XM, standing for "extended
module", is an audio file type introduced by
Triton's
FastTracker 2. XM introduced
multisampling-capable instruments with volume and panning envelopes, sample looping and basic pattern compression. It also expanded the available effect commands and channels, added 16-bit
sample support, and offered an alternative frequency table for
portamentos.
XM is a common format for many
module files
Module file (MOD music, tracker music) is a family of music file formats originating from the MOD file format on Amiga systems used in the late 1980s. Those who produce these files (using the software called music trackers) and listen to them f ...
.
The file format has been initially documented by its creator in the file XM.TXT, which accompanied the 2.08 release of FastTracker 2, as well as its latest known beta version
2.09b The file, written in 1994 and attributed to Mr.H of Triton (Fredrik Huss), bears the header "The XM module format description for XM files version $0104." The contents of the file have been posted on this article's
Talk subpage for reference.
This documentation is however said to be incomplete and insufficient to properly recreate the behaviour of the original program. The
MilkyTracker project has expanded the documentation of the XM file format, in an attempt to replicate not only the behaviour of the original software but also its quirks. Their documentation of the XM file format is available on the project'
GitHub repository
OXM (oggmod) is a subformat, which compresses the XM samples using
Vorbis.
Supporting Media Players
*
Windows Media Player – supports .XM files as long as the player version is x86 (32-bit)
*
Cowon jetAudio – A freeware audio player for Windows which supports .XM files
*
Xmplay – A freeware audio player for Windows which supports .XM files
*
Foobar2000
foobar2000 (often abbreviated as fb2k or f2k) is a freeware audio player for Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android developed by Peter Pawłowski. It has a modular design, which provides user flexibility in configuration and customization. Stan ...
– A freeware audio player for Windows that supports .XM files through a plugin.
*
VLC Media Player – An open-source media player for Windows, Linux, & macOS which supports .XM files
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Module file
*
MOD (file format)
*
S3M (file format)
*
IT (file format)
Impulse Tracker is a multi-track music tracker (music sequencer). Originally released in 1995 by Jeffrey Lim as freeware with commercial extensions, it was one of the last tracker programs for the DOS platform.
In 2014, on its 20th anniversar ...
Module file formats
Digital audio