When comparing Guayadeque vs aqualung, the Slant community recommends Guayadeque for most people. In the question“What are the best audio players for UNIX-like systems?” Guayadeque is ranked 17th while aqualung is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Guayadeque is:
Most other players start rather slowly. This one is written in C++, and the end result is excellent speed.
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Pros
Pro Starts fast
Most other players start rather slowly. This one is written in C++, and the end result is excellent speed.
Pro Doesn't use much memory
Once installed, Guyadeque only uses about 15 MBs.
Pro Well-implemented auto playlist
After music has finished playing, Guadayeque will play a similar type of music.
Pro Handles large music databases very well
Pro Smart play
It automatically make a playlist song-by-song you hear from your music file. It finds similar songs. So, as you listen to a song an endless playlist with similar songs is about to happen..
Pro Lots of niceties / options / integration
Last.fm shows your profile in the software and also displays info about the artist.
Lyrics are downloaded automatically when you want to see them.
Cross-fading between songs keeps music constantly coming, which is very important when using music to block out ambient sounds.
VU (volume unit) Meters give you something to look at while the music is playing.
Pro Clean appearance
Guayadeque has a clean yet customizable appearance.
Pro Gapless playback
Aqualung offers continuous, gap-free playback of consecutive tracks. Your ears get exactly what's in the files – no silence inserted in-between.
Pro LADSPA plugin support
You can use any suitable LADSPA plugin to enhance the music you are listening to. There are many different plugins out there, including equalizers, spatial enhancers, tube pre-amp simulators, etc.
Pro JACK Audio Server support
Pro Multiple skin support
There's support for multiple skins in aqualung; changing them is possible at any time.
Cons
Con Development seems to stall since 2016
Con Sidebar lists multiple artists as one artist
A song with multiple artists labeled like "Artist 1; Artist 2; Artist 3" will not be displayed under all three artists, but rather under an artist labeled as "Artist 1; Artist 2; Artist 3." This makes actions as simple as queuing up an album with multiple artists a huge pain.
Con Songs with differing artists in an album are displayed as separate albums
Suppose Album 1 by Album Artist A has a lot of songs by Artist A, with one song that features Artist B. Album 1 will get fractured across different artists in the sidebar.
Con Interface is too busy
There's a lot shown on each of Guayeque's screens, and the more important buttons (play/pause and skip buttons) are small and hidden in the top left corner. Most users use music players in the background, meaning they will be switching back and forth with whatever else they're doing. As such, having larger buttons in a more prime location would be preferable.
Con Sometimes freezes and crashes
This can happen if you change some settings i.e. add or remove tabs etc.