The official Winamp website is still online, still offering that leaked version that appeared on the web at the end of 2018, but there's no news regarding its development. Now, many users have decided to replace Winamp with alternatives that manage to clone its functionality, and one of them is Qmmp. Its creator offers two different builds for Windows, and if you want to change its appearance, you can do it without any hassle.
A Familiar Alternative
I still have a copy of Winamp 5.8 installed on my computer. Other users prefer to use the latest stable version, and there are also those who go further back, looking for the 2.x builds. With the advance of streaming and dedicated services, traditional music players like Winamp have lost a lot of ground, but they provide an extra layer of control and a format support that online solutions simply ignore.
So, which one to choose? To be honest, it's hard to go wrong these days. Winamp works well (whether new or old version), as does the huge number of clones available. A valid parameter to separate them is the state of their development, and one of the ones that receives updates most frequently is Qmmp. It is an open source project, with broad Linux support, and two versions of the source code for those who want to explore it.
Two Versions for Different Systems
Why two versions? It's simple: Qmmp is a player made in Qt, under versions 4 and 5 respectively. The Qt4 build follows version number 0.12 and is recommended for Windows XP and Vista. In contrast, the Qt5 build is at version 1.3, and that's the one you should use with Windows 7 and later.
Customization
The rest is basically like using Winamp. A click on the top-left corner of the player opens its options menu, where you'll find access to its configuration. There you can modify its general appearance, install and activate compatible skins, play with its modules, adjust the behavior of audio normalization, and associate file types (this last one requires opening the player as administrator on Windows 10).
Performance and Quirks
I admit that Qmmp works very well, but that doesn't mean it's free of some quirks. Its memory consumption tends to be a bit higher than normal, and the equalizer didn't respond as well while I was playing FLAC files. Anyway, I suggest you download a copy and try it. You can even activate its portable mode during installation.
Official site and downloads: Click here
