Audio player tailored to the needs of audiophiles.
Decibel is an audio player tailored to the particular needs of audiophiles.
Decibel supports all popular lossless and lossy audio formats including FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, Musepack, WavPack, Monkey's Audio, Speex, True Audio, Apple Lossless, AAC, MP3, MOD, DSF, DSDIFF, WAVE and AIFF.
For lossless formats such as FLAC and WAVE, and for Ogg Vorbis and specially tagged MP3 files, Decibel supports gapless playback with seamless transitions between tracks. Decibel also features replay gain adjustment for more comfortable listening.
Decibel has an intentionally minimal user interface designed to be instantly intuitive and non-intrusive. Decibel has an optional 31-band equalizer for unlimited sonic adjustment and provides precise digital and device volume control.
For users desiring more control over their audio, Decibel can take exclusive control of the output device using hog mode. Additionally, Decibel can automatically adjust the output device's sample rate to that of the playing track, preventing audio quality degradation associated with software sample rate conversion.
Finally, Decibel can load and play files entirely in memory, eliminating audio glitching associated with disk access.
For users with exaSound DACs, Decibel supports native DSD playback via ASIO. Decibel also contains DoP (DSD over PCM) support.
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27 Decibel Reviews
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I just checked. I paid full whack of $33 myself as well in Feb 2014. Decibel works well on all my computers all the time (I've had about seven in the last two years out of which four are active at any given time). Fidelia (theoretical two computer license) has only ever worked on one computer at a time, worst purchase ever, I've spent more time running around after licensing for Fidelia than using it. Mac App Store apps have choked a couple of times. Other indie apps require a song and dance to authorize. Decibel was engineered to work and work well from the beginning. On the other hand, the lack of development since I bought it in 2014 really annoys me too. Decibel is not a throw away purchase.
First of all, I don't want to load a few songs or a single playlist, I want ALL my iTunes tracks loaded and ready to play just as if I were in iTunes, and I want them to STAY there!
Loading all my tracks takes about 15 minutes. That's okay...ONCE. But when I quit and reopen, it's blank again and I must start over!
There's no Help file.
The search function in the forums was useless - I wanted to know how to add tracks from iTunes.
A search for "itunes add tracks" (without parenthesis) yields this message: "The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: add tracks itunes."
It's missing a column for Date Added. My iTunes are sorted by date added and I expect the same in other players.
There's NO visible volume control! Either have to click the speaker icon to change the levels, or use odd keyboard shortcuts.
I tried to close Decibel and it hung with a track playing loudly and I couldn't mute or turn down the volume - had to force quit.
There's no equalizer! I suppose this is done for the purists, but guess what? Not all playback devices and speakers produce perfect sound! Adjustments may be needed. Even audiophiles may want to increase the bass, vocals etc. because not everyone's ears hear the same and listening preferences differ.
For these reasons I much prefer Amarra, although I've only used it a few times.
I don't know why you need to run down so many great independent developers. Are you trying to kill the platform personally?
I use the finder to manage my music. For me Decibel is brilliant.
I just checked. I paid full whack of $33 myself as well in February 2014. Decibel works well on all my computers all the time (I've had about eight in the last three years out of which four are active at any given time). Fidelia (theoretical two computer license) has only ever worked on one computer at a time, worst purchase ever, I've spent more time running around after licensing for Fidelia than using it. Mac App Store apps have choked a couple of times. Other indie apps require a song and dance to authorize. Decibel was engineered to work and work well from the beginning. On the other hand, the lack of development since I bought it in 2014 really annoys me too. Decibel is not a throw away purchase.
Big Johnson is the least reliable reviewer on MacUpdate and his constant slamming of good indie apps really gets in my craw. Wow, what a platform destroyer.
Hmmm, then how do you account for my 480 score, Uncoy?
A website glitch?
Sorcery?
Serendipity?
Russians hackers raised it?
I don’t "slam" apps unless my experience with them dictates a negative response.
That’s called an HONEST REVIEW.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a huge company or an "indie" developer.
If a small dev. can’t make their software functional or they’re gonna abandon it after people have paid for it, then they shouldn’t be selling software - McDonald's is hiring.
I’m also just as happy to post positive reviews when my experience using the software was positive.
I test and use a lot more software than your average user, and the majority gets removed because I just don’t like it or it’s flawed in one way or another - at least it didn’t work right for me.
Others I continue using despite their many shortcomings because using them is better than not using them.
Path Finder is one such app that has a LOT of issues that users want resolved but I continue using because it’s still so much better than Crapple’s Finder. Its dev's keep promising the new version will fix a lot of them IF it ever gets released - it’s long overdue.
Although I like Decibel, I'd like to have it be able to use AU plugins. Their forum said that those would be implemented, but that was back in 2011! I find this discouraging, in terms of expecting continued development.