# Neutron music player



## mcalis (Oct 21, 2021)

OK, I never thought the type of music player would actually matter, _at all_. A player is just a player right?

But this application, with it's pretty hideous UI, mediocre UX and metric shit-load of features _actually_ makes a difference. At least to my ears it does.

Not only does it pretty much play every format under the sun, it actually just makes music sound better. I wouldn't be able to tell you how, but to my ears everything I play through it sounds noticeably more detailed, I really can't put it any other way. Trust me, I stay well away from things like golden audio cables or other ridiculousness that has no or extremely limited effect, but this is different. It's extremely cheap (<$10 on most platforms) and while it may be a bit baffling to navigate at first you will eventually come to understand the "logic" of the app. It also gets plus points from me for having been made in low-level C code which makes it performant and ensures you get the most out of your audio hardware.

Official site: https://neutroncode.com/

You can get it on Android here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neutroncode.mp&hl=en&gl=US

Or on Windows: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/neutron-music-player/9nblggh4vp2h?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

*Tips!*
If you're using headphones I recommend you turn on the crossfeed setting in Neutron (settings (cogwheel)-> playback -> dsp effect -> click the dark circle so it becomes red). Scroll down a bit to "Stereo Effect" and make sure it's also set to crossfeed.

And before anyone asks, I am in no way associated or affiliated with the developer of this software.


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## Bernard Duc (Oct 21, 2021)

mcalis said:


> OK, I never thought the type of music player would actually matter, _at all_. A player is just a player right?
> 
> But this application, with it's pretty hideous UI, mediocre UX and metric shit-load of features _actually_ makes a difference. At least to my ears it does.
> 
> ...


It's actually adding processing to the sound (stereo enhancer as well as some EQing) , which is why it sounds better. It's possible that to many people it sounds "better", but in fact it's less accurate.

EDIT: I should precise that I'm not criticizing the player. The website doesn't say anywhere that it has better quality than any other audio player, it simply has a lot of features, like the possibility to put VST plugins on the output or change songs through LUA scripting (to use it as middleware in a game I guess). I'm sure that some people will find some of those features useful, or will like the added processing (which can be deactivated).


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## Bernard Duc (Oct 21, 2021)

BUT.... big "but", you can't rip a Star Wars album and just say it's public domain. The music is 100% not public domain, no matter what it says on this website. And you can't make a PD rip of something still under copyright. So I would remove this link asap.


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## mcalis (Oct 21, 2021)

Bernard Duc said:


> BUT.... big "but", you can't rip a Star Wars album and just say it's public domain. The music is 100% not public domain, no matter what it says on this website. And you can't make a PD rip of something still under copyright. So I would remove this link asap.


Done. For the record (since I removed the link), it was not something I had uploaded. It was available on a well-known, trusted website and had the CC1.0 registration listed below it. I genuinely thought it was OK.


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## Bernard Duc (Oct 21, 2021)

mcalis said:


> Done. For the record (since I removed the link), it was not something I had uploaded. It was available on a well-known, trusted website and had the CC1.0 registration listed below it.


No worries, but I didn't want you or the forum getting into trouble.


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## mcalis (Oct 21, 2021)

Bernard Duc said:


> No worries, but I didn't want you or the forum getting into trouble.



Appreciated. I should've thought it through more before I posted, but I hope you can see how that mistake was easily made.



Bernard Duc said:


> It's actually adding processing to the sound (stereo enhancer as well as some EQing) , which is why it sounds better. It's possible that to many people it sounds "better", but in fact it's less accurate.
> 
> EDIT: I should precise that I'm not criticizing the player. The website doesn't say anywhere that it has better quality than any other audio player, it simply has a lot of features, like the possibility to put VST plugins on the output or change songs through LUA scripting (to use it as middleware in a game I guess). I'm sure that some people will find some of those features useful, or will like the added processing (which can be deactivated).


I wonder where you get that from? I read through the entire FAQ but didn't spot anything about the kind of DPS processing it does. I'm sure it does some, I mean, it _has_ to or I wouldn't notice a difference, I just couldn't find those specifics.

It gets really hard to say if something is objectively better or not because of everyone's personal preferences. All I can say is I like it better on Windows _and_ on Android both. Meaning, it's not just a fluke because those platforms (and the headphones I use on either) are different. When it really comes down to it, I guess I don't really care what it does because I get something out of it regardless.

I would encourage anyone to get the trial for windows and give it a shot. Maybe you get lucky like me and whatever it does makes things sound nicer to your ears across the board. If not, no loss.


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## Bernard Duc (Oct 21, 2021)

mcalis said:


> Appreciated. I should've thought it through more before I posted, but I hope you can see how that mistake was easily made.
> 
> 
> I wonder where you get that from? I read through the entire FAQ but didn't spot anything about the kind of DPS processing it does. I'm sure it does some, I mean, it _has_ to or I wouldn't notice a difference, I just couldn't find those specifics.
> ...


From the website, under the "technology" tab.

"
Ambiophonic Surround Sound​Features the Ambiophonic R.A.C.E. digital signal processor which widens Stereo and makes it much more spatial. Stereo sound becomes richer and surrounds listener. Any application which is using stereo assets may benefit from using this feature.

Automatic HF Occlusion​Provides automatic occlusion of high-frequencies with built-in low-pass filter in order to improve the perception of 3D environment by listener and simulate natural sound occlusion due to air absorption, listener head position (in case of directional audio cone).
"

Not sure if it's on by default or not, but in the FAQ it speaks about disabling the DSP processes. The second one might be for use in game audio.


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