About the Music Player upgrade

I just upgraded the Android system on my Xperia phone, and noticed it has a new default music player. Having a player widget right on the screen is nice, but I can't help but notice that this new player seems to have a lot more skips and hiccups than the old one, even though I'm playing the exact same tracks. Has anyone else noticed this?

Thanks,
ShifterCat

 

I had been using Mediascape, which was one of the default programs, but that doesn't seem to be available anymore. So, going back to the default doesn't seem to be an option. :/