Pono Website Dedicated Thread

I took the plunge and ordered a player last week. I'm almost grateful that it won't ship for awhile. That will give me time to gather up and rip the various DVD-A and Blu Ray discs that I have sitting around the house to FLAC.

 

Anyone download the new 192/24 Fly By Night album by Rush. Would like to know if you can confirm that the title track is not muffled sounding like the 30 second preview of the track on Pono's website sounds to be.

 

looks like he did:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/hdtracks-news-part-9.400156/page-32#post-11767534

 

Yes it would. Most B&M stores will let you take a piece of equipment home even though it usually means you buy the component and if you decide against it you bring it back for a refund if it falls in the time perameter that was agreed on between you and the store. If a store wouldn't allow that I wouldn't do business with them, simple as that.
At the same time, if you can buy it at a store specializing in music equipment then you should be able to sit in a room with it hooked up to whatever you want to listen to evaluate it like any pair of speakers, turntables, amp, etc.

 

It's that typical US is the world syndrome. It only ever seems to be US stores that block sales based on where the card is registered too.

 

Is there a noticeable improvement over the redbook CD?

 

Are the HD Stones ABKCO albums recommended? Specifically Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Ya Yas...

 

I absolutely adore the 96/24 Pono version - it was falling in love with the album all over again. Played it up against my original '94 CD version and there's no comparison.

When I close my eyes, I swear the guitars are in the room with me.

 

All 3 are incredible in HD. Happen to be my 3 favorite Stones albums as well. By the way the extra material on Ya-Ya's 40th anniversary edition is amazing. 5 additional Stones tracks including fantastic 2 acoustic blues tracks, and also Under My Thumb and Satisfaction, plus 5 BB King and 6 Ike & Tina Turner (they apparently all opened up for Stones at that concert).

 

Thanks for the heads up. I saw your post this morning and wondered how long the price would stay that low. I appreciate the info. I'm downloading right now. If the other titles are ABKCOs, I'll buy them as well. The more music from Pono for my player, the better. I have lots of hi-res titles, but I want to support the PONO ideology. I don't see Neil as the savior of "the best sounding music available," but he's the first musician that who has taken the idea of the best possible music and a way of listening to it to consumers. Props to Neil.

 

Maybe this has already been asked but has anyone bought any of the Digital 45 singles from the Pono Store? If you search [Digital 45] you come up with more than 150 choices. They are all, that I saw anyway, in regular CD format. I found the screen goes blank if you keep hitting more choice after a while though just like in any search I do on the site that has a lot of listings. I am going to buy Rod Stewart's "Young Turks" since I don't have the single version on anything. Probably buy a few more also.

Pat

 

I bought a few lossless ones from the old Rhino store, then, from iTunes. I am considering re-buying the ones I bought from iTunes from Pono.

Not all of the Digital 45s are worth it, though, meaning some are the same as the album versions that are being passed off as the singles. This is especially true of the ones from Sony. Apparently, Sony doesn't know what a 45 single version is. In other cases, though it may seem that it is the album version, it isn't. There are enough subtle differences for me to justify buying the digital 45 version, as with The Four Seasons' "Oh, What A Night (December 1963)".

 

I also bought a few from Rhino or iTunes. The one I might rebuy is Suite Judy Blue Eyes by CSN. I have the version from iTunes. I see that Southern Cross is the real 45 version and I don't have that on CD so I will probably buy that one also.

Pat

 

And I"m gonna point this out, if it hasn't before....DR12(new) vs DR9 (old)---it's inverted from what people are complaining about. It's what SHOULD be happening to everything from the mid 90s on during this process, but instead we're seeing them turn old DR13 records in DR8 and 9.

I say kudos to Tom for "getting it"....I heard his new CD and couldn't make it through....then, I heard the 24/48 HD master....gorgeous and dynamic.

 

Actually Tom doesn't get it. There is no reason to compress the CD version.

 

I'm definitely re-buying "Light My Fire" by The Doors.

 

Eagles "Take It Easy" 45 is Mono for the A-side. No idea if it's true or a fold down.

Pat

 

The digital 45 is a great idea for Pono if only the record companies would send them the correct thing all the time. Pono had more up but with their purging some have disappeared like Prince's When Doves Cry and it's b-side 17 Days. Trying to get them to put them all back up. Anyone else care to contact them and request they add more correct digital 45's ask here [email protected]

 

It's a dedicated mix. I have it.

 

Well, I would say that the reason things are taken down is because of the artist, or some kind of legal issue. In this case, Prince controls his catalog, so I would point the finger at him on this one.

I can't say much, but I was led to believe that those Digital 45s are a sensitive subject for the labels. I have no idea why they would be.

 

I would say no in this case as there are one or two of his that are back up.

 

Thought so but wasn't sure. I bought it from Pono last night.

Pat

 

In that case, maybe the first files weren't up to audio snuff. I'm still seeing glaring holes in some artists catalogs, albums that are up on iTunes, 7digital, Amazon, and Spotify. The only answer could be that the audio isn't good enough for lossless, and they have to be remastered. What does that tell you about the crap the labels have been peddling on iTunes?

 

The only stuff that's worth it to me to buy on iTunes is the stuff with the "Mastered for iTunes" label. Some of the prerequisites for that branding are 24/96 digital masters, at least 1dB of headroom (ie, no zeroes or digital clipping), and dynamic range compression is dissuaded.

 

Without having to dig through a 37 page thread, has anyone been trying to put together a list of hi res titles available in the Pono store that aren't anywhere else like HDTracks, SuperHiRez, or eOnkyo?

Thanks!