Pono Music Player

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Alabama Woody
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by Alabama Woody »

achouza wrote:How happy are folks with their Pono audio quality?

Was thinking about getting one and now I just read this article where a blind sound test vs an Iphone had bad results (for the PONO). Apparently Neil Youngs professional audio comparison tests were done vs low quality mp3 files versus the standard audio files sold on itunes today. Now seems like a bit of a sham. Thoughts?

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/it-was-one-o ... 83039.html

You got to read this thread :D
I like mine real well. Though the times are a changing. Looks like streaming music is headed towards CD quality. The PONO player can play CD quality all day long as well as all the different mp3 stuff but it will also play high resolution audio files. These are supposed to sound much better than CD quality. It's basically like going from CD to Super Audio or Blu ray audio. Long story short it has mush less compression and no compression is what your after really for audio and even video.

The PONO has a built in DAC that is of high quality so this will make the music played from it sound quite good. CD quality will sound even better and of course the high resolution files sound awesome.

Hopefully one day streaming music will be available in high resolution. PONO and Tidal both push the envelope on sound quality. This will make folks like Apple step up to the plate so thats a good thing.

I think in the end Apple will start offering CD quality on purchases and possibly offer high resolution too. They want to keep the market. Then you will have to decide if you want to convert them to a lower resolution so more will fit on your iPod ! :thumbup:

What I like about the PONO is it has 64gb built in and another 64gb available via removable memory cards. You can put quite a few high quality LP's on 128gb's.

You can hook up the PONO in your car and you can hook it up to your home stereo. If you don't have a high end stereo with a good quality DAC the PONO will make up for that. Then it just boils down to the quality of your speakers and your power source. Of course it sounds great with headphones. I like mine.

I'm just glad to see a push for high quality sound from streaming and downloading. I don't purchase songs from iTunes because all I get for my money is 256k. If I spend money I want atleast CD quality. So I buy CD"s and rip them myself to lossless.

I hope this leads to Lossless downloads coming with vinyl LP's. Once that happens no more CD's for me.

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cwja
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by cwja »

The only reason I wouldn't give it a full endorsement is that I've never had a lot of time to really listen to it. In my brief experiments with it, using the same songs and headphones, the sound was noticeably better on the Pono than my iPhone. Now, how much of that is my perception? Honestly, probably some, but I didn't have the time or desire to set up an actual "blind" test.
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Re: Pono Music Player

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Please check my TMR pin/button ISO viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11426
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Stl_ben
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by Stl_ben »

Stl_ben wrote:Ok. Check back in 2 years and we will see.....
( of course I thought minidiscs were the wave of the future too.....)
Damn it wasn't Sony, but I was just about spot on with the timing...
(Now how much longer does Tidal have?)
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arewhyehen
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by arewhyehen »

Stl_ben wrote:
Stl_ben wrote:Ok. Check back in 2 years and we will see.....
( of course I thought minidiscs were the wave of the future too.....)
Damn it wasn't Sony, but I was just about spot on with the timing...
(Now how much longer does Tidal have?)
Yeah...Typical Neil Young....starting a project and not ever following through on it.

It's too bad because I still really like mine and I want to have that HQ sound on the go when I can. I have spent the last few years since this was released, converting and purchasing all my music to FLAC and getting the best quality possible where I could. I get I could stream my tunes, but it's still not as good as a lot of the 24bit audio I have in my collection and I just don't like the fact that I do not own any of the music with Tidal and it's not exactly supporting the bands.. Even in digital music, I want a "tangible" copy of my songs, not just a service to stream from. Also, Canada's cell phone rates are already insane and there is no way I could stream music through my phone all the time. Just won't happen..

I just removed the dvd drive from my laptop and replaced it with a 2tb hard drive for all my music and photography. I am up to over 25,000 songs in FLAC format ranging anywhere between 44khz/16bit to 192khz/24bit. I am still adding albums on a weekly basis and I do not regret buying a Pono..

But in the end....the average person doesn't know enough and don't care...so Youtube and tidal and whatever else are taking over...

In my opinion, the only people (aside from the artists) that this is effecting, are people like us. We are a very small portion of the entire population that feel the need to have a tangible CD or record. They are going up in price because artists aren't selling many because people can listen for free on YouTube or where ever else. We are also some of the only people who attend 20+ shows a year, and while bands can't sell any albums anymore, ticket prices to shows are climbing at an insane rate in the past few years...
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by chaptertwentyone »

Xstream!?
:lol: :lol: :lol:
They might as well call it "COWABUNGA!" and sketch up a cartoon mascot riding a skateboard while sporting a pair of sunglasses.
“I’M GONNA KILL MY BROTHER JACK
I’M GONNA KILL MY BROTHER JACK
I’M GONNA STAB HIM RIGHT IN THE BACK
PUT HIM IN THIS HOLE
AND HE’LL NEVER COME BACK
‘MEMBER THAT?”
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arewhyehen
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by arewhyehen »

chaptertwentyone wrote:Xstream!?
:lol: :lol: :lol:
They might as well call it "COWABUNGA!" and sketch up a cartoon mascot riding a skateboard while sporting a pair of sunglasses.
..ok?
chaptertwentyone
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by chaptertwentyone »

It's a ridiculous name.
“I’M GONNA KILL MY BROTHER JACK
I’M GONNA KILL MY BROTHER JACK
I’M GONNA STAB HIM RIGHT IN THE BACK
PUT HIM IN THIS HOLE
AND HE’LL NEVER COME BACK
‘MEMBER THAT?”
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JonnyH
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by JonnyH »

I might buy a pono if the prices start dropping with this announcement.
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arewhyehen
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by arewhyehen »

JonnyH wrote:I might buy a pono if the prices start dropping with this announcement.

They are pretty much sold out everywhere. Unless I am missing something? I think there are only a few on ebay and they are pricey..
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Stl_ben
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by Stl_ben »

arewhyehen wrote:
JonnyH wrote:I might buy a pono if the prices start dropping with this announcement.

They are pretty much sold out everywhere. Unless I am missing something? I think there are only a few on ebay and they are pricey..
I'm guessing the prices will start falling on ebay as users come to find they can no longer get new music for them (easily) and start to sell off their outdated media players.
See hat happened to Walkmen, CD Players, Zunes...however, you have to ride the waves just ride as nostalgia normally brings those prices back up over time!
(Don't even look at the prices Zunes are selling for now thanks to GOTG2).
<Quizze> @STL_Ben youre a soulless consumer
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arewhyehen
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Re: Pono Music Player

Post by arewhyehen »

Stl_ben wrote:
arewhyehen wrote:
JonnyH wrote:I might buy a pono if the prices start dropping with this announcement.

They are pretty much sold out everywhere. Unless I am missing something? I think there are only a few on ebay and they are pricey..
I'm guessing the prices will start falling on ebay as users come to find they can no longer get new music for them (easily) and start to sell off their outdated media players.
See hat happened to Walkmen, CD Players, Zunes...however, you have to ride the waves just ride as nostalgia normally brings those prices back up over time!
(Don't even look at the prices Zunes are selling for now thanks to GOTG2).
There are only 5 on eBay and 1 on Amazon (that I could find) and you can still get music for them on a bunch of hi-res sites like HD Tracks and whatever else is out there. Or just rip all your CD's at 44khz/16bit.
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