The first thing we need is a DirectShow filter, and there is a perfectly good one available called Radlight APE DirectShow filter.
Before we look at Windows Media Player directly, let's take a look at Media Player Classic because with Windows Media Player we will also need to install a plug-in to read the APE metadata correctly. Play in DirectShow players such as Windows Media Player? It is totally possible to play APE files in Windows Media Player and technically any DirectShow-based player. This time it should play the APE files you want to play without a problem. Now, if you already have Foobar 2000 running, close it and restart the application. Download WinRAR from here.Įxtract DLL file to Component Folder With the Component folder still open, simply click and drag foo_input_monkey.dll from WinRAR into the folder as shown in the picture to the right (click to enlarge if you need to). Now click here to download the Monkey's Audio plug-in and open it in WinRAR as shown in the picture to the right. Open the Foobar 2000 folder and then open the Components folder and you will see a bunch of DLL files. Simply go to your C:\ ( Start Menu -> My Computer ( Computer in Vista), C:\) and go to your Program Files folder. Foobar does not support Monkey's Audio out of the box but it has an official plugin (as it has for many other formats as well) and combined it makes an easier method than anything else.ĭownload Foobar 2000 from AfterDawn at: Install APE Plugin for Foobar 2000 The installation of APE plugin for Foobar 2000 is manual, but it could not be any easier.
Easiest Method - Foobar 2000 + Plugin Possibly the easiest method to getting APE files to play fast is to install the Foobar 2000 application and also install a plugin for it that allows for APE playback.
Monkey's Audio is proprietary software and such you don't see support for APE files in many players that would would normally expect to see support in (such as VLC media player). Once of the biggest differences you notice immediately is the file size difference APE files are generally much larger.
Compare that to lossy compression formats such as MP3, OGG Vorbis or Musepack (MPC). Since it is lossless, if you were to compress an entire audio CD to APE files using Monkey's Audio, you would be losing no quality whatsoever, and could technically reconstruct the original CD-Audio completely. Introduction to Monkey's Audio Monkey's Audio is a popular lossless audio codec used to create very high quality versions of audio files. It covers the easiest methods to playing this audio format (basically download and play) and also covers adding support for Monkey's Audio to a variety of more common players such as Windows Media Player.
This article covers how to play APE files (called Monkey's Audio).