Mac users: What program do you use for music playback?

There aren't USB 3.0 DACs, so 2 vs. 3 isn't relevant. My point in regards to connecting a USB DAC to a contemporary Mac with USB-C ports is nothing is being "converted". USB is USB regardless of if the connectors are A, B, or C. Any reference to Thunderbolt and the additional features it adds to USB-C in this space is just mudding the waters.

 

So spend $8 for an adapter. Tech marches on.

 

No reason not to use iTunes. Combine it with Pure Music and you can get automatic sample rate / bit depth switching, plus ability to play DSD and FLAC from the normal iTunes interface. Haven't used it myself (as per previous posts, as long as Decibel keeps working on my elderly MacBook that'll do for me), but Pure Music and Audirvana are both on my list of things to try.

Having said that, now I am using my PC more I find Foobar a great choice. Immensely flexible.

 

I own Pure Music and Audirvana, but I personally could never get Pure Music to work fully with iTunes- sometimes when a song ended it would not continue on to the next track, and when I tried to execute a playlist, it was a disaster. I tried re-configuring Pure Music many times, but I was never able to get it to properly integrate with iTunes. I think the sound of the program was better that iTunes, but if you can not get it to properly play the music you select, it just doesn't matter. I admit, for some reason these problems were probably my fault, but I could never find what was causing them.

Not only does Audirvana sound great, when set-up properly, it just works and I don't have to worry if something will play or if the program will choke.

 

I too use BitPerfect. It's ok, but I'm not thrilled with it. I have been dragging my feet to try something different. I'm still on the fence.

 

Fwiw, I use audirvana. I have two music directories: /lossy and /lossless. iTunes uses /lossy and audirvana uses /lossless. Yes, that means I have to rip mp3 files from all my lossless files, but the two never mix. So I have no problems with apple match and apple music on my phone and on the go, and I have no disappearing lossless files on my computer, audirvana handles all lossless formats (flac, dsd) and all word lengths and sample rates to be played through the home system...

 

I basically try to have an Apple-only policy, which means that all my audio is converted to something that iTunes can play. It would be great if that included FLAC files, but sadly it doesn't and I learned to live with that.

If I really have important FLAC files that should be part of my main collection, I convert them with XLD to WAV or lossy AAC (somehow I'm still not using Apple Lossless AAC). If I'm just listening to short FLAC clips (e.g. from the comparison threads on this forum), I'm using Vox. Which is free and gets the job done.

Still some nice information in this thread that might help me to experiment further in the future…

 

I keep an ALAC folder for iTunes, a FLAC folder as a backup, and an MP3 folder for the car. iDevices get either 256K AAC when syncing, or the Apple Music version, or occasionally ALAC. I run a PC as well as a Mac. I guess I believe in multiple backups...

I keep my Hi Res PCM in another folder, and DSD rips from SACD in another. A place for everything. On my PC, I can point Foobar at all the folders I want to form a library. Sounds like Audirvana may work in a similar fashion. Decibel is more basic with no real library management, but as I know where all of my files live it doesn't bother me.

 

I love the sound of Audirvana Plus. But it sets the bottom of my MacBook Pro on broil.

 

I am currently using Amarra. I have a old Mac Pro, 1.1, so almost anything I use causes the whole Mac to bog down, Amarra is no exception. I have used Audirvana also but whenever I used it my Mac would have issues and I would have to reboot. I mostly just use iTunes and can't be bothered with switching the sampling rate in the midi setup. I use XLD to convert my CD's and vinyl rips to Apple Lossless.

 

I use VLC for casual listening and I love it -- fast, sounds good. When I want to step up the SQ I use Amadeus Pro. It's slow opening files, but the reward is a richer SQ. VLC is freeware, Amadeus Pro costs a bit but has been totally worth it for me.

 

So, riddle me this Macphiles,,,

I have a Mac Pro and MacBook Pro, both running OS 10.10.5, and both utilizing XLD with identical settings to convert to FLAC.

Why is it that the filetype in Finder and Get Info on XLD-converted FLAC files show as "Ogg Vorbis" on my MacBook Pro, but "FLAC Audio File" on my Mac Pro? "OggFLAC" is not checked off on either Mac. "Set OggS Filetype" can be checked on or off (I've tried both), and it does not affect anything...still Ogg on the MBP and FLAC on the MP.

 

Not sure what you mean by "checked on and off." Do you mean in XLD's settings?

Could also be a quirk on one of the machines. Have you run any diagnostics, like Onyx, recently?

 

Maybe you once installed a program that “hijacked” the file type? Maybe this link helps you to reset it: 2 Ways to Change the Default Application to Open Files With in Mac OS X

 

I do mean in XLD's preferences for FLAC conversion. And I haven't run OnyX in a while. Haven't needed to. It does appear to be a quirk on the MacBook Pro.

Nah, it's not that. I know how to change the default app via Get Info. But thanks.

 

I'm surprised how few JRiver users are here. On the rate occasion I use my Mac for music playback, it's JRiver. Easily the most powerful player IMO. But I've been using it on Windows since V8.

 

I need to try JRiver or something other than VLC. VLC is absolutely terrible on macOS and the developer does not care.

 

I have tried just about every option available and for me iTunes with Amarra sQ+ as the sound engine provides the best overall experience for both sound quality and library management.

 

Agreed. I often use my boot-camped MacMini with the Win version of JRMC.

 

IINA is a way better video player then VLC. Basically it's a front-end for MPV. Has a real "Mac-like" feel to it and uses less system resources, scrubs files better, plays 7.1 audio, etc... never tired it as an solely only audio player though.
Project IINA - The modern video player for macOS

 

This is what I'm using (see signature):

Synology DS116 NAS > Roon Core (NUC7i7BNH Mini PC) > Roon > Auralic Aries Wireless Streaming Bridge > Chord Mojo DAC > Sennheiser HD 800 S or Sennheiser IE 800

Pure Music sounds good, but the UI is a bit cumbersome IMHO. Audirvana 3 Plus sounds very good. JRiver sounds good too. Amarra 4 Luxe sounds good but the product hasn't been fully developed yet. It's a work in progress.

 

Currently very happy with Audirvana 3+.

 

I have the cross-OS license. With a mixture of WMA / AAC / MP3 in my lossy library, JRiver is by far the best program I've used for my music library.

Added bonus to have integrated error correction in CD rips.

 

JRiver might be great, but it’s not a free player. Based on the positive remarks in this thread, I’ll see if it has an evaluation copy.