BitPerfect
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(2) 5

Audiophile-grade music player with iTunes compatibility.   Commercial ($9.99)
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BitPerfect is a simple, easy to use, audiophile-grade music player that works in conjunction with iTunes to deliver the highest possible sound quality. Localization included in Japanese, French, Dutch, Danish, and Russian only.
  • Unobtrusive, minimal UI.
  • "Bit Perfect" output.
  • Exclusive ("hog") mode.
  • Gen-III 64-bit playback engine.
  • Plays native DSD files in "Hybrid-DSD" format with DSD-compatible DACs. Companion product "DSD Master" required to generate "Hybrid-DSD" files.
  • Gapless playback.
  • Full memory playback with
What's New
Version 2.0.1:
  • Various bug fixes only.
Requirements
  • Intel, 64-bit processor
  • OS X 10.7 or later



MacUpdate - BitPerfect




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BitPerfect User Discussion (Write a Review)
ver. 2.x:
(2)
Your rating: Now say why...
Overall:
(7)

sort: smiles | time
burypromote
+1

+11

Wgscott reviewed on 07 Mar 2014
Outstanding in almost every way. It gives you almost all of the advantages of iTunes (since it runs as a parasite on the iTunes interface), but enables you to avoid some of the limitations inherent to iTunes. What does this give you that iTunes does not?

1. Automatic bit-perfect playback. If your iTunes library contains tracks that have various sampling frequencies (normal CDs and most iTunes store tracks are 44.1 kHz sampled, "higher resolution" can be 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz or even higher), iTunes will only be able to play one of these bit-perfectly, depending on the settings in Audio MIDI setup. Everything else will get resampled, unless you quit iTunes, change Audio MIDI setup to the new sample frequency manually, and then restart iTunes. You have to repeat the process each time you play a track with a different sampling frequency, or else your music will get re-sampled. This takes care of the problem automatically. If you are using Airplay exclusively, this isn't for you, since everything gets resampled to 44.1 kHz anyway (and if you use Apple TV, gets resampled a second time to 48 kHz). Those who will really benefit from this will generally have a collection including lossless higher-resolution files. If all you have are mp3 or AAC compressed audio, you aren't going to be able to hear any difference.

2. Memory playback. Some people believe pre-loading part or all of the track into the memory buffer improves playback. I'm not so convinced, but it doesn't hurt.

3. Playback of DSD audio files on a DSD-capable DAC.

4. Better upsampling and digital volume control (although you will always be messing with the bits doing that).

The author wrote this software because he was annoyed that some other companies were charing hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars for this same functionality.
[Version 2.0]

1 Reply

burypromote

+25
lurkingremlin replied on 23 Apr 2014
Version 2.0.1 seems to not be totally stable (on my system at least) - sometimes it suddenly stops processing audio altogether. Quitting BitPerfect and letting iTunes do the playing still works - no relaunch or reboot necessary
Pity, as BitPerfect really makes a positive difference IMHO !
burypromote

gylo commented on 08 Jan 2013
Cant honestly see much difference other than it prevents multi speakers working over wifi?

My music predominately stored at 256kbps AAC and played on the iMac with Harman Kardon SoundSticks III 2.1 Channel Sound System.

I regularly patch it through to the Living room via an Airport extreme Wi-Fi and a cheap £40 DAC into Naim Audio Nait 3 amp to my Polk Audio R8 speakers.

Can anyone give advice or recommend a DAC?
[Version 1.0.5]


burypromote

+1

Demondes reviewed on 28 May 2012
Version 1.0.3 seems buggy to me. previous version was fine. With bit perfect on my computer, the music is skipping back a few seconds or back to start. I have large collection and it is on a NAS, and that can cause problems, but version 1.0.2 was fine with same setup. What gives?
[Version 1.0.3]


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+5

wendylou reviewed on 26 May 2012
A nice solution for up converting music sample rates and bit depths. Unlike similar audiophile apps, you can still use iTunes as your music browser. True, you don't need this to playback music that is already 24 bit/high sample rate, but I can hear an improvement when lower fidelity songs are up converted.
[Version 1.0.3]

2 Replies

burypromote

+5
wendylou replied on 26 May 2012
I wish to add that, compared to my 96 kHz DAC, when I enable BitPerfect, I hear brighter, more clearly defined percussion, such as high hats, cymbals, snares, bells, as well as strings and other high frequency sounds. BitPerfect sounds more clear than using just my outboard DAC alone. Perhaps it's due to BitPerfect's sample rate conversion and/or all it's refinements. Seems like a better audio engine than iTunes and Mac. You can easily do listening comparisons yourself by disabling, then enabling BitPerfect on the same segment of music.
burypromote
+1

-339
Acuraice replied on 02 Dec 2012
Wendy please this is the only way i can get in contact with you,you have helped me before to get volume logic back and running by having itunes launch in 32 bit mode,but now with the latest itunes 11.0 release the app is now only working in 64 bit mode,thus disabling volume logic once again since its not a 64 bit plugin and never will be. i just dont understand why the newest version of itunes wont even launch if open in 32 bit mode is checked off,i mean why is it still an option in the get info settings if it doesnt work anymore?? stupid apple. But anyway if can find any possible workaround to get our beloved volume logic plugin working as before as with all previous versions of itunes up until now. i would be willing to actually pay you for a solution. I thank you very much for your previous solution that has given me years of volume logic use!! Feel free to email me anytime @ ilovecocoakrispy@yahoo.com The developers of volume logic should really make a come back and make the plugin 64 bit and charge a reasonable price for it on the mac app store and many many users would be thrilled. why would they ever go out of business?? All other plugins simply dont work well or have ridiculous presets that sound too bassy or too much treble,i refuse to use any of them bc i know volume logic is superior in every way. thanks again wendy!
burypromote

