AAhead Music

A local‑first music player with XMB‑era clarity and no phone‑shaped noise.

Version	0.2.1 — 2026-08-10
Platforms	PSP / PSP Go — hardware-qualified on a real PSP Go with ARK-4.
Requires	Custom firmware (6.61 PRO-C or ARK-4).
Download	AAhead-Music-v0.2.1.zip · 1.4 MB
SHA-256	b0f04458f6b8d566dd85145c94b7d760 704a8469cc9044d81c02f45f0286634a

What it does

• Scans PSP Go internal storage and Memory Stick together, then browses the library by artist, album, song, genre, folder, playlist, recently played, most played, and recently added.
• Plays 44.1 kHz MP3; stereo AAC‑LC in M4A at 44.1/48 kHz; 44.1 kHz 16‑bit stereo ALAC in M4A; strict 16‑bit WAV and FLAC; single‑stream 44.1 kHz OGG/Vorbis; and firmware WMA Standard at 44.1/48 kHz mono/stereo.
• Keeps featured performers from splitting hip‑hop releases into dozens of fake artists and albums by using Album Artist and normalized album identity.
• Shows embedded MP3 and M4A art throughout Library and Now Playing; every format can also use folder covers, cache, or an optional local cover proxy.
• Shuffle, repeat, hold‑to‑seek, sleep timer, local M3U/M3U8 playlists, persistent playback state, and per‑track audiobook resume.
• Compatible EarPods remotes provide click, double‑click and triple‑click transport control.
• On PSP Go, closing the slider locks the controls and turns off the display without suspending playback; opening wakes and unlocks it. L+R provides the same software lock by touch.
• Media controls stay usable with the display dark and do not wake it; an automatic screen‑off timeout is configurable.
• Runs the qualified audio path at 222/111 MHz and drops to 111/55 MHz while idle when ARK clock policy is Auto.
• Valid UTF‑8 paths remain exact through playlists, queue, cache, and resume, with firmware fallback fonts for Russian and common CJK text.
• Local‑first: nothing leaves the device unless you explicitly fetch missing cover art through your own proxy.
• The release ZIP includes the optional computer‑side proxy and a setup guide; Music works without either.

Controls

D‑pad	Browse the library
Confirm button	Play / pause / confirm (Cross or Circle per setting)
Back button	Back (the other of Cross or Circle)
L / R tap	Previous / next track
L / R hold	Seek backward / forward
L + R hold	Lock / unlock body controls
Note hold	Play / pause without firmware mute
Display	Screen on / off
Square (□)	Library root
Select	Toggle Now Playing / Library
Triangle (△)	Options

Installation

Verify the ZIP on a computer, unzip it, and copy its PSP folder by USB or Memory Stick to the storage root. For the old PSP browser, use the plain‑HTTP mirror at http://psp.aahead.site/. Launch from Game > Memory Stick on a standard PSP, or Game > System Storage on a PSP Go installed to internal storage.

Known issues

• MP3 must be 44.1 kHz; 48 kHz MP3 is skipped.
• FLAC must use blocks no larger than 8192 samples, or 4096 samples at 48 kHz.
• ALAC is limited to 44.1 kHz, 16‑bit stereo Apple Lossless.
• OGG is limited to one seekable 44.1 kHz Vorbis stream.
• WMA v1, DRM WMA, WMA Pro, and WMA Lossless are out of scope.
• Remote cover fetching still needs real PSP Wi‑Fi hardware validation.
• Gapless playback and arbitrary sample‑rate resampling are outside the V1 scope.

Changelog

0.2.1 — 2026-08-10 — first fully hardware-qualified Music release.
0.2.0 — 2026-07-01 — historical prerelease; do not install.
Full history: CHANGELOG.TXT.