Best Freeware Players

With the Bitzie USB DAC being launched I'm writing up instructions and all sorts of stuff.

For those not au-fait with these things, I have to tell them about the software a computer needs to use to be able to play their "flacs, wavs, apes etc"

I have been using Foobar2000, and also the "add-on" ASIO4ALL which tells me the Bitzie accepts 24-bit at 48kHz, which means the Bitzie is bit-perfect for 24/48.

However, I have many music files and a few are equal or greater than 24/96, and I'm sure many people are so confused about specifications they may think they cannot play anything higher than 24/48 using the Bitzie. The thing is that these music players recognise the plug&play Bitzie and downsample to 48kHz or 44.1kHz, and everything works fine...

But I've noticed I can tell a difference between Foobar2000 and the VLC media player, and I think the VLC may just have the edge!

Calling on the knowledge of the experts on here, what do you think of the different freeware players, and which operating systems do they work on? And what is your favourite?

99% of my file playing is done via various Squeezeboxes, but when I want to play play FLACs from my Mac I use either Play or Cog. Both of which work very well . . .

I tended to use Foobar and I found Wasapi was the best solution for Windows 7.

Not sure it was the best player but it supported Wasapi and also lots of plugins for various formats and had a upnp plug in as well for DNLA/UPNP servers.

At the risk of taking this thread in a sideways direction  I thought folk may like to know that the March issue (!) of HiFi News carries a piece by Christopher Breunig about the current state of (classical) downloads and (commercial) players to play the files on. He noted sound differences between the  software players - with Amarra being the best (likened to 1960s Decca analogue sound!). His auditioning kit included "a Graham Slee headphone amp" . . . .