+198

Ronl reviewed on 16 Mar 2012
Far too limited in its settings and completely disables ANY other equalizer on the system (i.e. iTunes, Hear, etc.) from functioning at all.
[Version 1.0.2]

3 Replies

burypromote
-1

+198
Ronl replied on 25 Mar 2012
I'm now using "Hear." Great app! It takes some trial-and-error because there are so many options... but once you get it set up... EXCELLENT!
burypromote
+1

+62
Molamola replied on 28 May 2012
It claims to have a "bit perfect" output - think of it as a "pure direct" setting on an amplifier: no fiddling around with sound, as close to the recording as possible. So disabling everything which alters the sound is done by purpose. You will want this if you have decent speakers in an optimal setup. Hear is a complete different story; hundreds of filters and effects to change the audio to something which might sound better on your (limited) setup, but which has not to much in common with the original recording you are listening to.
burypromote

+198
Ronl replied on 28 May 2012
Though I concede that my speakers are not top end... I do use some relatively expensive Sennheiser headsets and "Hear" makes them sound even better on many songs and streaming media. Whereas with BitPerfect I'm stuck with one setting. Of course I could go out and buy a tube preamp and an equalizer to achieve the same results as Hear (for many hundreds or possibly another thousand dollars) but why bother?
BitPerfect has a purpose... it's for a person that has a PERFECT audio system external to their computer. For everyone else... I highly recommend Hear (and I have no financial incentive to do so). Just trying to save people money.
burypromote
-7

-359
Echorob commented on 02 Feb 2012
iTunes offers bit perfect playback. There is nothing this app can do to make your music sound better.
[Version 1.0]

3 Replies

burypromote
+1

+767
Robotank replied on 15 Feb 2012
True, but have you bothered to find out what iTunes settings need to be disabled or tweaked to ensure bit-perfect output? For that matter, spend 10 minutes looking into what benefits features like automatic sample rate adjustment, hog mode, and integer mode provide, and which pretty much any audiophile-grade player supports? If you're going to keep trolling all these apps, at least get informed or, if you have access to some secret knowledge the rest of us are lacking, back up your ridiculous claims with some evidence or explanation. Your first claim requires qualification, and your second claim is simply false. Go away and stop clogging up these pages with your nonsense.
burypromote

+1199
Misha replied on 26 May 2012
What is iTunes' own "Sound Enhancer" feature for, then? (Preferences -> Playback)
burypromote
+3

+62
Molamola replied on 27 May 2012
the iTunes "Sound Enhancer" (and every other audio processor / filter claiming to "improve" sound by fiddling around with it) is probably the exact opposite of what BitPerfect is claiming to do.
burypromote
+7

+557
Penguirl commented on 30 Nov 2011
Being an audiophile grade app is all the more reason to offer a demo. Audiophiles are notoriously picky about their gear, and if I'm looking for something that sounds better than iTunes I want to try it before I buy it.
[Version 0.32]

1 Reply

burypromote

+16
Tacalit replied on 20 Jan 2012
try audirvana.
burypromote
-4

-4

muddyclay reviewed on 20 Oct 2011
Everybody with a Mac should get this. It improves sound quality from iTunes by at least 50%. Just superb.
[Version 0.32]


burypromote
-7

-7

Requiem reviewed on 19 Sep 2011
You know what it is if you are an audiophile.
[Version 0.31]


There are currently no troubleshooting comments. If you are experiencing a problem with this app, please post a comment.


+4

Christian Bauer rated on 07 Mar 2014

[Version 2.0]


Downloads:14,939
Version Downloads:353
Type:Multimedia Design : Audio
License:Commercial
Date:28 Mar 2014
Platform:Intel 64 / OS X
Price: $9.99
Overall (Version 2.x):
Features:
Ease of Use:
Value:
Stability:
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BitPerfect is a simple, easy to use, audiophile-grade music player that works in conjunction with iTunes to deliver the highest possible sound quality. Localization included in Japanese, French, Dutch, Danish, and Russian only.
  • Unobtrusive, minimal UI.
  • "Bit Perfect" output.
  • Exclusive ("hog") mode.
  • Gen-III 64-bit playback engine.
  • Plays native DSD files in "Hybrid-DSD" format with DSD-compatible DACs. Companion product "DSD Master" required to generate "Hybrid-DSD" files.
  • Gapless playback.
  • Full memory playback with double-buffering to ensure continuous playback of large files.
  • Automatic sample-rate switching.
  • Choice of sample rate converters for up- and down-sampling.
  • Dithered bit-depth reduction and volume control.
  • Integer Mode playback - on supported DACs and supported versions of OS X (currently only OS X 10.9).
  • Support for AirPlay (requires OS X 10.8 or later).
  • Playback from networked drives.


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