Best Audiophile Player For Mac

Sound quality is not exact term:. distortion level;. perceived sound quality. Audio player can playback in modes:. bit-perfect;. with processing. If bit-perfect mode works properly, there is no matter that player you use. Processing may give q. Jan 02, 2020  VLC is a media player first and foremost. There is no library management, aside from playlists, usage of tags is very limited, no rating system and VLC is best at playing a file directly from a folder as opposed to helping you manage or find good songs in your music library.

Most Mac owners use either iTunes or a streaming service to manage and listen to their music. That’s great, but if you’re an audiophile who prefers high-resolution audio, iTunes simply won’t cut it.

If you own music in a high-fidelity format, you may need to look beyond iTunes. Fortunately, there are plenty of other options available to you, so here are the best hi-res music player apps for Mac.

1. Vox

If you’ve looked around at solutions for playing FLAC files on a Mac, the chances are you’ve run into Vox. In addition to FLAC, Vox features support for other hi-res formats like ALAC (Apple Lossless), DSD (Direct Stream Digital), and uncompressed formats like PCM, WAV, and AIFF.

Vox can play hi-res audio in up to 24bit/192kHz. On the off chance that you have music in surround format, you also get 5.1-channel support. This isn’t especially common, but it’s a nice feature to have. All in all, Vox is one of the best alternatives to iTunes for Mac users Alternatives to iTunes: 5 Best Free Music Players for macOSUnless you have no choice but to use iTunes, you should consider switching to one of these iTunes alternatives for Mac. Read More .

Vox is free to use, but Vox Premium is an optional subscription that adds several features. You’ll pay either $49/year or $4.99/month for the subscription.

With the subscription, you’ll also get advanced audio settings, like a built-in 10-band equalizer to tailor the sound to your tastes. The subscription also adds gapless playback and the ability to automatically set the sample rate of your output device to that of the file playing.

Vox Premium also includes unlimited storage with Vox Music Cloud, which is handy if you’re running out of hard drive space. This feature is also useful as it ties into the Vox iOS app. With your files in the cloud, you can listen on your Mac or iPhone whenever you want without worrying about running out of space.

Download: Vox (Free, with optional Vox Premium subscription)

2. Audirvana+

On its website, Audirvana+ is described simply as “the audiophile music player”. The use of this term likely either excites or bothers you. If you think hi-resolution audio is a scam High-Resolution Audio: The Future of Music or a Scam?High-Resolution Audio is new and impressive, but does it live up to the hype and excitement? Is it a gimmick? Or even a scam? Read More , Audirvana+ is probably not for you. Especially when you consider the price tag.

Though it’s not the most expensive player on this list, Audirvana+ is still far from cheap. You get a fair amount of features for your money. Some of them aren’t even found elsewhere on this list. You also get a three-month trial of Tidal, plus a three-month trial of Qobuz if you’re not located in the U.S.

Audirvana+ features support for the major hi-res formats, including MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). This app was the first to integrate the MQA Core Decoder, which brings out the full quality of the music, even if you’re not playing through an MQA-capable audio device.

The app also supports formats like FLAC, ALAC, DSD, and even SACD ISO. Audirvana+ also features extensive features to catalog your library, including extended tags for classical and jazz. Full text search makes it easy to find your music.

Download: Audirvana+ ($74, with a 15-day free trial)

3. Colibri

The cheapest player on this list that isn’t free, Colibri offers plenty of features for its low price tag. The website even points out that this is a one-time purchase and guarantees free upgrades. That isn’t even mentioned on the websites of the more expensive players.

Colibri offers bit-perfect gapless playback of lossless audio formats, and it supports lossy formats as well. Supported lossless formats include FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, APE, TTA, DSD, and WavPack. When it comes to lossy formats, Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and AAC/M4A are supported. The app includes support for Cue sheets as well.

If you prefer your Mac apps to look like Mac apps, you’ll love Colibri. The website states that one of the project’s goals is to be “as native to macOS as humanly possible”. It also aims for a tiny memory footprint and minimal battery impact. That’s great if you want to listen while you work from a coffee shop without having to plug in.

Download: Colibri ($4.99)

Improvements include:. Docker for mac yosemite national park. Jul 28 2016Today, we are excited to announce that and are graduating from beta and are now stable and ready for production.We want to give a big thank-you to the tens of thousands of developers and system administrators who helped us find bugs and came up with ideas for tweaks and improvements.Our goal with Docker for Mac and Windows is simple – create the easiest way to use Docker on your dev machine.

4. Amarra Luxe

At $99, Amarra Luxe is the priciest app on this list. It’s also one of a few Amarra-branded products from developer Sonic Studio. This isn’t cheap, but the app does have some unique features.

Amarra Luxe supports a host of file types, including DSD, MQA, and FLAC. The app features built-in real-time DSD to PCM conversion, meaning you can listen without the need for a fancy digital-to-analog converter. You also get integration with Tidal and Qobuz, letting you listen to streams from multiple services in one place.

