Music player that supports lossless files and gapless mp3 playback

I'm with ya. Evidently nobody at Google listens to:

• Opera
• Most other classical music
• Live rock or jazz albums
• Any track that is a medley
  

...or gives a damn for anybody who does.

What's the point of lossless audio on a phone or mp3 player? I can't imagine the difference being very noticeable, even with the best headphones. I listen to music off my phone on my home stereo and I notice almost no difference in sound quality versus CD's (DVD Audio and SACD's are a different story.) Oh yeah, and the fact that the amps in most (maybe all) mobile devices are not exactly audiophile quality.

I've not been able to find a gapless audio player either.

Real pain for mixed (by a DJ) albums.

I would happily loose album art for this feature and pay which I don't really do for apps.

hood420 said:

What's the point of lossless audio on a phone or mp3 player? I can't imagine the difference being very noticeable, even with the best headphones. I listen to music off my phone on my home stereo and I notice almost no difference in sound quality versus CD's (DVD Audio and SACD's are a different story.) Oh yeah, and the fact that the amps in most (maybe all) mobile devices are not exactly audiophile quality.

Click to expand...

Gapless != lossless

The only point of playing FLAC files or the like, is that the OP probably has them converted to that format on his computer. So to change them to mp3 format just to put on his phone is understandably a pain. BUT i do agree theres no advantage playing this format on your phone, because the quality of playback from a smartphone will be dreadful at best.

The Walrus said:

ive resorted to reverting back to apple products because of this

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This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me, the deal-breaker.

I so wanted to love the Captivate. It seems to sound better than the iPod/Phone. Battery life sucks, but I can recharge during the day. Music stutters but I rooted and used setcpu until it didn't. If I cannot listen to Dark Side of the Moon without those frickin' gaps, it has to go back. It's like listening to a frickin' 8-Track tape. I know, I could listen on my iPod but then I'm still back to using two devices. What's the point?

My comment is about lossless rather than gapless ... I'm glad that I can play FLAC on the Droid X. And that, even if the X can't reproduce the CD-quality sound. The reason is partly reactionary -- that is, I'm disappointed to see that the low-quality, highly-compressed (and many times unstable) mp3s are the most common choice (more music per storage area rather than high-quality music that takes up more room). When many prioritize quantity over quality, the market tends to go in that direction. It's the "made in China" effect. So, even if FLAC files take up much more space, I would rather have them and promote higher quality music. But I realize that's just my opinion. That said, I searched and searched for a way to play FLAC on my previous BB Storm, and it just wasn't going to happen. I played higher-quality ACC instead. But now I can play the unadulterated FLAC files on the Android, and, regardless of whether I can *really* hear the difference on the phone, I'm happy. Better it would be if they made the phones to higher quality standards than to cheapen them with increasing storage space. In that regard, the iPhone excels, I think (not that I want an iPhone).

I'm including a link to a rewiew of several music formats (mp3 vs ACC vs FLAC vc CD) for those who are interested:

Stereophile: MP3 vs AAC vs FLAC vs CD

Again, I realize some may not be interested in this in the context of the Android phone, but for those who might be -- it's one reason I've moved away from .mp3s as much as possible.


EDIT: Unfortunately, the current app offerings I've found to play FLAC files are subpar/buggy. Hopefully there will be some improvement in this area.

sublow said:

I've not been able to find a gapless audio player either.

Real pain for mixed (by a DJ) albums.

I would happily loose album art for this feature and pay which I don't really do for apps.

Click to expand...

exactly. i've not put any mixes on my phone that have track breaks because of this.

The Walrus said:

Okay I've spent a lot of time searching forums, googling, and all that, but as far as I know, there is not a single player that supports gapless playback for mp3 files. I have found an app that can play lossless audio: andLess, but it crashes all the time on my Droid X. I haven't rooted yet, although I plan on doing it after the 2.2 update, but I'll throw away my plans if it means I can actually turn my phone into a competent music player. Is there any app out there that does those two things? I'll even settle for having two separate apps for each, but I don't see how this is so difficult an app to make. When I first got my phone, I was happy that I would no longer have any use for my iPod touch, but this is just saddening.

Click to expand...

andLess doesn't seem to be able to handle it when the screen times out/locks. It will finish whatever song is playing and then lock up.

i'd like a decent music player that can deal with apple lossless. looking forward to a non-iPhone solution!

PS to answer why use m4a format on an android?

1. i'm converting my music collection (CDs) to digital. mp3 may not be around for ever so if i go lossless oi can convert later on to whatever is new & improved.
2. maybe i want to hook up my phone to a really good hifi (remember those?). happens when i'm in a hotel or travelling.

to actually answer the questions...

PowerAMP plays lossless files and gapless playback is in the works.

At $5 it's on the high end for app pricing, but most people who use it (including me) had no problem spending for it without even taking into account the two features you asked about.

There are a few threads about PowerAMP around these forums.

will try PowerAmp but for now am experimenting with Meridian.

thx.

Winamp

Poweramp.....best Media player when you consider Robust options like FLAC and Gapless playback.

I've read that Meridian supports FLAC, but it's not working on my Droid X. I have several FLAC albums on my SD card, but none of them show up under either the Songs or Albums list. Meridian doesn't seem to see them at all.

Does Meridian support FLAC, and if so, any ideas on how I can fix this problem?

FYI, Museek supports Gapless playback as an Advanced Setting... just verified it with the 'Pink Floyd - The Wall' test.

museek - smart Music Player ~ Android Application v0.9635 By Musicexplorer | Music & Audio

So far Meridian has worked well since the bug fixes. I am a "Audio Quality Freak" (which should be a app name... lol)
PowerAmp is probably better but i will wait to spend money on it til i have to. I know, i know. shameless.
thank you all for suggesting the good apps to solve this issue.
GOOGLE!!!ANDROID!!! - shame on you for not making hardware/software that by default can play the higher quality stuff. (AND SHAME ON ALL OF YOU WHO LISTEN TO AMAZING MUSIC AT 128mbps....) ok im done.

arielshai said:

I am a "Audiophile"

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Fixed.

Wireless Home Music Systems and HiFi Music Players from Sonos
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sonos.acr


CyanogenMod 7 BACKside IHO supports FLAC.

Neutron plays gapless and lossless. And I think it's the only one that plays MP3 files perfectly gapless. I have tried PowerAmp and Jukefox (= Museek), but I think that the transition between tracks weren't perfect. If you use Flac it shoudn't be a problem, though. Another option is Rockbox, but it's not officially released yet.

arielshai said:

So far Meridian has worked well since the bug fixes. I am a "Audio Quality Freak" (which should be a app name... lol)
PowerAmp is probably better but i will wait to spend money on it til i have to. I know, i know. shameless.
thank you all for suggesting the good apps to solve this issue.
GOOGLE!!!ANDROID!!! - shame on you for not making hardware/software that by default can play the higher quality stuff. (AND SHAME ON ALL OF YOU WHO LISTEN TO AMAZING MUSIC AT 128mbps....) ok im done.

Click to expand...

I hear you. Just made a music only server - only Flac. Have an Itouch, I'm waiting for it to break. Server sounds awesome though DAC and amp.

try GoneMAD Music Player

cheaper than poweramp.. supports the same formats WITH media library support for all formats plus a file browser as well. perfect gapless playback, high quality equalizer, and much more

i'd post a link but im a new user so i cannot do that.. it is on the android market tho