[ikky99]

Anybody out there get one yet? I backed it thru Kickstarter back in March. I should be getting it soon. Apparently mind-blowingly good lossless audio. Discuss.

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[mark]

the vast majority of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and a high quality mp3. even if i could, there is no way i am re-buying my entire music collection

[foou]

I'm considering getting one of these. I'm not interested in using a smartphone for my music listening, and it looks like Apple has stopped making the original iPod, so the pono looks like a great replacement for that. Every other music player I see doesn't have enough storage space like the iPod or the pono does.

[direwolf74]

the vast majority of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and a high quality mp3. even if i could, there is no way i am re-buying my entire music collection

I was just reading the specs on this thing, and apparently it does support mp3s, so you wouldn't have to re-buy all your music. That being said, $400 is f'n expensive. There's no way I'm buying one of these.

[ikky99]

the vast majority of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and a high quality mp3. even if i could, there is no way i am re-buying my entire music collection

To each his own, of course, but I'm going to take a wild guess you didn't listen to the testimonials from James Taylor, Beck, Flea, Willie Nelson, Eddie Vedder, Tom Petty, Elton John, James Hetfield, Neil Young, Lyle Lovett, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews, Dave Grohl, Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, & Kenny Rogers?

I got mine for $300 but people who have received them say it's worth twice that. I was really sick of the shit-ass sound from my MP3 player so I can't wait to hear real, better-than-vinyl music. That is all I want.

[ikky99]

I was just reading the specs on this thing, and apparently it does support mp3s, so you wouldn't have to re-buy all your music. That being said, $400 is f'n expensive. There's no way I'm buying one of these.

I'll let you know how it sounds when I get it. I'm very excited.

[chris]

The "testimonials" are a bit useless in my opinion... A bunch of musicians who've spent their lives damaging their hearing are really not the folks who should be describing sound! And many of those musicians are likely scared to death to say anything contrary to Uncle Neil... And seeing as how the artists giving their testimonials mostly/all have a "signature" edition Pono I'd wager that they are all getting a cut of the sales... As will the music executives featured.

Also, listening on a sound system in a car owned by Uncle Neil is always going to sound better than yer iPod earbuds!

They should publish the specs of what they are comparing the Pono to - the specs of the sound system in Neil's cars, the specs of the files, the player, etc... But they don't.

It's great that you're excited, and that you feel it will sound better but for me, it's a slickly marketed music player with some money behind it. I won't be dropping any cash on one that's for sure.

[ikky99]

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[ikky99]

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[mark]

i'm glad your excited for your new device, but anyone who thinks this will replace the .mp3, is crazy.

i wouldn't buy one for the simple fact that i don't want to carry both this thing (and what's up with that shape) and my phone with me if i want to listen to music on the go. why buy a 2nd device, when my phone does it all?

either way, i hope you enjoy yours.

[chris]

And if this high res audio proves to be a game changer how long until Apple adds the tech and files to their ecosystem??? They've got more than enough resources to make it happen.

[thebends]

Hmm, everything I've read so far are assessments from people that are in one way or another invested in the technology. Also, kinda of a stretch for the company to be looking for $100K blind investments without much in the way of sale-ability projections or market guidance, although you do get to meet uncle Neil for your troubles.

[mark]

And if this high res audio proves to be a game changer how long until Apple adds the tech and files to their ecosystem??? They've got more than enough resources to make it happen.

there is no way this catches on like the mp3 did. like i said, the vast majority of people either can't tell the difference or don't give a shit.

i fall in both of those categories.

[cochise]

Only reason I "might" be interested in one is already mentioned above, the iPod classic is not going to be available anymore.

For me, I don't need a touch screen, or wifi, or bluetooth, or anything, all I want is large capacity storage for all my music. The largest iPod touch you can get is 64Gig which isn't big enough and has technology I really don't care about for a music player, all I want is capacity.

If iPod comes out with some other sort of bare bones "classic" device with at a minimum 120 gig capacity, then I will probably stick with Apple when my current Classic croaks. But if nothing else is available, then I will be giving the Pono a closer look. Besides, by that time, hopefully the price is down to around $250 or so by then.

[RushFanForever]

Vinyl is a medium that should've remained as the one thing to hear albums on.

The digital formats should have never existed to begin with.