Jump Desktop is a remote desktop application that lets you securely connect to any computer in the world. Compatible with both RDP and VNC, Jump Desktop is secure, reliable, and very easy to set up. Compatible with both RDP and VNC, Jump Desktop is secure, reliable, and very easy to set up. Jump Desktop is the best remote desktop client on the Mac. With features built from the ground up to increase productivity, Jump is a must-have. The unique keyboard remapping feature lets you use Mac shortcuts on Windows and achieve maximum productivity during long remote desktop sessions. Download the Jump Desktop app to your iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or Windows device. Launch the app and sign into the same Jump Desktop account you used when setting up your computer. Then tap your computer's icon to connect! Learn more here. Jump desktop jump desktop for mac. Jump Desktop is a remote desktop application that lets you securely connect to any computer in the world. Compatible with both RDP and VNC, Jump Desktop is secure, reliable and very easy to set up.

One of the bigger features of Amarra Luxe is iTunes integration. If you love the iTunes interface but want the format support and sound quality of Amarra Luxe, this is an attractive feature.

Download: Amara Luxe ($99)

5. Pine Player

As the only fully free player on this list, Pine Player is anything but barebones. While the player may not be as flashy as some of the other apps, it should still does justice to your hi-res audio files. If you’ve just blown a bunch of money on digital albums, that’s a nice thing to know.

Pine Player supports a ton of formats, including MP3, FLAC, APE, AAC, M4A, WAV, AIFF, OGG, WMA, DSD, and SACD ISO. It also supports listening to BIN / CUE files. Even better, it supports hi-res audio all the way up to 32bit / 768kHz.

If you’re a fan of keyboard controls, you’ll find a lot to like in Pine Player. You can control nearly every aspect of the app with a handful of keyboard shortcuts. This includes playback, volume, and playlist editing.

Other features include crossfading and gapless playback, as well as an automatic isolation function for damaged files.

Download: Pine Player (Free)

What If You Don’t Have a Hi-Res Music Collection?

These hi-res music player apps are great, but what if you don’t have a hi-res music collection? To start, you could use a streaming service like Tidal, which offers hi-res audio in the MQA format. Deezer is another option, but it only offers CD-quality sound, not hi-res.

Streaming can still be less than ideal. So, if you’re looking to start a collection, take a look at our list of music sites all audiophiles need in their lives.

And as an audiophile you might also want to consider getting one of these dedicated digital audio players The 10 Best Digital Audio Players for Music Without Your PhoneYour phone can play music, but if you want a dedicated music player, you'll want to check out these best standalone digital audio players. Read More or take a look at our list of the best DACs for hi-res audio The Best DACs for Hi-Res AudioWant to play hi-res audio on your computer? You'll need a DAC. Here are the best DACs you can get right now. Read More .


Frequently asked questions about video players for Mac:

Here we answered the most frequently asked questions about Mac video players and their features, and compatibility with various user needs and operating systems. If you still have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and we will answer as soon as possible.

VLC Media Player is available to download for free for Mac OS X. If you’re interested in installing VLC on your Mac, please follow the instructions below:

  • Go to the VLC website in your Internet browser: https://www.videolan.org.
  • Download the app and choose a location on your computer to store it.
  • Double click the downloaded DMG file, then go to the folder you chose to download the app, and double-click the VLC DMG file. This will open the installation window.
  • Click and drag the VLC app icon onto the 'Applications' folder.
  • Launch VLC. The first time you open VLC after installing it, your computer will prompt you to do the following:
    • Double-click the VLC app icon in the Applications folder
    • Wait for your Mac to verify VLC
    • Click Open when prompted

VLC is considered to be one of the most popular video players for Mac because it has the capability to play nearly all file formats. It is an open-source, cross platform media player that was first developed around 1996, so it was one of the first media players available. VLC can play almost every media file in existence, including webcam files, gaming devices, streams, local files, DVDs, VCDs, and discs. The player can play a range of formats that include MPEG-4, MPEG-2, WMV, MP3, WebM, MKV.

VLC is not the end-all be-all for playing media on Mac, though. Elmedia is dead set on giving VLC a run for its money, and it offers many features that VLC cannot match. To learn more about Elmedia, and how it stacks up against VLC, check out: https://mac.eltima.com/vlc-alternative-mac.html.

VLC is a very popular and reputable media player that has garnered a great reputation, and for good reason. However, there have been reports from time to time that VLC is vulnerable to malware. In mid-2019, several security issues popped up with VLC. A German cybersecurity agency (Cert-BUND) discovered a critical flaw in VLC Media Player, which allowed unauthorized disclosure of information, unauthorized modification of files, and disruption of service. VLC developers were quick to issue statements that these claims were “completely bogus” and that any issues encountered could be quickly fixed by updating the application.

VLC video player is safe to use, if you follow these simple guidelines:

  • Download VLC Media Player from the official site. Unknown sites will utilize VLC’s reputation to draw you in and may include malware in their apps.
  • Make sure your computer has protection against viruses and malware.
  • Always upgrade your VLC player when a new version is offered. VLC has claimed that the latest version has fixed security issues.

Watching videos on your Mac has never been easier -- as you can see, there are countless options to choose from. Elmedia Player is one of the most reliable, easy-to-use, multifunctional video players out there right now.

Here’s how to get Elmedia:

  • Go to https://mac.eltima.com/video-player.html and download the Elmedia Player free version onto your Mac. Install into your Applications folder.
  • Open up the Elmedia to get started. If you have files stored locally on your computer, you can go to “File”, then “Open”, and choose the file you’d like to watch.
  • Click the Play button enjoy watching videos on your Mac!