Should I use WINE to try and get foobar2000 running from my network media drive? I installed foobar2000 as the portable version so I can take it from computer to computer, assuming it has windows. I just bought a new ssd last week so I could install Linux and finally cut the cord on windows. Since some programs are only meant for Windows, this means I need some sort of emulator correct?
Side note: I think I heard Wendell say at some point that WINE = Wine is not an Emulator. Inside joke maybe?
I think what you're asking is, you want to run Foobar, using WINE off a network drive? My question is why? There are many great Linux music players that support NAS, Clementine is a popular one, or the aptly named "Music" from the Elementary OS distro also supports this feature. This will give you a native program, and only uses a meager amount of storage. Unless you have like a 1gb SSD, there is really no reason to try and run Foobar under Linux. And WINE isn't an emulator, it directly reads the Windows program and translates it into a way that the particular Linux OS you're using understands it.
And you could deconstruct that whole process and do it manually through command line tools too. It's a little more involved at first (writing scripts, tagging music, etc,) but it's more out of the way and much more seemless down the line when you do get it working exactly the way you want it to. In six-seven years of linux-ing, I've never found a music player that worked for me until I found mplayer/mpv.
@Amakker I agree with @skurtov's last statement. foobarr is great, but as much as it doesnt answer your question, you should try out some of the Linux players, there are very good ones out there, and there native :D
If you're insistent on using Foobar, be aware that even on Windows it's not bitperfect and no serious audiophile uses it.
So obviously a properly configured ALSA is the way to go, but if you want the best sound from something designed for Windows you'll have to use Bug Head Emporer with wineasio.
I doesn't really matter if the music player is designed for windows or linux for me. I only started this thread because I have been using foobar so long that it was second nature to try and get it running right away. I mainly just use foobar because of the file management power it has to offer. I didn't know that it isn't bitperfect so thanks for bringing that to my attention! ALSA looks interesting so thanks for that as well @thirdmortal.
Then maybe try out Deadbeef as it is bitperfect configured, as long as you setup your Audio properly and get rid of Pottering's Pulse Audio binary malware. ALSA is the way to go to get direct sound.