So, I updated my desktop CPU and in the process lost ppc emulation. Meaning, I lost my beloved Audion :(
It had been a few years, so I give the almighty iTunes another go. Somehow, I hate it even more (I didn't think that was possible. How this app squashed all competitors is beyond me).
So, I’m in need of a mp3 player that has a feature set at least near to Audion’s (I know skins are a dream of the past). I settle on Nightingale for a couple months. And while it’s decent, it’s general clunkiness eventually gets to me. I go for a hail mary, and see if MacAmp has been ported to Intel (no) and MacUpdate recommends Clementine instead. What is this Clementine?
Clementine is really, really nice. That’s what it is. So nice, I’ve been using it for a few months, and I still can’t believe it’s free.
Granted, straight out of the box the sound was shrill, much like iTunes. But unlike iTunes, the eq managed to cut the shrillness and add a lot of warmth. No, it doesn’t sound as good as Audion, but nothing does. It sounds as good as Nightingale and not nearly as bad as iTunes.
Initially, the need for both a library and playlist seems redundant (and it is), but the “smart playlists” set in the library circumvents this.
It says it supports MTP or mass-storage USB players, but doesn’t seem to recognize my Creative Zen (so XNJB is still going to get lots of use)
Lastly, it’s not exactly lean on memory, but nowhere near as greedy as Nightingale and iTunes.
Now that we’ve addressed the minuses, in the plus column we have everything else. It has a robust feature and customization set that’s intuitive and even enjoyable to use.
So while I could sit here and list every aspect I like (visualizations, MusicBrainz connectivity, interactivity with just about every online music service, etc, etc, etc), let me just save a lot of keystrokes and reiterate that it’s really, really nice. So nice, I can’t believe it’s free.
If you’ve only been using iTunes due to lack of a quality alternative. you now have one. Take advantage.