Setting up foobar2000: instructions for improving configurations

Foobar2000, despite its ease of use and small size, has powerful potential, a clear interface and a flexible settings menu. It is the last aspect that is considered the most important and makes this utility popular among experienced users and lovers of high-quality audio. Beginners will quickly understand what needs to be done in order to listen to their favorite tracks in the desired mode. This review is devoted to important configurations in Fubar2000 that cannot be found on the Internet. Everything is described in detail in step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

Setting up the foobar2000 player before starting work

Fubar2000 is a powerful player that supports all audio file formats. Used in Lossless listening (WAV, FLAC, ALAC). The peculiarity of this player is that it does not compress the quality of tracks when listening. This is a significant disadvantage of most analogues. Next, you will learn in detail how to configure the utility to reproduce ultra-clear sound, change the interface language, and also transform the appearance.

First, you need to use a trusted source and install it on your device. This is done in a few clicks, following the step-by-step guide in the “Installation Wizard” window that appears .

Converter and CD ripper

Actually, foobar2000 cannot be called a converter; it has an internal front-end for a wide variety of encoders. By default, slider-style compression settings are provided for six popular audio compression formats: mp3, flac, aac, wavpak, musepack and ogg vorbis. But the user can add his own presets, or choose an encoder at his discretion. Since encoders are console programs, you will need to use keys to create your own preset. Then a template is created for the converter, where compression presets, etc. are indicated. And only after completing these actions, the template will be available in the menu; the same will have to be done with file operations. For example, Cowon D2 has the following setting: selected files are converted to ogg format with an average bitrate of 160 kbps, and moved to a folder with the following structure: artist - year - album - track number - track name. By customizing the selected template once, the compression process is completely reduced to a single mouse click. Still don't feel this power? Needless to say, compression can only make sense with such schemes lossless → lossless, lossless → lossy, but they are not applicable with lossy → lossy, lossy → lossless.

The CD ripper function is relatively new, and it has far fewer options than highly specialized programs like Exact Audio Copy. However, it is possible to specify the offset of your drive, as well as set the degree of accuracy of the rip. As the process progresses, previously created templates for the converter are used, and you can also customize a new one “on the fly.”

Setting up the fubar2000 interface

After the player is launched, in the Quick Appearance Setup window . You can skip this step due to the fact that the appearance can be changed at any time by clicking View - Layout - Quick Setup . In any case, the default option is quite primitive, and such a setting will not hurt. Having established the basic settings, go to the following parameters and click “OK”. Close the window and go to “Next”.

Foobar 2000 for Dummies (Part 1) – General Setup

Last updated Sep. 22nd 2019

As the title of this thread this little guide/tutorial will try to address only how to install and configure Foobar media player's most important audio related features such as output modes and most common audio codec plugins. It does not deal with any other aspects adding extra functionality such as streaming, file tagging, etc. or cover the complete list of available input format plugins.

1.)Downloads.

Before installing anything, first download the player and desired plugins into the same easy to locate folder, it makes installation and setup easier and quicker if everything is located in a single place.

*** WARNING *** : The plugins come in with either .zip or .fb2k (also a zip) file extension, unless specified, DO NOT extract the content to the component folder , that method is not only not recommended but can actually cause problems with the player. When installing plugins Foobar extracts the contents automatically and places them in the correct folder/s if you follow the instructions bellow (Chapter #2).

1.1) Foobar

The player and most (but not all) plugins can be downloaded from here: Link: Foobar 2000 download page

At this moment the most recent stable version available of the player is 1.4.8

1.2) PLUGINS

1.2.1) OUTPUT PLUGINS

By default Foobar uses DirectSound for outputting sound to the soundcard/DAC. DirectSound is designed as a single bit depth and sample rate method, this means verything that differs from the configured system resolution will get automatically resampled to match it. DirectSound by default is usually configured for 16bit 48KHz in most systems which negates any hypothetical benefit of higher bit depths or sampling rates. It can be set to higher values but Microsoft's up/down sampling algorithm's are not as good as others available like SOX though some may argue that the differences aren't relevant as they are not hearable.

