[foou]

I saw these two players by sony. the first is 128 gig at $749 and the other is 64 gig at $299. Through SD cards you can increase the capacity of the 64 gig one to 128 gig. However they don't have the high res library available like the pono does, not sure if the music you get from the pono store is drm protected? It appears the sony can handle high res audio as well.

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[direwolf74]

I saw these two players by sony. the first is 128 gig at $749 and the other is 64 gig at $299. Through SD cards you can increase the capacity of the 64 gig one to 128 gig. However they don't have the high res library available like the pono does, not sure if the music you get from the pono store is drm protected? It appears the sony can handle high res audio as well.

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Cool! I currently use an older 16 gig Sony player that has seen some mileage, and I've been looking to buy a new one. That 64 gig version looks like a good upgrade. Thanks for posting this.

[ikky99]

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Conclusion – the very good news about the PonoPlayer
This level of performance in a portable music player is absolutely unprecedented. And since this happens
without any external parts, switches, or resistors, we can provide the highest possible sound quality,
without adding any space, parts, or cost. You can rest assured that the volume control on the PonoPlayer
will deliver the full resolution of the music on any PonoMusic file at any volume setting.

[Gangrel]

I hope the Pono does well. It's definitely a niche product, and yes, I'm sure most people don't care, or can't tell, the difference. It's for audiophiles......

I would be interested in hearing Pono with a good seat of headphones...... I'm not sure if listening through speakers would give the same sense of fidelity....... or maybe I just have never owned a mega pair of speakers.


But this is, at the current price anyway, geared for people who have "listening rooms" set up in their home specifically for music, or modernphiles, who have $400 headphones and buy digital music, but all FLAC, or the HD stuff they seem to be putting out now......

If/when the price comes down, I'd think about it.... I'm always interested in better sound, even if I don't always know how to get it or have the resources......

[sean.bonner]

I guess I don't know that much about sound physics and human ear biology, but it was my understanding that the 'improvements' that pono presented are not detectable by the human ear.

So then... I don't see the point.

I try and download exclusively 320 mp3s, and when I turn the volume up and use my Bose headphones on my HTC One phone, it sounds perfect. There is no way I'm missing '50%' or '75%' of the song (or whatever the percentage was that Neil claimed on the Colbert Report a few weeks back). If I buy a Pono and play My Music At Work on it, am I going to hear a full triangle section and more predominate cello that I never heard before- because I'm 'missing' some of the song? Consider me skeptical.

[Gangrel]

I think for most people, having a listening test may show them the difference between a Pono track, and a 192 kbps MP3 which is probably what the average person has on their phone or computer......

And maybe it is more of a "feeling" thing....... so no, you won't discover triangle parts you never heard before, but you may hear and feel, consciously OR subconsciously, more of the sounds you already are hearing, if that makes any sense.....


At the end of the day, some folks are happy with a $9 bottle of wine, while others with a more trained tongue, or taste-ego, only swear by their $90 bottles of Cab and Pinot........



That's why I'd love to have a hands on trial........ to see if a Pono track makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up..... because I think that's the thing they are going for.

[ikky99]

I think for most people, having a listening test may show them the difference between a Pono track, and a 192 kbps MP3 which is probably what the average person has on their phone or computer......

And maybe it is more of a "feeling" thing....... so no, you won't discover triangle parts you never heard before, but you may hear and feel, consciously OR subconsciously, more of the sounds you already are hearing, if that makes any sense.....


At the end of the day, some folks are happy with a $9 bottle of wine, while others with a more trained tongue, or taste-ego, only swear by their $90 bottles of Cab and Pinot........



That's why I'd love to have a hands on trial........ to see if a Pono track makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up..... because I think that's the thing they are going for.

:thumb: Very well said!

[ikky99]

Received my pono today. It is a thing of beauty. Very cool looking. First listen: The last Pearl Jam show I attended - Spokane, WA, 30 NOV 2013. HD FLAC 24bit/96000Hz. I'm blown away. The sound is so good it's hard to describe. I notice the drums the most - every little snap. The bass is also much more noticeable. Every sound, every instrument is "separated".

