14 DAY TRIAL // Each time you say ?this is it? about a program you get to see another one to prove you wrong after a while. The same happened to me today, when I found Apollo 37zx. ?Another good, free, fast and highly customizable audio player in a 671KB setup file? No way!? I may be overreacting here; after all, there are thousands and thousands of good programs on this planet, so... why not?
I am not looking for transparent, eye-catching interfaces or programs that perform as sound and video players, can edit text files and send emails, my target is to find a light and fast free audio player that delivers excellent sound quality, that's all. Some of you may remember CoolPlayer, one of the best free compact audio players available two years ago. Unfortunately, that project didn't release any new version since February 2004, and all I can do in the meantime is wait... and review Apollo 37zx, of course.
Before getting to the program, just a few words about its license. The author invented a new license type, and it's good to know there are people around who care about things like human rights. Why human rights? I strongly advice you to get the program, carefully read the License Agreement and you will find the answer...
I won't talk much about how to do things with Apollo, but I will point out the things that can be done with it and the most important features. Adjust your headphones or sound systems properly and get some music within range... let's go!
The program's interface is very simple and playlist oriented. Playlists can be created and modified using the drag and drop method or the context menus. Let's have a quick tour of the menu and stop at the most important items, shall we?
The File menu can be accessed using the Alt+F keyboard shortcut and allows opening files, folders and URLs. Besides those, you can save playlists or generate a HTML page with the current playlist.
The Playlist menu enables the user to perform playlist operations like clearing the main playlist, randomizing song order, refreshing playlist information or browsing the folders and files from the playlist(s).
The Miscellaneous menu has the most important features of the program, including the Options area. The plugins supported by Apollo include most Winamp ones, so you have tons of them to add in order to make it stronger. I like the ability to use 32bit sound output and the opportunity to buffer entire files from CD. I must remind also the 16 band graphics EQ or its WAV decoding to disk. The rest it's up to you to discover and use and there's a lot, I can tell you that for sure!
Don't expect to get an eye candy with Apollo, because you won't. This program is faster and smaller then a bullet. Get it while it's hot!
The Good
Apollo 37zx is a great program: it's fast, easy to work with, it can use Winamp plugins while additional ones allow it to play more and more file types. Its sound quality is outstanding and its features can match most audio players available.
The Bad
The interface may be too simple (it lacks the volume control!) and skinning addicts won't be able to surpass this inconvenient.
The Truth
I think that I?ve found one of the greatest sentences that I read in the last years in the documentation of this program, so I will quote it here, to end this review: "Sound quality is not skinnable."
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