If you want to get bit perfect (as in no resampling or additional processing) the best way is using any of the systems that avoid going through the Windows Mixer namely:

* ASIO (Current version: 2.1.2):

Not supported by all soundcards. It is a robust low latency way to get all the bits as close to the original as possible. Most Pro soundcards and DACs provide ASIO compatibility. I'd recommend them over WASAPI as, at least in my system, they achieve lower DPC latency.

How to give ASIO process high priority automatically:

* WASAPI (Latest version: 3.3):

Microsoft's version of ASIO, most card will play using one of the WASAPI modes. Similar performance to ASIO and broader compatibility.

How to give WASAPI process high priority automatically:

Important NOTE: In case of drop-outs, clicks and pops or stutter, WASAPI buffer size can be adjusted in Preferences->Advanced->Playback->WASAPI. Notice separate values for Event and push mode are available (see image below) so adjust the one you are using.

If your soundcard/DAC accepts Event mode it would be the preferred mode, more info here:

Also since version 3.0 it is possible to configure independently buffers for either mode and run the WASAPI process with real time priority. To access these settings follow this path: File->Options->Preferences->Advanced->Playback->WASAPI

* Kernel Streaming (Latest version: 1.2.2): This was the predecessor of WASAPI introudced in Windows XP. Not recommended for Windows Vista SP1 or later, use WASAPI instead.

1.2.2 SOURCE/INPUT PLUGINS :

Foobar plays the most common files like MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND… as standard but this list can be enlarged to cover almost any thinkable codec by using additional plugins. Next is a recommended selection for playing the most common high resolution material:

* DVD-A (Current version: 0.4.11):

-“DVD-Audio Decoder input plugin and Watermark Detector/Neutralizer DSP plugins for foobar2000. Decoder is capable of playing back DVD-Audio discs, ISO images, AOB, MLP and Dolby TrueHD files in full resolution. Dedicated plugin for DTS-HD playback.”-

* SACD (Current version: 1.1.0):

This plugin is capable of decode Super Audio CD ISO image content as well as DST, DSDIFF and DSD files. This plugin contains CODE FROM SACD Ripper https://code.google.com/p/sacd-ripper/ project. A change log is included in the zip file.

Check part 2 of this guide HERE for more information on how to set it up

** RECOMMENDATION ** Do not install nor use the DSDIFF decoder plugin available at the Foobar's component page. It is obsolete, performs worse and has less functionality than foo_sacd_plugin and can make the player crash when both DSD related plugins are installed at the same time.

* HDCD decoding (Latest version 1.19):

Use this plugin if your DAC doesn't have native support for it and you want to get the benefits of HDCD encoding.

-“This postprocessing service component will decode HDCD data in any 16-bit PCM stream passed through it by supporting inputs, such as CDDA, WAV, FLAC, and WavPack.

I recommend using the following setting to correctly play HDCD enconded files though some CDs had incorrectly set the PE flag:

* Monkey (.APE files, Latest version 2.2): - “Adds decoding support for Monkey's Audio files (.APE) as well as APE Link files (.APL).”

Other not so common but still interesting codecs are AC3 (AKA Dolby Digital) and DTS. If you happen to have files encoded with either of these codecs the following plugins will need to be installed:

*AC3

Adds decoding support for ATSC A-52 bitstream files (.AC3). Also includes a packet decoder for Matroska files containing AC3 streams

* DTS

Adds decoding support for DTS Coherent Acoustics files (.DTS) and DTS WAV files (.DTSWAV). Also includes a packet decoder for Matroska files containing DTS streams, and a decode postprocessor which supports decoding DTS streams from 44100Hz or 48KHz 16-bit lossless PCM streams. (Implementing support for this in other inputs is beyond my control. Currently implemented formats include WAV, audio CD, FLAC, Wavpack, and TAK.)

Installing third-party skins or themes in foobar2000

Using auxiliary tools in fubar2000, you can change the background, color scheme and display of blocks. There are 3 ways to solve this problem. Each one uses different components.