[ikky99]

Quite impressive: [youtube]watch?v=xIV8Od-eWC0[/youtube]

[Reid1]

I'm curious to see how this sounds. Sure, the frequencies of a CD (44.1/16) cover most of what the human ear can pick up. Let's take that even further and just say for the sake of argument that you can't notice any frequency that isn't present on a CD already. I happen to have a track on my computer in 3 different formats. The iTunes version (256AAC), a FLAC rip of the CD (44.1), and the HD FLAC (96/24). Just to use a common point here, the file sizes are 15MB, 54MB, and 161MB which puts them in an approximate 1:3.5:10.5 ratio (rounded down slightly on the FLAC and HD FLAC). What you get from the HD FLAC is a "canvas" that's more than 10 times larger to put the song on. To use a visual analogy, If you were to look at a wallet sized picture and then an 8x10 you can make the details out better on the larger one, even though it's the same picture. This should lead to you being able to hear everything that each instrument has to offer (the "separation" aspect that many are commenting on). What tends to happen with an mp3 or aac file during the compression process is duplicate frequencies are removed as is the "space" to help make a smaller file. This was a necessity for music downloading, streaming, or storing music on a computer back in the day when people were using a dial-up modem or a 1GB hard drive was considered huge. Not really the case anymore, so why skimp?

I realize some people won't care and will be content with the mp3s or streams. My father always says he doesn't care because he can't tell the difference cruising down the highway with the windows open anyways. I really don't think that FLAC will become the standard because for most people quality is secondary to quantity.

[Gangrel]

so ikky, any more impressions on the Pono?

[ikky99]

so ikky, any more impressions on the Pono?

There aren't enough superlatives to describe it. I LOVE IT! You see, I needed to upgrade from my 8GB 10 year old Sony Walkman so I was very willing to pay a premium for a superior product that has 64GB internal memory plus a micro SD slot so I can basically have unlimited music with me at all times. The Pono Music World app is very simple to use, which is important for me personally.

And then there's the sound. 2 of my friends have already ordered their own pono players after listening to mine. It's that good. It's hard to describe. Every time I listen to an album for the first time on my pono it's as if I'm listening to it for the first time. Decent headphones are a must as well. You just have to get your hands on one to hear it. I'm not exaggerating. It will change your life.

[Gangrel]

Instead of waiting for the Pono's wide release, and after reading a lot over the holidays, i bought the Fiio X5 on a good boxing day Sale. It compares to the Pono. Some folks on another form seem split on which one is better, so that's good in my mind.

But yes, there is a distinct difference between an MP3 and a hi res version. I am learning though that a lot of current hi-res stuff is just rips off old SACDs, or even just upsamples from CDs...... so to find a true hi def album is a bit of work.

I downloaded a few things, including the Springsteen show from the vault (Cleveland 1978) and it sounds phenomenal, even from being sourced from 30 year old tapes.......

I found some demo files on the Oppo site for DSD files, but haven't listened to them yet. I'll be curious what the differences are between a 320k MP3, a 192/24 flac, and a DSD file...... Not sure if Pono has support for DSD files.

[cochise]

With competition like this, it makes Pono's price of $400 seem like a steal..........

http://gizmodo.com/sony-walkman-reborn-a...1677643981

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/s...n-20150106

[Gangrel]

Yes, that is a bit crazy. I have also seen some Astell and Kern stuff (they seem to be one of the top brands) going for that same price. So far I am very happy with my Fiio X5 for $275 (on sale). I'm sure it's comparable to the Pono, and I think if more stuff came out at this price point there might be some traction. Well, that and more hi-res music, as I have been learning it's difficult to find good stuff.

But, there are people who swear by their $20,000 set ups too..... and maybe there is merit to it, but I for one can't justify basically putting a "car" in my living room.

I will say some "listening room" pictures I have seen on some hi fi boards are pretty cool, in an audio-geeky kind of way!