized for Windows 10, the Resonic Player software player is distinguished by its concise appearance and omnivorous nature. The player understands most modern audio formats, including DSD up to DSD512, consumes a small amount of system resources, impresses with high speed and has a minimum number of functions. Unnecessary additional modules that slow down the work are not observed here. Nevertheless, there are visual amenities that can be turned off if necessary: ​​an audio frequency spectrum analyzer, an oscilloscope, a signal level indicator, and so on. To start playing audio files, you can simply drag and drop using the file manager. There is a Crossfeed mode designed for comfortable listening with headphones. The interface language is only English. The sound of Resonic Player can be called accurate, musical, emotional, without excessive attention to detail.

Advantages: accurate musical sound, high performance and speed.

Disadvantages: boring interface, poor functionality.

Which users are suitable for: for ascetic purists and those music lovers who are accustomed to working with large volumes of audio data.

Korg Audiogate

Price: for free.

Operating system: OS X 10.10 and up, Windows 7 and up.

The Korg Audiogate 4.0.2 was designed to work in tandem with external Korg DS-DAC USB DACs that support DSD 5.6 MHz and PCM playback up to 24 bit/192 kHz, so only the right device will allow you to fully experience the potential of this product . In conjunction with the DS-DAC-10R DAC equipped with an ADC, the application makes it possible to record in Hi-Res format, as well as digitize vinyl discs. The company focuses on the possibility of recording a DSD-disk on a computer drive. At the same time, this software can work with any other digital-to-analog converters in Lite mode, but the audio signal output is limited to a sampling rate of 48 kHz, i.e. even DSD format will be converted to PCM at 44.1 or 48 kHz. The sound of the player can be called confident and even somewhat assertive, with well-defined sound images and impressive volume.

Advantages: surround sound with the right musical images.

Disadvantages: fully reveals its potential only when paired with Korg DACs.

Which users are suitable for: for owners of digital-to-analog converters Korg.

foobar2000

Price: for free.

Operating system: Windows, iOS, Android.

"Fubar" can be called an ageless classic and, in fact, a cult soft player among Hi-Fi adepts who are accustomed to stability, flexibility and reliability. The main feature of foobar2000 is the presence of an extensive database of additional modules / plugins that can be installed quickly and easily. There is native DSD output or conversion of this format to PCM literally on the fly. In fact, this is a real audio kit that has a decent sound and offers many options for assembling. Thanks to this, it can be finely tuned to your taste. To output sound in Windows, accordingly, it is better to use the ASIO protocol or, in extreme cases, WASAPI with the Event buffering mode, which requires the installed WASAPI output support module. However, among the most demanding modern audiophiles, there are some complaints about the "fubar" about not the most outstanding sound quality.

Advantages: free software, an extensive library of additional modules that are easy and quick to install.

Disadvantages: according to progressive audiophile experimenters, foobar2000 is somewhat inferior to its more modern competitors in terms of sound quality and has an archaic interface; the difficulty of obtaining high-quality sound when setting up an untrained user.

Which users are suitable for: for lovers of stability and reliability, as well as experimenters.

J River Media Center

Price:$59.98 (single OS license); $79.98 (universal license, suitable for any OS); a 30-day trial free version of the product is provided.

Operating system: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux.

JRiver MediaCenter is capable of playing both audio and video files, can make Blue-ray/DVD/CD rips, burn discs, create playlists, convert files to other formats, can act as an organizer/editor/cataloger, work with Internet media content and much more. There are a huge number of settings, DSP-studio, the sound can be output in any format, there is a Russian language. In fact, this is another classic software Hi-Fi player, only on the scale of a multimedia center. Some companies even sell AV components and other hardware products with JRiver MediaCenter pre-installed/configured. The player has an outdated bulky interface and cannot boast of good ergonomics, but in contrast it has a highly efficient 64-bit engine, outputs a DSD stream, supports Bit-perfect and provides accurate natural sound with good detail and a wide stage, for which it remains dearly loved by audiophiles of different generations. In terms of visual effects, it is interesting to show available media content in 3D mode.

Advantages: excellent sound quality, wide range of settings.

Disadvantages: cumbersome outdated interface, demanding on computer resources.

Which users are suitable for: for demanding listeners and those who like to "play" with the settings.

Flagship category

The group includes top soft players, the best of the best today.

Signalyst HQ Player 4

Price:$246.75 (full version); a 30-day free trial is provided, which must be restarted every 30 minutes.

Operating system: Windows, OSX, Linux.

HQPlayer 4, developed by Signalyst, does not have an attractive interface, but in this case it is not necessary. The player will perfectly prove itself as an add-on integrated into the Roon software, which is well known to lovers of quality music. To control HQPlayer, you can use the HQPDcontrol application installed on your tablet or smartphone.

The peculiarity of the player is to provide great opportunities in terms of upsampling (using several highly efficient algorithms) and downsampling. Delta-sigma modulation is used for upsampling PCM/DSD formats up to 98.304 MHz, 1-bit SDM (24 upsampling options for PCM and 2 for DSD). There is a selectable dithering / filtering and noise shaping algorithm, 9 options in total, as well as a selectable convolution calculation algorithm (FIR filter) for equalization and correction in accordance with the characteristics of the room (2 versions). Converting any audio signal to DSD is available. ASIO and WASAPI are supported. HQPlayer 4 offers a great variety of different settings with which you can play for more than one month. And most importantly - the sound of this software deserves the most laudable praise due to its outstanding resolution, excellent detail, lightness, transparency and excellent musicality.

