Audion X for Mac

User Reviews

• Handles Splitting/Exporting mp3 files better tha...

  vitoarcMarch 25, 2010

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  ...Au<br />This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I was looking for a simple mp3 editor that would split mp3 files and then export them rapidly. I found this in Audion. Not only does it do this task effortlessly, without using a lot of processing power, but it also exports the mp3 in seconds. Audacity is waaaaaaay slower in this regard. But this is much much more than an editor. It also plays/records streaming music and comes with many preset channels. I'm just learning the power of Audion, but I'm impressed already. Considering that it's now free, and it's discontinued, you'd better download this now because it probably won't be around forever. You won't be disappointed. Works great with Tiger PPC.

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• STILL the best sounding mp3 player available on th...

  mr snifflesOctober 26, 2009

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  ...<br />This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Listened to some mp3s with iTunes 9, then listened to the same mp3s with Audion. And after all these years, Audion still whips iTunes booty in sound quality. Much greater richness and warmth. I guess that's at least one of the reasons I'm still using Audion. Refer to my other review for the other 15 reasons.

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• Greatest mp3 player ever; BRING IT BACK!

  visitor1July 24, 2008

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Let me tell you how great this piece of software was/is... Notice how some people have testified here that it's a "light" mp3 player for every-day use? And one person said "iTunes is overkill for me"? That's how deceptively good Audion was/is. It would do a lot MORE than iTunes. iTunes, like much Apple software, removes features and/or (especially) user control, in order to "dumb it down" in homage to simplicity. Best example, perhaps, is that you have no option to play something with iTunes without it opening your entire library of umpteen thousand songs. With Audion, you don't have to open your library unless you want to. Thus you can easily use it to play just one song, or many. There are many more examples of why people love it. All my mp3 files bear the Audion icon (the default for playing all my music). I use iTunes for certain things, but I use it secondary to Audion. In my favorite example, Audion has a better way to assign file names to new conversions. Very customizable, which is exactly what Apple is getting away from: user control. I use OS 10.5.4, and Audion still works fine (relative to Tiger), except for one thing that I need to test further to confirm. I now cannot get the "Batch CD conversion" feature in Tools to work. That was handy. But I can still choose "Convert all playlist items" to accomplish the same thing... it's just one small extra step. (I highly suspect this is a quirkiness occurring with Leopard, and maybe any system still running Tiger would not lose this batch processing feature; but I'd need to test more to confirm; and I'd keep Tiger on one computer just for this reason, if that's the case!) Over time, since Audion is no longer supported (it's FREE now), we'll probably find more features that don't work as we'd like. But I'm not daunted by any bugginess yet. Someone asked "Where are the 1000" radio stations? That's another thing that went (not sure exactly why). That feature FAR exceeded iTunes!!!! It was great to listen to radio from all around the world... no ads, no limitations, no goofy proprietary introductions playing before you got to the broadcast. But now that's essentially gone. As for people wanting a simple, everyday mp3 player, I used to use one that was very simple and kinda cool, but can't remember what it was. Surely there are things out there still that could be found with a little digging. Might try using a widget or some other simple program that works in connection with iTunes (if you must go that route) but with iTunes itself staying in the back room with the door shut. Don't know. But snooping around might pay off.

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• Audion still rocking with Intels

  mr snifflesSeptember 12, 2006

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />When I upgraded to an Intel Mac mini, I was certain it was going to be the end of Audion and I'd be forced to join the faceless iTunes hordes. But I'm happy to report, the thing still works as well as it ever has (which varies). It's true I've had a love/hate relationship with this app over the years. I purchased it back in 2002 because I simply did not and do not like iTunes for a varity of reasons (a mac user that doesn't like iTunes? Heaven forbid...). It was buggy back then, but Panic was promising that all would be repaired in the myriad of updates they had planned. Well, I'm still waiting for those updates. I guess they're not coming. Although, it took Panic about three years to fess up to that fact, even though they still gladly collected registration dollars (and ignored paying customers' pleas). This was all a shame, because I really liked Audion and still do. It sounds great, the skins are many and look awesome, it doesn't gobble my entire system, it allows me to set up playlists how I see fit, and more. It's my idea of an mp3 player, which is why it still gets used on a daily basis. It's awesome that it's now free, a refund would have been swell, but I guess you can't have everything. I'm also pleased that it still rolls with the Intels. If I could make one last plea to Panic, it would be for them to release the source code. Lots of folks have expressed the desire to work out it's bugs and keep it evolving. I wish Panic would let them do just that (since they're no longer interested) In fact, I'd jump for joy. There's just too much potential in Audion to let it lay stagnate. But alas... As it stands, if you're looking for a way to break free from the iTunes chokehold and can deal with some bugs both big and small, give it a shot. It really is the coolest, and the price is right. But my fingers remain crossed for an update.