Default user Interface is a plugin built into the player shell. Panels UI and Columns UI are also supporting tools that perform skin changes. Before proceeding with setting these settings, determine the number of windows that will be shown in Fubar2000. For example, if the user wants to see in front of him:

window with the artist (album);
album cover;
playlist;
equalizer.

The rest is optional.

Step-by-step instruction:

Schemes with different designs are located in View - Layout - Quick Setup.
Next, activate the editing mode View - Layout - Enable Layout Editing.
A window with a hint will pop up.
By clicking the right mouse button, the user will see a special menu on the screen in which blocks can be edited.

This way you can improve the appearance of foobar2000.

Important! It is impossible to install skins for fubar2000, since they do not exist. This designation covers ready-made configurations that include plugins and components that are imported into the player settings.

Users using the latest version of the program are recommended to use settings based on Columns UI, which guarantee maximum compatibility of components. Also on their official blog, the Fubar2000 developers offer a large selection of themes.

Available modifications

Apparently, the developers of this player approached its creation very thoroughly. It is not surprising that on the official website, where this software is available for download completely free of charge, you can find the latest version of the player for Windows systems, Foobar2000 for Mac and mobile platforms.

To download, you just need to select the desired link and click on it. But here you need to pay attention to the fact that for the same Windows systems you can download the installation distribution directly via a link on the resource or get the application from the “Store”. To start downloading for Apple and mobile operating systems, you will need to follow the redirection link to the appropriate storage facilities. Unfortunately, Foobar2000 for Linux is not presented on the site, but the installation can be launched, say, on the Ubuntu platform with Wine, provided that the system is configured as a modification of Windows XP. But since Windows systems are considered the most common in our country, we will consider all the main aspects related to installing and configuring the player exclusively for them.

How to configure foobar2000 for maximum sound quality

If your device has a high-quality audio card (whether installed or connected) and supports ASIO, it is recommended to download a special driver that will provide the best quality audio output through this module.

Necessary actions:

Download the ASIO Support plugin and place it in the “Components” folder, which is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\foobar200\C
Run the file and confirm adding components to your computer.
Fubar2000 will automatically reboot.

Next, proceed to activating the ASIO Support module in the player.

In the player, open File - Preferences - Playback - Output - ASIO and select the component that was just installed.
Click “Ok”.

Let's go one step higher: File - Preferences - Playback - Output.
Find the Device section and select the ASIO device.
Then click “Apply” and “OK”.

This simple procedure can transform and improve the quality of sound reproduction in Fubar2000. But if your device does not have ASIO, then there is a solution to this problem. You need to play music by bypassing the system mixer.

For this:

Download and install the Kernel Streaming Support component.
We perform the same actions as with the ASIO Support module - add it to the “Components” folder, open it, confirm the installation, connect it to the player settings File - Preferences - Playback - Output, look for the KS prefix in the list of devices.

Installing the ASIOProxy component

Another additional setting of Foobar2000 is related to the ASIOProxy component, which is designed for DSD playback. This utility comes complete with the decoder described above, and its actions are absolutely identical to everything described above.

Among other things, you can manually install a special ASIO transcoder by running the installer from the dsd_transcoder folder, which is located in the directory with the codec. After this, the specified item will appear in the list of drivers for playback.

How to enable Russian language in foobar2000

One of the disadvantages of the Fubar2000 player is the lack of Russian language in the factory settings. On the Internet, in many sources you can download localizations or Russified versions of foobar2000, but first you need to understand that there is no official localization for the player. Many authors created Russified assemblies that focused not on quality, but on quantity. Having translated the interface, I was left with a trail of unnecessary files that significantly complicate the functionality of the program. In such assemblies, not only the installer, but also built-in skins and integrated plugins may not work correctly.

The program may crash from the system while playing tracks for no good reason. The user can choose one of two program options:

With a foreign interface, original assembly and work without flaws.
In Russian, with a baggage of bugs that slow down the normal functioning process.

Music lovers who use fubar2000 in their arsenal prefer to use the original version in a foreign language. The program interface itself uses no more than 10 foreign words, the translation of which can always be found in a translator.

Taking into account the best audio playback in the original version in a foreign interface language, this will not be an obstacle to using the utility.

