# Winamp 2 versus Winamp 3 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986 "2003-09-26T15:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/1 "2003-09-26T15:36:58Z")
So I’ve used Winamp 2 for years, and have been quite satisfied, though there have been some things I’ve wanted from it that never seem to be improved. I know all of the crucial keyboard commands, and I like it’s simplicity. But then there’s Winamp 3. When it was a beta I downloaded it a couple of times, tried it, then removed it cause it just didn’t seem as smooth as Winamp 2. But now that it can run classic visualizations (like Milkdrop) I think I’ll give it another try. What do those that dope think about Winamp 3 compared to Winamp 2? ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/2 "2003-09-26T15:55:39Z")
Its horrible. They just updated the 2.xx version not long ago, so it seems they’re not abandoning the greatest software ever made. Go get you 2.xx updated and forget all about that 3.xx piece of AOL corporate piece of shit! Jon ---
**Author:** ![Zanshin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e274bd/32.png) [@Zanshin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanshin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/3 "2003-09-26T16:02:14Z")
Agreement. Winamp 2 great, Winamp 3 spotty and jerky and bad. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/4 "2003-09-26T17:20:28Z")
Winamp 3 = Slowwww. ---
**Author:** ![HeartOfGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@HeartOfGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeartOfGold)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/5 "2003-09-26T17:40:44Z")
I concur. Winamp 3 has given me nothing but problems; Winamp 2 was the best. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/6 "2003-09-26T17:44:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nitroglycerine \* > \*\*Its horrible. They just updated the 2.xx version not long ago, so it seems they’re not abandoning the greatest software ever made. Go get you 2.xx updated and forget all about that 3.xx piece of AOL corporate piece of shit! > > Jon \*\* You know…I swear to god I fixed all those typos before I hit submit…honest. Jon ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/7 "2003-09-26T17:44:26Z")
A different opinion here. Agreed Winamp 3 is way to slowwwww and the keyboard shortcuts from ver.2 dont work in ver.3 anymore but it has still some plus points which might make the download worth it. Even I had tried the beta versions and was quiet unhappy with it,but IMHO the final release is decent enough.Features not to miss out are the skins.The skins for Winamp 3 is totally different than Winamp 2.(The older skins dont work in the new version).The first thing you should do after downloading the new Winamp is to download the MMD skin.IMO it is the best skin made for winamp.Ever. Another good feature is that the new version plays video files which is a welcome addition. I would recommend you to try the new version with the skin,but dont delete the old setup files and skins folder as of yet.Just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/8 "2003-09-26T18:02:47Z")
Eh-- WinAmp 3 is okay if you want your computer to be a dedicated mp3 player while it’s running. For me, an mp3 player is essentially a background application-- I want music, but I also want room for a photoshop to be open and maybe fifteen or twenty browser windows. Winamp3 is way too much of a pig for that to go down without mp3’s skipping and performance of the other applications to be noticably slowed. I still use 2.8 – does everything I want it to, and it has the benefit of not being an inefficient, wasteful piece of crap. ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/9 "2003-09-26T18:42:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by maleinblack \* > **Another good feature is that the new version plays video files which is a welcome addition.** Don’t know if you were referring to Winamp 2 or 3 here, but I know that Winamp 2.91 has pretty good video support now. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/10 "2003-09-26T19:34:59Z")
What should be killer–if they do it properly–is WinAmp 5. It should combine the neat new features of WinAmp 3 with the stability and speed of WinAmp 2. However, while it’s not vaporware, there’s been no indication of a release date. ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/11 "2003-09-26T19:57:20Z")
One of the best things you can do with Winamp 2 if you treat your PC like a home stereo system is to stretch the playlist window to fit the entire window and increase the playlist font size to 30 or 40. Voila! The ultimate-access music library. Run Milkdrop on the desktop behind the playlist for a bonus. The newest version (1.04 I think) supports newer vid cards, so it looks almost as good as fullscreen mode (wheee!). ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/12 "2003-09-26T21:40:07Z")
Most of the worthwhile features in Winamp3 are being added to Winamp 2.9x (the very handy media library, the superfluous video support). All Winamp3 has going for it is its skinning engine, which will be added to Winamp 5 if it ever comes out. I guess it depends on how valuable your memory is to you. The Winamp3 developers go on and on defending how advanced and flexible their new engine is, but at the end of the day, it’s a bloated and unusable product. They now consider it a technology demonstration for features to be integrated into the much more usable Winamp 5, since they can’t exactly call it the undercooked failure it is. ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/13 "2003-09-26T21:47:44Z")
By the way, the most recent Winamp 2 version at [the official site](http://classic.winamp.com/) is 2.91, but you can get a less buggy version, 2.95, at [Winamp Heaven](http://www.winampheaven.net/). ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/14 "2003-09-26T23:34:49Z")
Winamp 2. If it’s prepared… 😃 Damn, I can’t believe I’m the first one to say that… ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/15 "2003-09-27T05:25:59Z")
Winamp plays _video_ now? Why God, why?! I’m getting so sick of every development team deciding that they have to make their program do 5 different things in an inefficient and bloated way instead of just make it do one thing perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/16 "2003-09-27T20:16:51Z")
I think **Daowajan** summed it up well enough in a pit thread from last October - [Winamp 3: It really sucks the llama’s ass](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140065&highlight=llama+winamp) ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/17 "2003-09-29T18:41:52Z")
I like Winamp 2 far better, but I’ve heard that Apples iTunes is even better than that. Is there really going to be a PC version of it soon? ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/18 "2003-09-30T13:06:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by criminalcatalog \* > \*\*One of the best things you can do with Winamp 2 if you treat your PC like a home stereo system is to stretch the playlist window to fit the entire window and increase the playlist font size to 30 or 40. Voila! The ultimate-access music library. > > Run Milkdrop on the desktop behind the playlist for a bonus. The newest version (1.04 I think) supports newer vid cards, so it looks almost as good as fullscreen mode (wheee!). \*\* You are my hero for mentioning Milkdrop. I’ve been looking for something exactly like that for quite a while now. The built-in visualization plugins weren’t really cutting it for me. Now I have something for my tv to do while my stereo is busy happily thumping away… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/19 "2003-10-02T08:04:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by typhoon \* > \*\*By the way, the most recent Winamp 2 version at [the official site](http://classic.winamp.com/) is 2.91, but you can get a less buggy version, 2.95, at [Winamp Heaven](http://www.winampheaven.net/). \*\* Okay, I tried the link and got Winamp 2.95. As always, I took the precaution of not overwriting my existing version, which is 2.5c. Whoa! Check out all these cool new features! 😃 But then I searched my hard drive for an old document, and the computer almost froze - music intermittently playing in random split-second chunks - so bad I needed to press the reset button. Yikes! :eek: I’ll still use 2.95 for its features, but choose to stay with 2.5c for my usual constant barrage of audio. ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-2-versus-winamp-3/203986/20 "2003-10-02T09:07:25Z")
I’m gonna have to go with **SenorBeef** here. The version of Winamp 2 I have plays music and nothing else, just the way I like it. I tried Winamp 3 and, aside from the slowdowns, I didn’t like how it tried to take control of video files away from my media player. Winamp is for music, period.