Advantages: a huge number of intelligent options, the widest possibilities of fine tuning, excellent sound.

Disadvantages: ancient interface, inconvenience of management, high price.

Which users are suitable for: for hardcore audiophiles.

Amarra 4 Luxe

Price: $99.

Operating system: Windows 8 and above, OS X 10.8 and above, 15-day free trial available; special version of Amarra Play for iOS.

Previously, Amarra 4 Luxe was an add-on for iTunes, but now it is already an independent full-fledged product that not only performs the functions of a regular audio player, but also provides integration into such popular online services as Tidal, Qobuz and Nugs.net. Naturally, the application supports work with the MQA codec, upsampling and allows you to play the DSD64/128 format (DSD to PCM conversion in real time or DoP (will be available after a software update)). There is an equalizer with 16 fixed presets, it is possible to control Amarra 4 Luxe from a mobile phone using the Amarra iOS Remote application. The player boasts a clean, softened sound with the right timbres, well-developed mids, tight deep bass and a gorgeous surround stage. That is why Amarra 4 Luxe has become a regular at all kinds of high-end equipment exhibitions, where it is used to demonstrate top-end components and high-end audio systems.

Advantages: great sounding, corresponding to the level of high-end audio components, an intuitive interface with a pleasant design.

Disadvantages: relatively high price.

Which users are suitable for: for lovers of jazz and classical music.

jplay

Price:€149 full version of JPLAY FEMTO, 21 days free trial available for two PCs.

Operating system: Windows 8 and above (64 bit only).

According to the application's official website, JPLAY was developed by meticulous audiophiles, whose goal was to achieve perfect music playback on PC through maximum OS optimization. The latest version of the player, called FEMTO, works with the UPnP protocol (renderer function), plays DSD natively up to DSD256, has three unique engines with support for Bit-perfect output, provides minimal latency and guarantees music playback with the highest possible priority , and also allows you to create a configuration using another computer for control/management. The special JPLAY driver improves the sound quality of any ASIO-enabled software, which is appreciated by the most demanding hi-fi enthusiasts. The player greatly improves the sound of Tidal, Qobuz streaming services and is great for turning your PC into a real streamer or high-end music server.

In the full version of the program, you can use this software not only as a player-renderer (JPLAY FEMTO UPnP Renderer), but also as a server program (JPLAY femtoServer). The package includes a specially optimized JPLAY Classic engine, which can be purchased separately at a lower price, and includes a minimalistic JPLAYmini player interface and JPLAY Driver. The software also allows you to use two computers connected to each other via WLAN or LAN: 1) Control PC, which stores the audio library and acts as a server, 2) Audio PC (on which only Windows and JPLAY software are installed), connected directly to an external USB DAC and audio system. The player starts on the first Control PC server computer, and all processes (DSP processing, loading, etc.) take place on this PC, and only a clean signal is transmitted to the second PC, i.e. the second computer is completely free from interference and noise that can be created by these processes.

Advantages: ideal for building a PC-based streamer/music server, reference sound quality.

Disadvantages: it is desirable to have a mobile device with an installed application or another computer for control, high price.

Which users are suitable for: for true adherents of high-quality sound.

Infinity Blade HQ (Bug Head Emperor)

Price: for free.

Operating system: Windows.

The Infinity Blade HQ (Bug Head Emperor) player was created by Japanese developer Hiroyuki Yokota and, in fact, is a unique software based on a special algorithm for converting audio data into a raw RAW file, which is then processed using special interpolation algorithms . The player supports DSD, Bit-perfect and requires powerful hardware, "sharpened" for audio playback. The ideal option would be a PC with JPLAY software already installed there, it is such a combo that will provide the highest quality sound, striking in its transparency, purity, exceptional attention to detail, powerful dynamics and perfect balance. The player can be paired with other applications, such as JRiver.

Advantages: exceptional sound quality.

Disadvantages: virtually zero ergonomics, a long process of waiting for the processing of audio files using proprietary Bug Head algorithms when paired with other software.

Which users are suitable for: audiophiles in search of their "Holy Grail" - the perfect sound.

Roon

Price:$119 (1 year subscription) or lifetime license for $499; There is a trial 14-day free version.

Operating system: OS X, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, or OS Roon Rock.

At the moment, Roon can be called the best solution for listening to audio on a computer and not only. The Roon system makes it easy to catalog the entire available media library stored on PC or Mac hard drives, external drives or NAS servers, sound it at the highest level (all audio formats are supported), get maximum online information about albums/musicians and so on. and integrate with Tidal's online streaming platform. And besides, it can pull up Internet radio, Tidal, Qobuz and even HQPlayer services into one interface. It is also possible to organize a multi-room installation based on devices that support Roon, and you can use the Roon Remote app for iOS or Android for control. The proprietary engine provides extensive resampling capabilities (PCM up to 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD512), audio signal conversion to DSD and guarantees high-quality room correction (Convolution). The application provides a unique opportunity to show all elements on the signal transmission path (path), has an intuitive interface and has its own "axis" (OS).

Advantages: the perfect combination of excellent ergonomics and the highest sound quality, integration of Tidal, Qobuz, HQPlayer.

Disadvantages: high price, does not support DLNA protocol.

Which users are suitable for: those who are ready to pay well for high-quality sound and comfort and never return to the search for the perfect sound.

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