Main features, pros and cons of the musical combine

As for the possibilities, it is simply unrealistic to describe everything in one article. At the very least, we can confine ourselves to the fact that the most basic direction in using this music player is the reproduction of high-quality uncompressed lossless audio format, although the player itself accepts almost all known audio formats without the need to install additional codecs (they are needed only to expand the functionality of the player and obtaining the purest possible sound, which will be discussed a little later).

The undoubted advantages of the Foobar2000 music player, in addition to supporting the maximum number of audio formats, include flexibility of settings, the ability to connect additional software modules in the form of DSP effects and hardware devices for playback, support for integrating additional audio drivers, codecs and decoders, and much more. The only downsides include the lack of preset settings for built-in effects, as well as the complete absence of a Russian-language interface.

How to set up equalizer for foobar2000

There are simple step-by-step instructions that will make it quick and easy. You don’t have to resort to third-party tools in the form of measuring microphones, analyzers and quiet rooms. The whole process will depend on the user’s hearing acuity and his “listenness”. The result will be better sound with exemplary performance.

Setup Guide:

To begin with, you will need a few simple requirements that anyone can comply with at home - this is a Fubar2000 player, a playlist, audio files for the equalizer, concentration and a quiet atmosphere.
Open the playlist in Fubar.
In DSP Equalizer, we move the settings window so that the list of songs is fully visible.
In the player configuration, load the preset.
We assign each equalizer band a test signal in accordance with what is heard. The user is required to move the sliders so as to equalize them with each other. All these operations are performed by ear. For example, the frequency response range for ordinary working speakers is no more than +-4 dB. Next, you will have to move the sliders at least 4 positions up or down.
As a sample, let's take the original volume level of 880 Hz or 1.2 kHz. At 55 Hz and 20000 kHz, practically nothing is audible and it is not recommended to set these levels.
For accuracy, you need to compare the lower and upper sliders on different stripes and change the playback of text signals.
Listening takes place in several approaches until the entire sound is smooth and even.
After all equalizer fields are aligned, click “Auto Level”.

Reference! These settings can be made separately for each speaker using the “Equalizer split” and the controls in the system mixer.

Sound path from file to DAC

What requirements must the player meet? First of all, there must be support for audio output through at least one interface: WASAPI (Exclusive) or ASIO. The remaining requirements are the ability to disable internal audio processing. For Windows it is:

Setting up Fl Studio the first time you turn it on

Foobar2000
AIMP
Album Player

Let's consider the sound path from the file to the DAC of the sound interface (sound card or external DAC). The scheme is simplified as much as possible

WASAPI

When playing from WASAPI, the output sound is possible only from one player (program), all other audio streams will be in “mute” mode. Some programs may display an error that “sound device is not available.” In professional cards, it is possible to simultaneously play audio streams from WASAPI and ASIO, because Audio streams bypass the Windows mixer, but then enter the audio device driver and are then mixed by the sound card mixer. Where ASIO is done via WASAPI, there may be various problems with stability. In order to receive sound at the output simultaneously from several programs, it must be brought into a single grid of bit depth and sampling frequency, and then all streams must be summed up. In the previous generation of OS XP, there was a reference frequency automaton for MME and when playing sound from only one program, resampling was disabled; the system mixer did not make any significant changes to the audio stream. In Windows 7, everything works forcibly, regardless of the number of programs that play sound. Automatic reference frequency is only possible for WASAPI and ASIO with appropriate support from the audio device driver.

ASIO

ASIO is a professional audio subsystem for Steinberg audio processing programs. The main advantage of ASIO is the ability to obtain ultra-low audio signal delays, which allow you to process sound in real time when playing live on midi instruments. Through ASIO, the audio stream is routed bypassing the Windows mixer. ASIO is not supported by all sound cards, while WASAPI is supported by all. For this reason, you should not chase ASIO support like “manna from heaven”. However, after the audio stream enters the audio interface driver, the driver is responsible for further transportation of the audio stream and any surprises are possible here. Problems can occur with both WASAPI and ASIO independently of each other, and the presence of two interfaces increases the chances of high-quality sound reproduction. What unnecessary things can an audio interface driver do? The same thing as the Windows mixer - resampling and mixing channels. It’s better not to be lazy and carefully study the sound card settings for optimal sound output.

