Neil Young readies Pono music service for expansion Part 3

Sadly, I suspect you're right. It seems some people think it will be sexy to buy 16/44 files probably at a price of at least $9.99 an album. But in almost every case the actual CD is probably available for half that price. For those that get a rash when they hold an actual CD in their hands, buy it,rip it, and throw it away. It will still be cheaper. Having said all that, I hope Neil proves me wrong and I'll give it a chance to get up and running before I judge.

 

For the in print stuff, I agree with you. For the out of print stuff, though, lossless downloads are exciting.

 

Can a Pono aficionado please explain why Neil Young is pushing the interview circuit so hard right now? Pono is still many months away from the player going mass market (if that ever happens) and it seems the music store selection will be what HDTracks has + lossless CD rips. Perhaps Pono believes they can leverage Apple's, "you want it because you can't have it" sales strategy for the player?

Regarding the device itself, the people over at LH Labs experienced a bit of a customer backlash when they put a higher priority on rolling out new Kickstarter asks than existing order fulfillment. It seems like Pono is also going into PR mode instead of letting their order fulfillment speak for itself. I hope that's not a harbinger of Pono's future.

The timing of Mr. Young's media blitz seems a little odd.

 

His media tour is for his car book and new album more than Pono.

 

I'm curious about how the Pono player might sound when jacked into my car stereo. I have an aux input, and on the highway yesterday I was enjoying some tunes from my iphone, but overall, the sound could have definitely been better. Plenty of highs and lows and volume, but instruments get mushed together, so it's often hard to really listen to a bass line or things set back in the mix. Could simply be a limitation of my car's system, but if getting a Pono player made the car stereo jump to life and allow for more critical listening, it would be worth the purchase for me. More to the point, I wonder if the sound would easily surpass the built-in CD player on "redbook" material due to the internal components of the Pono player.

 

Also, I wonder if the Pono player is resistant to coffee spills.

 

Maybe, but judging strictly by some of new hi-res titles that will be included with the 'artist signature' players, not so.

A few such new forthcoming hi-res titles:

Foo Fighters signature player will include: s/t album 24/44.1
Wasting Light 24/192
Elton John signature player; the Diving Board 24/44.1
Eagles: Long Road Out Of Eden: 24/192
RHCP: Californication 24/96
Lenny Kravitz: Let Love Rule 24/44.1
Tom Petty: Wildflowers 24/96

I suspect many of the associated artists will release their content to Pono in Hi-Res

 

Nothing like dropping 4 hundy (or more) on the signature player - just to get a "hi-res" version of the worst loudness war offender known to mankind as a "bonus".

This is the very definition of ironic.

VP

 

I have a phone that supports hi-res playback, and I occasionally use it in my car with the aux input. I've tried putting a CD downsampled from the files in the player at the same time, and switched back and forth to see if I can tell the difference. I think I can, but it is not enough of a difference that I would have bought the device over it. The car just isn't the best place to appreciate it. I'm guessing Pono would be similar.

 

Well, if there's not much difference between the Pono player and any hi-res capable player, I won't be getting one. But they're saying that the internal components are so good that even the same mp3 files will actually sound better. And that's why it's shaped like it is. Plus it has a separate output for stereo or car listening.

"This portable audio player uses circuitry taken straight from Ayre's own top-of-the-line products, costing tens of thousands of dollars, for unparalleled sound quality and unrivaled listening pleasure."

I'll have to hear it to believe first.

 

Unless it's an 'unlimited' version of RHCP - Californication, of course...

 

You are making an assumption it is the same mastering. And others are making assumptions there will be no hi-res content different than HD Tracks (although there is already evidence to the contrary). We will see in December or sooner.

 

Maybe indeed. I hope you're right, but even if you are I don't see a lot there to get exited about. Some of those artists already have a few albums available in Hi Res and I think it is a big stretch to assume their catalogs will all become available just because they signed on to the artist signature series. We'll see, and I really do hope you are right.

 

Hmm, good point. I'm still guessing going through the headphone jack into a car's aux input might lessen the benefit you would get from the better circuitry, and like you, I'd need to hear it to believe it.

 

I've asked before, I'll ask again:
Why is it so important for most of you to see PONO fail?
I don't get it.

 

I agree.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you about the original CD, but you're clearly not aware of the 2012 Bernie Grundman re-mastered vinyl release, are you?

People really are so quick with the snark.

 

I don't want to see it fail. Quite the contrary. I want one in my hands, to plug my HD800s into, and if it's everything as advertised $400 for the Ayre sound will have me singing its praises to everyone.

What sucks is that I can't get my hands on one, and I don't expect to be able to for a while yet. That really blows. But there's no way do I buy before I try.

 

It's sort of ironic how Neil Young keeps talking about "the sound" of a product that they can't get to market, while in the new Stereophile Norman Chesky of HD Tracks spends the entire time talking about "the market"

 

I like many of those albums but I can't seem myself buying any of them yet again for the 4th 5th time or more.

 

The latest bad news is that the JRiver software doesn't work. This according to people who were at the listening party w Neil in NY and got their players. They really need to sort out the bugs quickly...

 

24/44.1 is a big improvement over 16/44.1, especially for rock. I find the bass improves dramatically, becoming strikingly more realistic, even on my mi-fi system. Steely Dan engineer wrote an article that touches on this observation years ago - he'd noticed the same, surprising thing:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may06/articles/rogernichols_0506.htm

Higher sample rates seem to make very little difference - but then, I'm older and my high-end hearing is shot, anyhow. Any improvements to the extreme treble from using gentler filters are gonna be largely lost on me. Maybe it would make a difference for younger folks (although I suspect anything beyond 96kHz is total overkill, assuming the master is the same as the 192kHz master, which apparently isn't always the case...).

 

Some people on this forum say just the opposite. Although that is the case with most topics here so not a surprise.

 

Very aware of the vinyl release - but how does that relate in any way to what 24/96 files might appear on the player?

Since you or anyone else has any idea what the provenance of the source will be - please do not make any rash assumptions that Bernie's vinyl source will suddenly be on this device.

That source has never appeared anywhere but on vinyl after having over 2 long years to make it's way to HD tracks or similar - I wouldn't be so sure it will ever appear.

VP

 

Well, I'll take the opinion of Roger Nichols over "some people" on the forum anyday...