Audion X - 3.0.2

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.

I`m sick and tired of iTunes and there seems to be not suitable Alternative.

Audion was simply the Best! Pleeease bring it back!

It seems to have stopped working reliably for me with the latest OS update (10.4.8)... too bad, it was a nice, lightwheight MP3 Player.. (iTunes is overkill for me).

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.

This product claims to be free. But after a short use, it stops and tells you to purchase a license. Can anyone explain this?