# Pono music player



## Haydnn (Feb 22, 2015)

Has anyone tried this music player?

https://ponomusic.force.com/ccrz__CCPage?pageKey=search&searchText=Haydn

The bars at the bottom of the selections show the quality of the recordings. I wonder just how good this thing is. Also is 44.1kHx/16bit better than itunes quality?


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

I totally misread this thread title, oops!  *silently slips out*


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## echmain (Jan 18, 2013)

Ars Technica called it "a tall refreshing drink of snake oil".

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/pono-player-review-a-tall-refreshing-drink-of-snake-oil/
http://www.yahoo.com/tech/it-was-one-of-kickstarters-most-successful-109496883039.html
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/05/pono-neil-young-24bit-192khz-review


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I would get an iPod classic instead or an iPod touch. Quality just as good. Fiio is very awesome too.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

An unsurising finding from Ars Technica's listening tests of the Pono:

"No amount of testing made 192kHz/24-bit FLAC audio sound noticeably better than high-quality MP3s."


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Pono does a great job of addressing obsessive compulsive disorder in audiophiles. It gives them bigger numbers, which must mean better, right?


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

bigshot said:


> Pono does a great job of addressing obsessive compulsive disorder in audiophiles. It gives them bigger numbers, which must mean better, right?


My audiophile ego is bigger than yours.
Only a fool would be unable to tell that Pono is better, it even comes with a years supply of snake oil for free!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

DiesIraeVIX said:


> I totally misread this thread title, oops!  *silently slips out*


Benefit of the doubt time - you thought it said Bono, didn't you?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

the endorsement by Neil Young as much as his music is cool does not help the audiophile cause. I just don't see any reason to get anything more than a mp3 player from Apple or Sandisk or Fiio which are much cheaper. Even my iPhones are just as good.


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## Haydnn (Feb 22, 2015)

Thanks for all the response. Does negative response mean that the is no discernable difference between low res and high res recordings? I thought there was.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Haydnn said:


> Thanks for all the response. Does negative response mean that the is no discernable difference between low res and high res recordings? I thought there was.


High res recordings are better than low res but my ears are terrible so iTunes is good enough for me.

If you want a good 24-bit player, the Fiio is cheaper and just as good. in fact any good Android phone or iPhone can play those same files for a lot cheaper than the Pono.

The only reason why I would get one is just for expandable storage and if they get 256 gb micro SD cards.


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## Haydnn (Feb 22, 2015)

i get it. Thanks...great help!


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I am thinking about getting this device. The reviews have been rather positive in fact.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/pono-player-and-promises-fulfilled


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

The Pono music store offers albums not available on iTunes. Wow.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

STEREOPHILE gave the pono player good reviews. Here's what sound engineer and STEREOPHILE contributor John Adkinson had to say in his review a couple of issues back in March 2015:

With PonoMusic and the PonoPlayer being so identified with hi-rez recordings and playback, I am pleased to report that CD rips sounded excellent through the player. An album that has been growing on me since engineer Jim Merod handed me a copy at the 2013 T.H.E. Show Newport is the Mike Garson Trio's Wild Out West (16/44.1 ALAC files ripped from CD, BluePort). I am a fan of Garson's solo recordings for Reference Recordings, but on this live set the pianist is part of a classic piano trio, with double bass and drums. There are two takes of Miles Davis's "Nardis": one with the trio that rips along, and a second, more contemplative one with Garson alone. When I listened to both versions of this classic tune through Sennheiser HD650 headphones plugged into the PonoPlayer, Garson's 9' Yamaha grand was reproduced with convincing directness, and the bass solo in the first take had an excellent combination of the body of the instrument's tone and the notes' leading edges. Perhaps the cymbals sounded a touch too sweet-but my Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival recording of Brahms's Piano Quartet 2 in A (ALAC master file for Encore, Stereophile STPH011-2) sounded similarly rich and sweet, without the highs being rolled off.

As I mentioned in the booklet notes for this CD, the stage setup for the 1997 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival had been changed from previous years, optimizing the sound for the audience at the expense of what the microphones would pick up. In the mastering, therefore, to "wet" the sound, I used a Lexicon PCM 90 digital reverberation processor set to match the acoustic of Santa Fe's St. Francis Auditorium. The PonoPlayer was sufficiently transparent to allow me to hear the artificial reverb tails, and, to my relief, after not having listened to the Brahms recording for several years, they didn't sound unnatural. "To be natural," Oscar Wilde said, "is such a very difficult pose to keep up." The PonoPlayer kept it up. 

and ...

Considered on it's own merits, the Pono Player is a well-engineered, high-performance, portable player that is equally at home in a conventional high-end audio system, and is offered at a fair, affordable price. In combination with the Pono Music World app, it offers a plug'n'play gateway to high-quality music reproduction.

Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/pono-ponoplayer-portable-music-player

I myself have not yet heard the Pono Player, but then I don't recall hearing sound from an MP3 player or an iPad, whatever. And I don't use "earbuds" to listen to music. If I must use headphones, I go with one of my two Sennheisers, both rather of good quality. But I've been following the Pono Player debate and would feel no hesitation in picking up the player for personal use. I prefer what John Adkinson has to say over what the Pono Player detractors say. But I really don't have much use for such a device at present. I'd rather spend the money on more CDs or to upgrade the tubes in my amplifier or the cable for my headphones. If I ever need a portable player, I probably will consider the Pono Player over other available items. Hey, I kind of like Neil Young songs, too.


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## Le Peel (May 15, 2015)

Forget the Pono, all you really need is a FiiO X1.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

With the recent iTunes "upgrade" disaster, I'm keeping an eye on these alternatives. iTunes has really become a pain in the anatomy the last few days.


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