updated
Sep 17, 2026
1.3MB
file size
6.1K
downloads
Boom is an audio player (released by Peter Pawlowski, foobar2000's developer) for users who like to keep things simple.
Boom is a small music player for people who just want to listen, without learning a program first.
It comes from the developer of foobar2000, but where foobar2000 is built to be customised, Boom is built to be left alone.
It is free, needs no installation and runs straight from a folder or a USB stick.
What Boom Actually Does
You open Boom, point it at your music folder, and browse your albums the same way they sit on your drive. Pick a folder or a track and it plays.
- Gapless playback. Live albums and DJ mixes play without a pause between tracks.
- ReplayGain. Evens out volume between loud and quiet albums, if your files carry ReplayGain tags.
- Popular formats. MP3, FLAC, Opus, Ogg Vorbis, Musepack, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, MP4/M4A and WMA.
- Cover art. Shows album covers, including WebP images since version 1.1.
- Basic tag editing. A simple Properties window lets you fix a title or artist when you need to.
- Dark theme and many languages, with community translations.
What It Deliberately Leaves Out
Boom stays simple by skipping things other players include. It never goes online, so there is no internet radio, no streaming and no automatic cover downloads.
It doesn't play audio CDs and doesn't add itself to the right-click menu in File Explorer, so you set up file associations yourself if you want them.
If any of those matter, foobar2000 does all of it and more.
Which File to Download
| File | Pick it if |
|---|---|
Boom-1.1.2-x64.zip
|
You have a normal Intel or AMD Windows PC, which is almost everyone |
Boom-1.1.2-ARM.zip
|
Your laptop runs Windows on a Snapdragon or other ARM chip |
Unzip the file anywhere and run Boom from that folder. There is no installer and no administrator permission needed, so it works on a USB stick too.
Older or 32-bit PC?
Version 1.1 and later need 64-bit Windows 7 or newer. For 32-bit systems and Windows XP, use Boom 1.0.39.
What's New in Boom 1.1 to 1.1.2
- ARM version for Windows 10 and 11 on ARM laptops.
- Better dark theme, now darkening the scrollbars and title bar on Windows 10 and 11.
- WebP cover art is now recognised.
- A crash fix for scrolling inside a folder that has no audio files.
- Navigation links shrink to fit when the window is small.
- Translation updates, including new Spanish (Argentina) and fixed Finnish.
Tools That Cover What Boom Doesn't
Boom reads your tags but isn't a tagging tool. For whole-album fixes, use Mp3tag, or let MusicBrainz Picard match your files to an online database.
To get music off CDs, rip them with Exact Audio Copy. Then play the files in Boom.
Wondering which format to keep? Our FLAC vs MP3 guide explains the trade-off.
FLAC and Opus both play in Boom.
Got a file in a format that isn't on Boom's list, such as AC3? Convert it in your browser with our Audio Converter, or play it in VLC media player.
To trim or clean up a recording, use Audacity.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
The tell that Boom is too simple for you: you want internet radio, CD playback or a player you can customise.
- Want the full power of the same engine: foobar2000, with components you can add. Our guide to installing foobar2000 components gets you started.
- Want a friendly player with internet radio: AIMP.
- Want a big library with auto-tagging and syncing: MusicBee or MediaMonkey.
- Want something even smaller with plugins: XMPlay.
- Listening on a phone: foobar2000 for Android and iOS, since Boom is Windows only.
More players are in our Media Players category.
Quick questions
Is Boom free?
Yes. It is a free download and needs no account.
Do I need to install Boom?
No. Unzip it and run it. It needs no administrator rights, so it also runs from a USB stick.
Does Boom work on Windows XP or a 32-bit PC?
Not the current version. Boom 1.1 and later need 64-bit Windows 7 or newer, so use 1.0.39 from the official page for older systems.
What is the difference between Boom and foobar2000?
They share their roots, but Boom has almost no settings and never goes online. foobar2000 adds playlists, components, conversion and streaming.
Can Boom play internet radio or CDs?
No, neither. Use AIMP for radio, and rip CDs to files with Exact Audio Copy first.
Does Boom support FLAC and gapless playback?
Yes to both. It plays FLAC, and albums play without gaps between tracks when the files allow it.
Download Boom 1.1.2 and see how it handles your music, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