Android setup foobar2000

It is better to download the Fubar2000 player for a mobile device from Google Play. Version 1.0.63 contains binaries that may not work on all devices. The best option is version 1.1.26, which works fully on all versions of the Android system.

Step by step guide:

Download the themes.rar archive and unpack it.
Transfer to a memory card.
Open Fubar2000 on your mobile device.
Having selected the “Browse” window, click on the key (settings) located in the upper right corner.
Next, select “Choose Skin”.
Add any skin from the themes folder (the file must be in .fbskin format).
Check the box next to “User skins”.
Next, we wait for the process of changing the player theme.
It is recommended to select small files.

General sound quality matters of an audio playback

In this part, we discuss general audio playback issues without referring to certain software.

Playing DSF, DFF SACD ISO (DSD files) on PCM DAC may be performed in 2 ways:

directly on an audio player (real-time conversion DSD to PCM), or
PCM files, that pre-converted from DSD files offline.

If DSD files are played back at DSD DAC, offline or real-time resampling (at some playback software) may be applied.

When we use way #1, we no need to do something with files.

Way #2 may be preferable, if an offline conversion sound quality is better than a real-time one. Backup of original audio files are recommended for offline conversion. Because:

further player and/or offline conversion software may use more advanced DSD to PCM conversion by sound quality or
new equipment will be bought (read below).

Sample rate and bit depth of played back file may be a matter for a players software (except bit-perfect mode) and equipment (including DAC). Read details >

Sound quality may be compared via measurements or via hearing.

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Some SACD ISO files contain 2.0 and 5.1 channel variants of an album. If your audio system is stereo, you have options:

First option is preferable because we can suppose that “human mixed” stereo variant is better than “auto mixed” one.

But there is no guarantee, that it is so for any case.

Also the quality of an automatic downmix depends on implementation.

Downmix may be done inline, during playback.

Setting up hotkeys in foobar2000

The Fubar2000 player is loved by users because you can set up hot keys for easy navigation while listening to tracks. This is very convenient, for example, to switch audio if you are busy with your main work and do not have time to be distracted by opening the program and selecting the song of interest from the list.

To configure hotkeys in foobar2000, you need to do the following:

Go to the main menu of the player and select Preferences - Keyboard shortcuts.
Add combinations - F3 - Edit / Search (calls up a dialog box with compositions, namely a playlist with playable tracks). This search method is more convenient than the main one, since by pressing one key you can immediately go to the desired composition.
Space (Space) - Playback / Play or pause - by pressing the spacebar, the track pauses and when pressed again, it plays from the moment it was stopped.

Important! Hot keys can be customized to suit you and in any quantity.

To summarize, in addition to all of the above, I would like to say that this program, accessible to many, does not have any significant drawbacks. The number of users is increasing every year. Regular users have no desire to look for an alternative. Fubar2000 is a lightweight player that takes up no more than 3 MB. Over 10 years of improvements, its weight has not increased, but its functionality has expanded.

Grand total

As you can see, it’s impossible even in principle to call Foobar2000 a good audio player. This player is so unusual and interesting that it can easily outdo the most famous software players combined, both in terms of sound quality, and in the flexibility of settings, and in its unheard-of additional capabilities, which, so to speak, need to be “awakened.” True, the lack of a Russian-language interface and built-in effects, or even the lack of video support, is somewhat disappointing, but all this can be called trifles compared to the most powerful capabilities of the player, which are revealed through the installation of additional components. Well, it’s best to evaluate the sound quality yourself by making the settings described above. It, as is already clear, is beyond praise, since few modern players can boast of such high parameters, and even with the ability to work with new CD and audio formats, as well as in terms of connecting external hardware devices to the application. As for the Foobar2000 player for mobile devices, there are not as many settings in it as in the stationary version, but in any case, the sound quality is an order of magnitude higher than that of all those players that are offered for installation on mobile platforms.