foobar2000 Guides: Setup, Components, Converting, Streaming and DSD

foobar2000 does almost nothing until you tell it to, which is the whole appeal and the whole learning curve. This page collects the guides that get you from a blank install to a player that converts, streams and plays hi-res - in the order you actually need them.

Every guide below is free, current for foobar2000 version 2 on Windows, and written for someone who has never opened the Preferences window.

Start at the top if the player is new to you, or jump to the section that matches the job in front of you.

Two of the links go to an outside site because nobody has written a better beginner's setup than the one there.

1. Install it and get sound out

Download foobar2000 and choose the standard install unless you want to carry the player on a USB stick, in which case pick portable. Both are the same program; portable keeps its settings in its own folder.

On first run it asks for a layout - the defaults are fine, and every choice can be changed later under Preferences, Display. Add your music folder under Preferences, Media Library, and you are playing within a minute.

For the audio-side settings that matter - output device, WASAPI or ASIO, bit depth, ReplayGain - the clearest walkthrough is Foobar 2000 for Dummies, Part 1 on DIY Audio Heaven. It is long, but it explains why each setting exists rather than just where it is.

2. Add components

Components are foobar2000's plug-ins, and they are how the player gains a format, an output method, a skin or a feature. Almost every question that starts "can foobar2000 do..." is answered by one.

A Quick Guide for Installing foobar2000 Components covers the two install routes - double-clicking the .fb2k-component file, or Preferences, Components, Install - and how to tell whether a component is working.

3. Convert music

foobar2000 is one of the best free batch converters on Windows, and most people never notice because the feature hides behind a right-click. Select tracks, choose Convert, pick a format, and it encodes an entire library with tags and folder structure intact.

Convert Audio with foobar2000 - FLAC to MP3 and More walks through it step by step, including Quick Convert and custom encoder presets.

Out of the box the Convert dialog offers only a few formats; the foobar2000 Free Encoder Pack adds MP3, AAC, Opus, Vorbis and the rest, and is the first thing to install if the format you want is missing.

4. Stream YouTube and internet radio

foobar2000 plays internet radio out of the box - File, Add Location, paste the stream URL - and with one component it plays YouTube audio in a playlist like any other track.

Stream YouTube Audio in foobar2000 for Free covers the YouTube Source component, saving streams as playlists, and what to do when a stream stops working after a site change.

5. Play DSD and hi-res files

SACD rips and DSD downloads need the SACD Decoder component and a DAC that accepts DSD or DoP. Foobar 2000 for Dummies, Part 2 sets it up from scratch and its comments thread is still answered by the author.

The component has moved on several versions since that guide was written, so read the screenshots as a map rather than a match - the settings it names are all still there, some under new labels.

6. Take it to your phone

foobar2000 Mobile is the official Android version - same format support, same DSP chain, skins and UPnP, no ads. It reads music over SMB, FTP and WebDAV, so a library on a home PC or NAS plays without copying anything.

There is no shared library or sync between the desktop and mobile apps; each keeps its own settings. Convert on the desktop with the guide above, copy the files over, and the phone picks up the tags.

Which guide do you need?

Quick questions

One install, four guides, and foobar2000 does what the expensive players do.

Download foobar2000 and work through section 1 today, or tell us which guide you would add if you have one this page is missing.