Before beginning, the following is coming from a person who:
- Has been using, and knows PLEX for many many years
- A music library of well over 120,000 tracks
- Given the opportunity to order pizza everyday for the rest of my life, different toppings everyday
That all being said … when the original winamp was on windows, before there were mobile phones and tablets, clouds, and Tiger King … it was the staple for those, much like many of you, who are music lovers. Part of winamps attraction was it was a fun way to listen to music with a backend of programming that effortlessly kicked everything else out there (at the time) around the schoolyard.
PLEX Amp arriving some 3 years ago was not only great, and fitting tribute to a great player gone by, but like most things considered “innovative” a breath of fresh air not only in the PLEX family but streaming music apps industry over.
PLEX Amp 3.0, across all platforms, my friends, is a game changer.
I see, and read a lot of comparing PLEX to “the other streaming services (Apple, Spotify, Tidal etc)” when it comes to players.
Are you with me so far?
Like I said, Ive been around PLEX and using it for a while. Ive seen it from the beginning and I see it today. That also means Ive also read many thousands of forum posts and articles both in and out of the PLEX community … and Im here to ask you today, to take a moment (of which we all seem to have many these days) to look a little bit closer, in particular at PLEX Amp 3.0
“Expectations are just scheduled disappointments” …
PLEX Amp 3.0 gives us the unexpected … that’s its purpose, at least in my opinion. It presents the contents of our servers in a different way. The reason for its creation, again in my opinion, is to be different. Its not meant to be like the “official” PLEX player. But what it also gives us, under the hood, is innovation.
There are facts, and there are opinions … This post is composed of my opinions … But there are also facts included … some of those being that “other streaming services and players” don’t have “Sweet Fades” or, and in my opinion, probly a paramount feature in a music app, Volume Leveling … These two features alone, make PLEX Amp 3.0 a game changer. No one else has them. Sure there is “Crossfading” that is NOT Sweet Fades … Crossfading is starting one track before another ends (and many times there isn’t ever a fade included in that equation) … its isn’t rocket science … Sweet Fades might be …
Lets talk Volume Leveling … is there anything worse then playing your music library that you may have spent thousands of hours creating and trying to enjoy it while you constantly have to turn the volume up and down to stop having your brain adjustment to send a signal to you ears you aren’t going deaf because the music disappeared and is now so low that only your dog noticed the track changed, or to stop your speakers from blowing out of their cabinets because the decibel volume just increased 200% … Lets admit it, its a horrible way to listen to music and doesn’t do all your hard work, or the years you spent collecting music any justice … Volume Leveling is the jury who has set you free … can I get an Amen!
Out of 24 hours, I listen to music, most days, about 20 of those hours … home, car, office etc … Since I built my PLEX server people often comment on what a great listening experience they have when meeting in my office with me. Since PLEX Amp? There isn’t a person who doesn’t ask, what streaming service Im listening to and what a great playlist they are hearing … “Its a perfect combination of songs” is what I hear … oh, and by the way, was this a DJ that put this together? Because the song changing is ultra smooth and in many cases, unnoticeable … that’s a HUGE tip of the hat to the PLEX Amp team … THANK YOU
Im proud of the over 30 years I have spent building my music collection and additionally the thousands of hours Ive spent working on my PLEX server … Yes my music library is massive, but Im pretty sure its PLEX and specifically PLEX Amp that makes it what it is. Kind of like owning a Tesla (I do NOT Mr Musk), but not having electricity.
Those “other services” don’t innovate. They offer you an app that plays music. Just because its “all you can eat (listen to)” buffet, doesn’t mean the food you’re hungry for is on the table. PLEX Amp is for the person who wants to listen to their music, their way and also an endless variety of different ways we all discover every time we use it. This application is probly not for the person who wants the same albums or the same songs in their listening playlist everyday.
Having over 100,000 songs in my library it would and is physically impossible to listen to everything evenly … until now … My personal preference when I listen to my server is not to hear Come Sail Away ( a classic and genius composition of music) every time … Its not even something I want to hear when I feel like some Styx in my buffet. I would like to hear Lord Of the Rings by Styx (off of Pieces Of Eight) and hear those deep tracks by a band I love. When I bought the Grand Illusion, I probly bought it in great part for Come Sail Away, but I also bought it for the other 7 tracks on the album … Those other services when wanting to hear Styx, 10 out of 10 times will play me Come Sail Away … because its what “they think” I want to hear as a Styx fan … PLEX doesn’t do the thinking for me in that sense, it gives me a mix of Come Sail Away and Lord Of the Rings …
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my book on PLEX Amp … oh, and there will be more … Lets discuss … be creative in our discussion and celebrate the hard work of the programmers …
