PUBLIC PLAYER

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Ever feel like music player apps have somehow become harder to use these days? I started wondering if streaming might be part of the reason. Somewhere along the way, music player apps seem to have stopped being just a place to enjoy the music you own, and turned into all-in-one apps built around streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.

That’s probably convenient in its own way. But personally, I wanted to keep my own music library completely separate from streaming. Maybe that sounds a little old-fashioned, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

PUBLIC PLAYER & PUBLIC PLAYER Remote

So, I developed PUBLIC PLAYER as a music player for enjoying your own music library. The goal was simple: make it easy to manage your music library, and easy to use. You don’t want to have to read a manual just to figure out how to listen to music, right? So, except for the effects, I think you can pretty much use PUBLIC PLAYER without a manual.

Remote with PPRemote

Ease of use also means being able to control your music from anywhere in the room. You don’t want to go back to your computer every time you want to change a song or album, right?

So I made PUBLIC PLAYER Remote, an iOS remote control app designed specifically for PUBLIC PLAYER. It’s free to download, so if you have an iPhone or iPad, give it a try.

Almost Hi-Res Ready!

PUBLIC PLAYER “almost” supports Hi-Res Audio! Why “almost”? Simply because, with my current setup, I can’t test 176.4 kHz/24-bit and 192 kHz/24-bit playback on actual hardware. Hi-Res Audio up to 96 kHz/24-bit has been tested and confirmed to work properly. (And theoretically, 176.4 kHz/24-bit and 192 kHz/24-bit are supported too.)

If your connected audio device supports the sample rate of the source, PUBLIC PLAYER plays it at its original sample rate. If not, it automatically switches to an appropriate supported sample rate. Even when using the equalizer or reverb, DSP processing is performed while maintaining the high sample rate of the Hi-Res source.

A Little Fun with the Effects

In PUBLIC PLAYER, equalizer and reverb settings can be set separately for the Entire Library, each playlist, or even individual tracks within a playlist!

Entire Library

When playing music from Songs, Artists, Albums, or Genres, “Entire Library” appears at the top of the Effects window. The equalizer and reverb settings you choose here are applied to all music played from your library. (*Example 1)

Each Playlist

When you select a playlist, the option at the top changes.

Select “Entire Playlist” to set effects for every track in that playlist. Other playlists are not affected. (*Example 2)

Individual Tracks in a Playlist

Select “This Track Only” to set effects for just that one track within the playlist. Other tracks continue to use the effects set under “Entire Playlist.” (*Example 3)

*Example 1 — “Entire Library”: While playing Album A, set the effects to “EQ: Jazz + Medium Hall.” The same “EQ: Jazz + Medium Hall” setting will also be applied when you play other albums.

*Example 2 — “Entire Playlist”: You could use “EQ: Spoken Word” for your Ambient Techno playlist and “EQ: Dance” for your Dance playlist. Each playlist can have its own effect settings.

*Example 3 — “This Track Only”: Even the same song—for example, Born Slippy—can have different effects depending on where you play it. You could use “EQ: Reduce Bass” when it’s in your Ambient Techno playlist, “EQ: Boost Bass” when it’s in your Dance playlist, and “EQ Off” when playing it directly from your library. You can also use Preamp to manually adjust volume differences between individual tracks.

Artwork on the Dock

For the Dock icon, you can choose between the original app icon and the artwork of the album currently playing. Right-click the Dock icon to bring up player controls, so while you’re working, you can control PUBLIC PLAYER directly from the Dock without keeping the app window open.