This application boasts a wide range of audio processing and playback features, such as file type conversion, audio CD grabber, equalization, tag editor, and playlist creator.
Supported audio and video formats include AVI, MPG, WMV, OGG, PLS, M4A, RM, DVDs, FLAC and MP3.
Being an ad-supported application, jetAudio offers to download and install a third-party component that it does not necessarily need to function properly, as well as to make some web browser changes.
These options can be deselected by switching from standard to custom installation mode. Right before ending setup, the tool offers to open some webpages for commercial purposes.
An initial configuration can be made at the first run for file management and listening, music listening, simple music and video playback, as well as playlist and video windows display. These settings can be made later as well.
There are four viewing modes available in the interface: media center, My Computer (upper or lower) and portable device manager. On-screen display (OSD) is built into the app, making it easy to select audio tracks when working in other programs.
Populating the media center with files can be done automatically by pointing out specific folders or the entire hard drive. Alternatively, audio tracks can be manually imported from file, directory (with or without subfolders), disc or URL.
Multiple methods can be selected for arranging tracks in the list, such as file name, extension, added or played time. Track information shown here is customizable in terms of duration, title, rating, tempo, category, bit rate, file date, and so on.
As far as media controls are concerned, it is possible to increase or decrease playback speed, create and save playlists, show lyrics (if any), enable shuffle or repeat mode (current or all tracks), pick the playback mode between normal, random and program (a list with handpicked songs), as well as set bookmarks. A search function comes in handy when browsing a busy media center for specific tracks. Tag details are editable when it comes to the title, artist, album, comment, genre, lyrics, artwork and other aspects.
Several presets are built into an equalizer, while users may configure their own settings and save them to file. The program also offers support for visualizations (including those compatible with Winamp 2.x) and has three modules integrated, while additional ones can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Sound effects are applicable as well, such as wide, reverb and crossfade.
Setting a timer to a value ranging from 3 minutes to 24 hours exits the program, turns off the computer, enters standby or hibernation mode, starts or stops playback, or starts a recording. An alarm that goes off at a specific time can be programmed in the same manner, with the options to save the alarm status, enable fade-in volume, and repeat it daily.
jetAudio integrates a CD ripping tool that can turn tracks into other formats, namely WAV, APE, FLAC, MPC, OGG, RealMedia, Speex, True Audio (TTA), WMA and WavPack (WV). The same set of output profiles is applicable to the conversion of local files and albums, featuring batch processing support and tag transfers.
Additionally, the app makes available some radio channels online, along with an online YouTube downloader and audio CD creator with optional volume normalization and gap between tracks. Audio stream can be recorded from speakers to one of the previously mentioned formats and with configurable audio parameters (e.g. quality, compression), while a timer, silence detector and equalizer may be activated.
In matter of program settings, jetAudio can be set to resume playback from the last position after stopping a track, while hotkeys and mouse wheel and thumb button actions can be altered. Power options are manageable in terms of stopping playback when the battery life drops below a particular level.
Balloons pop up from the system tray area when the track changes or track information is modified, and they can be disabled or turned into MSN or Office 2003 style with custom timeout. Silence can be applied between tracks when playing audio CDs, and file associations can be made. Advanced settings revolve around filtering the input file types, decoders, playback support (e.g. QuickTime, RealMedia), and others.
The Good
The interface is customizable when it comes to skin, fonts, Windows color scheme, and display mode (e.g. details, normal thumbnails). Library data can be backed up to file for safekeeping. Hotkeys are available and configurable, while multiple languages are supported.
OS support extends to Windows 8/8.1, 32 and 64 bit. CPU and RAM usage is pretty low. Overall, jetAudio contains many useful options designed to enhance music playback.
The Bad
Several tools built into jetAudio are not actually available in the free version, although they are not marked differently. For example, the audio trimmer and mixing recorder can be tried out but without saving results.
Overall, the program is not that intuitive, especially for less experienced users, as discovering all supported features easily turns into a difficult task. The app popped up an error report and crashed on several occasions during our evaluation, each time out of the blue.
The Truth
Although intuitiveness is not its strongest point, jetAudio makes up for it by providing advanced users with plenty of audio customization options to suit their musical preferences.
14 DAY TRIAL // 
