Neil Young's Pono

I;ve listened to a few speeches/rants Neil has done on the subject - and i'm glad he's found a place to put his passion into. 

Edited by Horizons - March 11 2014 at 19:37

I just read about this in the new issue of Sound On Sound. The general consensus is that, while a good effort, this will completely fail as a product simply because the average consumer has drifted so far afield of high quality audio reproduction and hardware that there is no turning back.

I work in the audio business and while I find it incredibly sad, I have to agree. Streaming is the future. As a musician and songwriter, I pine for the days of LP presentation and the ritual of vinyl playback ... but you have to face facts.

While LP is still considered a novelty it will hold a (very) small audience ... a smaller, lunatic fringe element will attest that it sounds better than CD (a group I agree with, but with certain caveats ... I do not hold that analog is inherently better than digital).

But otherwise, mechanical sales are dead for all intents and purposes. When I see many magazines insisting on a physical CD for reviews, not even CDR's ... I shake my head in disbelief. They are antiquated dinosaurs about 10years out of touch with what is going on in music today.

... just my 2 Cents.

The big problem for me, and others, is that these hi-res players need hi-res music files to bring out the better in them and justify the cost.

Problem is I am not going to spend $15-$25 for a hi-res download like 24/96. Especially when nothing really I listen to is available in hi-res. Redbook CDs are perfectly fine and wma 320kbps downloads are fine for mobile listening.

I would never use a Pono for critical listening at home...that is reserved for my analog vinyl rig.

progbethyname wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: Mis-read this as Neil Young's Porno......... You kill me Tom!

I just stopped by to say that is how I mis-read it as well.

Catcher10 wrote: When it comes to a portable player, there are so very few people who really care about sound quality, its about portability. $400 for a hyped up I-Pood or Zune.....wish him luck but people use their phones now to listen to music on the go, the days of the I-Pood and Zune to listen on the go are done.   I still have 3 Zunes in my house and use my ZuneHD daily, but have zero desire to buy another portable player.....WMA files at 320kbps is more than good enough.

Not this progger! I take my DAC and connect it via AUX to my I pod everywhere I go. Worth the extra little weight.


Anyway. You are right Jose. 320kps is more than amicable for the streaming world.

AsFollows wrote: I just read about this in the new issue of Sound On Sound. The general consensus is that, while a good effort, this will completely fail as a product simply because the average consumer has drifted so far afield of high quality audio reproduction and hardware that there is no turning back.I work in the audio business and while I find it incredibly sad, I have to agree. Streaming is the future. As a musician and songwriter, I pine for the days of LP presentation and the ritual of vinyl playback ... but you have to face facts.While LP is still considered a novelty it will hold a (very) small audience ... a smaller, lunatic fringe element will attest that it sounds better than CD (a group I agree with, but with certain caveats ... I do not hold that analog is inherently better than digital).But otherwise, mechanical sales are dead for all intents and purposes. When I see many magazines insisting on a physical CD for reviews, not even CDR's ... I shake my head in disbelief. They are antiquated dinosaurs about 10years out of touch with what is going on in music today.... just my 2 Cents.

I am afraid I have to agree with you as well. It's sounding like a marketing gimmick. Not cool.

progbethyname wrote: Catcher10 wrote: When it comes to a portable player, there are so very few people who really care about sound quality, its about portability. $400 for a hyped up I-Pood or Zune.....wish him luck but people use their phones now to listen to music on the go, the days of the I-Pood and Zune to listen on the go are done.   I still have 3 Zunes in my house and use my ZuneHD daily, but have zero desire to buy another portable player.....WMA files at 320kbps is more than good enough. Not this progger! I take my DAC and connect it via AUX to my I pod everywhere I go. Worth the extra little weight. Anyway. You are right Jose. 320kps is more than amicable for the streaming world.

My ZuneHD stays connected to my Grant Fidelity DAC via toslink, so it sounds super better than straight connect to my integrated amp. For sure the GF DAC is much better than the Zune one, makes it sound like redbook CD.
And since there are sooooo very few hi-rez 24/96 or 24/192 prog downloads available.....I doubt I will ever make that switch.

Cheers!

^ Nope and I have zero plans to....I don't need another digital portable player.

I wish him luck, it may open peoples ears to what they are missing with low rez digital files....but again you have to have the redbook source or download hi rez files.

The whole idea has always sounded like a total bust to me. Forgetting for a moment that almost all people who use portable music players don't care about hi-fi, the thing looks like a goddamned Toblerone bar.

Finnforest wrote: Anyone interested in Pono, a higher quality digital player that Neil is pushing....?http://time.com/18027/neil-youngs-high-fidelity-pono-music-player-is-still-coming-and-itll-cost-399/Will it make a splash?  More than a splash?

hahahaha!!! Finnforest you shocked me there, I read Neil Young's PoRno hahahaha .... sorry my blimmin' eyes fooled me