Sonic Foundry Siren Jukebox 2.0
On the one hand, Siren Jukebox 2.0 supports a broad group of file formats, has an interface that's intelligently laid out (even in compact mode), and can write data, as well as audio, CDs. On the other hand, the program is copy protected and can be sluggish when first accessing your playlists. Fortunately, you can preview the jukebox with Siren XPress 2.0, although the free version limits you to 20 MP3 encodings and won't burn CDs.
It's easy to develop a love-hate relationship with Sonic Foundry Siren Jukebox 2.0. In many ways, it's the most flexible jukebox available. It supports a wide range of file formats including the new OGG (Ogg Vorbis), an open-source MP3 alternative, and PCA (Perfect Clarity Audio), a lossless, highly compressible alternative to WAV.
Plus, the latest version of Siren lets you rip directly to WAV files, write hundreds of MP3 files to a single CD using the program's data-CD burning option, and print your own CD labels and jewel-case covers that automatically incorporate your playlists.
On the downside, Siren isn't cheap (it lists for US$49.95, it was available for US$34.97 through a direct download from the Sonic Foundry Web site). It's also copy protected, so you won't be able to run it on both your desktop and notebook. And it can be horribly slow when it first reads your playlist.
If you find MP3 jukebox programs to be too confusing, however, you'll probably love Siren. Instead of having attachable modules or trying to cram tiny controls into too small a space, Siren looks and feels like a full-fledged Windows application. You can easily resize and relocate the onscreen components, and save the layout for later use. Even Siren's compact mode manages to retain intelligently lay out with buttons, dials, and pull-down menus that make sense.
While skins and visualisations are supported, there aren't nearly as many available for Siren as there are for some competing programs. One big plus on the visualizations, though: You can blow them up to full-screen and choose the resolution (320 by 240, 640 by 480, 800 by 600, or 1,024 by 768) that best suits your graphics adapter.
Like to tweak the audio? Siren provides plenty of powerful audio effects, including a 16-band graphic equaliser with preprogrammed settings for classical, dance, jazz, and pop music. Add an ambient effect with the built-in reverb control. Slow down or speed up the audio playback with the time-stretch effect. You can even encode to both MP3 and Windows Media formats and save the results to your hard drive, CD recorder, or portable player (SONICblue Rio or Creative Labs Nomad players) at bitrates as high as 320Kbps.
A free version, Siren XPress 2.0, is limited to 20 MP3 encodings. It also restricts your Windows Media encodings to 96Kbps, doesn't allow CD burning, and doesn't include the audio effects. Despite the restrictions, however, it's an excellent preview for Siren Jukebox 2.0.
Company:Sonic Foundry
Price:US$34.97 (Web Download)
Rating:
Download Now
7%
3%
