Reference Player is a free professional-grade desktop music player for Linux, built to be the one player you leave open all day.
Play local music files, audio CDs, or a live line input. Organize your library, build playlists and queues, choose from three player layouts, change themes instantly, and make the speakers or headphones you already own sound their best.
Reference Player is easy to use as an everyday music player, but underneath it is a mastering-grade playback engine with a 31-band graphic EQ, VCA compressor, limiter, real VU meters, spectrum analysis, phase monitoring, and detailed loudness metering.
Use all of it, some of it, or none of it. Press Play and enjoy your music.
No trial clock. No subscription. No account. Everything is free except disc burning.
Designed for everyone who listens, with tools for people who listen closely.
Version: 1.1.2
Platform: Linux x86_64
Distribution: AppImage, with no installer required
Download the latest AppImage from the Releases page:
ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImage
Make the AppImage executable and launch it:
chmod +x ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImage
./ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImageThat is it. Reference Player creates its configuration file on first run at:
~/.config/M Media Audio/Reference Player.conf
The AppImage bundles its application dependencies, including GStreamer. Additional packages are needed only for disc burning or when FUSE support is missing. See the relevant sections below.
Reference Player brings your everyday music sources and controls together:
- Local audio files
- Watched music folders
- Audio CD playback with automatic table-of-contents reading and eject support
- CD ripping to MP3, FLAC, or WAV
- Live line input
- Drag-and-drop playback
- Library browsing, playlists, queues, and tag editing
- Playlist saving and loading
- File type association
- Winamp-style keyboard shortcuts
- Always-on-top mode
- FLAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG, and additional common formats
Full Player puts the library, queue, transport, processing controls, meters, and visualizers in one complete window.
Strip Player provides the same playback engine and real processing controls in a slim window that can stay out of the way while you work.
Mini Player stays near the system tray when you only need to see what is playing, pause, or skip a track.
Multiple themes and live accent-color switching let Reference Player match your desktop without changing the sound underneath.
- Dual real-time VU meters
- 31-band graphic EQ with saveable presets and loudness reference
- VCA-style compressor with threshold, attack, release, and ratio controls
- Mastering limiter for peak control
- Live spectrum analyzer and waveform display
- Phase scope
- Peak, RMS, and loudness metering
You do not need to understand audio engineering to use Reference Player. Leave the processing alone and it is a capable everyday music player. When a room, speaker system, or pair of headphones needs help, the deeper controls are already there.
Everything in Reference Player is free except disc burning.
A one-time $5 unlock adds:
- MP3 data discs
- FLAC data discs
- True Red Book audio CDs for standard CD players
- Optional loudness matching across the entire disc
- The developers eat or become caffeinated, or, heaven forbid, pay their mortgages
Loudness matching analyzes the complete track list before burning so the finished disc plays more evenly instead of jumping abruptly between quiet and loud recordings.
The unlock covers one computer and is yours for good. There is no subscription, renewal, usage limit, or recurring charge.
Do not burn discs, but enjoy Reference Player? The same $5 unlock is also a way to buy the developer a coffee and help keep independent software alive.
Purchase the unlock at mmediaaudio.com. An internet connection is required to purchase the license, receive the license key, and activate it in Reference Player.
Disc burning uses two small system packages that are not bundled in the AppImage:
cdrskincreates true Red Book audio CDs.xorrisocreates MP3 and FLAC data discs.
On Ubuntu, Debian, and compatible distributions:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install cdrskin xorrisoOn other distributions, install the packages named cdrskin and xorriso using your normal package manager.
If either package is missing, Reference Player will tell you which one is needed. Playback, ripping, library management, processing, and every other feature continue to work normally without them.
An optical CD/DVD writer is required to burn discs.
Reference Player supports Linux file association. The exact steps vary by desktop environment, but the usual method is:
- Right-click a supported audio file.
- Choose Open With or Properties.
- Select Reference Player.
- Choose Set as Default or Remember this application.
You can continue opening individual files with another application whenever you choose.
- Linux x86_64
- glibc 2.35 or later, included with most distributions released in 2022 or later
- FUSE support for normal AppImage execution
- An optical CD/DVD drive for CD playback, ripping, or burning
- An internet connection only when purchasing, receiving, and activating the optional disc-burning license
Reference Player has been tested most extensively on Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
First, confirm that it is executable:
chmod +x ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImage
./ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImageLaunching it from a terminal will usually display a useful error message if startup fails.
Most distributions already include working FUSE support. If yours does not, install the appropriate FUSE 2 compatibility package.
Ubuntu 22.04 and many Debian-based distributions:
sudo apt install libfuse2Ubuntu 24.04:
sudo apt install libfuse2t64Arch Linux and compatible distributions:
sudo pacman -S fuse2If FUSE cannot be installed, the AppImage runtime may be able to extract and run the application directly:
./ReferencePlayer-1.1.2-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-runInstall the required package for the type of disc you want to create:
sudo apt install cdrskin xorrisoAlso confirm that Linux recognizes your optical writer and that your user account has permission to access it.
Linux is a broad ecosystem with hundreds of distributions, desktop environments, audio configurations, and hardware combinations. We cannot test every possible setup, but compatibility matters to us.
If Reference Player will not start, cannot access your audio hardware, displays incorrectly, or fails in another reproducible way, please contact us at support@mmediaaudio.com. Include your distribution and version, desktop environment, audio system, and any terminal output you receive. We will investigate and produce a corrected build where possible.
Reference Player does not require an account. Your music files, library, playlists, settings, and listening activity stay on your computer and are not uploaded by the player.
An internet connection is required only to purchase, receive, and activate the optional disc-burning license. Normal playback and library use do not require an internet connection.
For downloads, licensing, updates, and support, visit mmediaaudio.com.
Reference Player is developed by M Media Audio in Austin, Texas.
Established 1994.
© 2026 M Media Audio