Thanks to deron for this one.
I was under the impression that the LAST beta of the Shell Audio Player from the XP Powertoys set was in high demand. So I hunted it down and am providing it for you now in this handy zip file. The "readme.txt" file included will explain installation. This version is the one that included the Volume Control and it eliminates some of the crackling.
Download: Shell Player from our Mirror
This file is also updated on our server
Download: Shell Player from Neowin
This is NOT supported by Microsoft, and this file install/upgrade REQUIRES a reboot.