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• Support needed

  phillipk1April 8, 2006

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Audion has long been one of the best music players for OS X. Development for it has been discontinued. It's a shame that Apple is pushing iTunes now as hard as Microsoft pushed Internet Explorer. It leaves Mac users with a choice between iTunes...and iTunes. Search here for music players and see. Audion still plays and functions well under 10.4.6 (mp3, CD, tag edit, streaming), and all it really needs is a plugin to enable AAC files. It would be good if Panic released some code for that. Other iTunes alternatives are VLC and MoreAmp, both still in development, and Cabrio, a great player abandoned in 2002 which is a visual disaster under 10.3, and more so under 10.4, but still plays perfectly. iTunes is as good, but no better, than these players, but it is about to enter the bloat phase. We need these alternatives.

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• Better than iTunes

  hkimJuly 6, 2005

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I like this much more than Apple iTunes. It is more flexible, has good plug-ins, no DRM issues AND is free. I know the latest iTunes has pod-casting but I don't need that for music and Audion will even dump to an iPod so . . .

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• Finally!

  Wade TregaskisNovember 12, 2004

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I was a big SoundJam fan (sorry Panic :) ) back under OS 9, but of course that went the way of the dodo, and turned into the fat hulking brute that is iTunes.... since then I've put up, but I've always missed SoundJam's small CPU and memory footprint. Now that Audion's free, it's fulfilled my music niche - it uses less than half the CPU time iTunes does, about the same amount of memory (grumble grumble), but with all the window's open - iTunes CPU usage doubles with the browser window open. My (800mhz G3) iBook can finally play music and do something else at the same time! Kudo's to Panic, and best of luck in your future endeavours!

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• Poor

  kaidaAugust 31, 2004

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />No update for more than two years? And this with all that bugs and broken functions in mind? Sad, that there seems to be any possibility that allowes those people survive though. <p> Audion has biggest problems with ID-tags; misinterpreting them, unable to change them, showing contents ("O"s) where none are, crashing and much more. <p> No way to refresh playlists or to change lists to play without having the list window open or even changing the prefs and relaunch it, slowest/buggy encoding, if it works at all. The mp3 editor is just a bad joke. And on and on and on. <p>&nbsp; <p> Much to do, much! Especially when one spent two years by nothing else than scratching his sphincter.

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• Is This Abandonware Yet?

  mr snifflesJune 21, 2004

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I think maybe it's time Panic handed over their code. $30 and two years, without an update, despite that fact that encoding is broken, linked playlists are broken, and about 300 other random bugs plaque this software. Yet Panic continues to take your money. For what? The privlege of using their busted product? One they seem to have no intentions on improving. Give it a rest. There's a lot of potential in Audion. When it was working, it was my favorite player/encoder. Perhaps the code should be given to someone who will help it live up to that potential. Not guys that sit around collecting money for a product they know doesn't work.

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• Great Sound quality and skins

  CocteauJanuary 24, 2004

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  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />It's funny how I keep coming back to Audion whenever I think the MP3's being played back through iTunes are suffering Audio Quality problems. Everytime, the Same file will sound so much deeper and fuller through Audion. This is with a USB to optical out from a Powerbook hooked up to my Yamaha reciever and Vandersteen speakers. iTunes MP3 playback has very poor stereo imaging, lack of low end bass and just sounds thin. The only thing that can be concluded is that Audion has a far superior MP3 Decoder. I also love the available Skins. What I don't like is the more combersome File Management than iTunes which really excels here. Audion has been more prone to crash as well(Although I am using it with an older Lombard PowerBook, File Sharing to a G4 over Airport Extreme which is really pushing the ole G3). It sure would be nice to see Audion update this app with more iTunes like File Mgmt(Playlist Pane)

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