Geting MM to play Wav Pack files?

[windcrest77]

If I install the DirectShow filter for Wav Pack will MM then be able to recognize and play my Wav Pack files (files with .wv extension)?

http://www.wavpack.com/downloads.html#binaries

Currently MM is not even recognizing WV files at all.

[Peke]

No, installing Winamp Plugin in MM plugins folder will allow you to play and add WV tracks to MM library like all other files but there will no Full Tagging support due the lack of MM tagging Plugin.

[windcrest77]

No, installing Winamp Plugin in MM plugins folder will allow you to play and add WV tracks to MM library like all other files but there will no Full Tagging support due the lack of MM tagging Plugin.

Peke, I'm not sure where to get what I need, is this plug in available from the Media Monkey web site?

[nohitter151]

No, installing Winamp Plugin in MM plugins folder will allow you to play and add WV tracks to MM library like all other files but there will no Full Tagging support due the lack of MM tagging Plugin.

Peke, I'm not sure where to get what I need, is this plug in available from the Media Monkey web site?

No, try to google for it.

[windcrest77]

No, installing Winamp Plugin in MM plugins folder will allow you to play and add WV tracks to MM library like all other files but there will no Full Tagging support due the lack of MM tagging Plugin.

Peke, I'm not sure where to get what I need, is this plug in available from the Media Monkey web site?

No, try to google for it.

I did the first time, but it was unapparent how to do this, anyway maybe others can learn, here is the procedure:


To play .wv files people will need this article:

http://www.mediamonkey.com/support/inde ... icleid=102

(apparently MM already installs with a dummy winamp.exe to fool the plug in installer I did not have to create one like the article says)

AND down load the winamp plug in from here:

http://www.wavpack.com/downloads.html

Shut down MM!

Install the plugin by double clicking it, when it asks you where winamp is, tell it it's in the MM folder so it sees the dummy winamp.exe file there and gets fooled. Let it finish.

Now bring up MM again, check the Options and make sure the .wv Input plug in is now showing in the list of plug ins.

AND do a re-scan so MM brings the .WV files into the library AND set the file monitor in MM to recognize .WV files on that same dialog (I had to wait about a half hour for MM to rescan my tracks but it did now recognize and add the new WavPack .wv files that have been sitting there unrecognized for months, yay!)

AND checkmark .WV in the file types dialog so as to associate .WV files with MM

Wow, I'm impressed with the quality of this WavPack codec! I use FLAC, WMA Lossless, APE Lossless exclusively and those are all great lossless codecs, but the response time when clicking one of these WavPack files is better than all of these other lossless formats. FLAC and WMA Lossless are very fast to load, however APE files are very slow to load (I installed the Monkey audio exe). But APE files are also slow to create and split from a cue sheet too, much slower than WMA(L) and FLAC. Any file that has a lot of imbedded images are also very slow to load, but these WavPack files start playing instantaneously even if I click forward/back repeatedly.

I am still trying to figure out what Peke meant by the tagger not working with .wv files, it seems to be working, but maybe its only updating the library DB and not the media files.

Anyway this is a big hurdle to now have WavPack working, now I gotta put it on the Netbook.

Thanks!

[Lowlander]

Yes, any changes you make to the tags are only saved in the database, not to the files themselves.

[Peke]

http://www.wavpack.com/WavPack_Plugin_f ... _v2_8a.exe

[windcrest77]

Yes, any changes you make to the tags are only saved in the database, not to the files themselves.

Damn, this is a nice codec! Almost makes me wish I had been using it all along. Great sound and it runs real fast.

I do notice that MM is not showing the bit rate on the screen for these files, usually a FLAC, APE or WMA lossless file will show anywhere from 700kBps to 1411kBps but these files are showing 000 kBps (probably a small reporting bug). I did verify that my DAC driver is receiving 1411 kBps off the USB bus, and the sound certainly proves that. So the plug in is working but apparently not reporting its bit rate to MM. I'm going to re-rip a 24 bit 96 kHz hi resolution audio disk with WavPack and see how that sounds through my DAC. This is truly a professional codec.

[Peke]

Personally I prefer FLAC

[nohitter151]

Personally I prefer FLAC

Me too, hardware support for FLAC is much better and compression level vs wavpack is about the same.

[Lowlander]

I also use FLAC as preferred format for lossless audio.

[windcrest77]

Personally I prefer FLAC

I love FLAC too but was impressed by Wav Pack for its speed and the unique method they've employed to do lossy compression as well. You can have it create 2 files a lossy compressed file and a "correction" file (both files are small) when combined these files allow you to get a lossless file back again by simply "correcting" the lossy file. It's a unique approach, but with cheap hard drives, I'm more prone to just use a single lossless file.

I just ripped a hi definition recording of Ana Carem to 88.2/24 FLAC (from SACD), WMP wont even play this file, neither will iTunes (of course), Foobar is playing it but not at full res. But Media Monkey is playing it just fine and my DAC is indeed confirming this resolution. This is the first time I've actualy got my DAC to light up that LED. It sounds incredible.

[Peke]

What hardware you use to read full SACD on PC ??????? I was not aware that one existed.

[windcrest77]

What hardware you use to read full SACD on PC ??????? I was not aware that one existed.

No Peke, not the PC! (my Dell PC can only read the CD layer of these disks). I record my SACD player balanced (XLR) analog output into a Behringer A/D mic/line converter I use professionally to get a file at 24/88.2 PCM, then I compressed that with FLAC. Similar to the way I ripped my 500 LP's except those I only did at 16/44.1.

This experiment was mostly to prove that my USB DAC was working with some PC-based source higher than a CD and with a source I can A/B compare it to that was indeed hi-res. And also to prove if MM can play such a FLAC file. The sound is still way better than the CD layer of the SACD ripped directly (even with the additional A/D conversion). This analog source is still better than a CD (16/44.1) PCM source because it was based on pure 1 bit SACD DSD stream with no brick wall filtering like a CD has. Nad this player has a nice dead-quiet analog stage.

[windcrest77]

What hardware you use to read full SACD on PC ??????? I was not aware that one existed.

Here is what MM is reporting at the bottom, I cant believe how crappy ripped CD's sound compared to this:



(I hope this post works I've never uploded an image before)