Neil Young readies Pono music service for expansion Part 3

So iDevices will dynamically switch sample rate, but iTunes doesn't?

 

Yes, I share your confusion. And then there's the distinction between plugging the iDevice into a "Made For iDevice" unit (which I believe supports only 44.1 and 48kHz) and using the Camera Connection Kit to plug into a conventional USB DAC (which under iOS7 will support all speeds supported by USB Audio Class 2 (?))

iTunes relies on whatever the OS is doing (or not) with the DAC.

 

I think they would have to make the changes I mentioned IF they ever sell high-res downloads, so as not to confuse their average users. I know they already make things easy for average users.

 

Audiophile OCD is sort of the antithesis of Apple's "just works" tech philosophy. By definition, Apple would be unwilling to accommodate audiophiles. Perhaps this has loosened a bit since Steve Jobs passed away...

 

I don't know if it has loosened, but I agree with you--that is their philosophy. That's why I actually think it's unlikely that they will sell high-res downloads, but if they do, they will need to make changes to iTunes.

 

kickstarter ended at 6.2 mil

 

I was thinking they'd get a little bit more of a bump over the last 48 hours as fence sitters finally commit before the campaign is over. I finally committed for a black player in the final 3 days. I figured there would be more people like me finally committing at the end. Now for the wait. And the anticipation of wondering how it will actually sound and how well it will function.

 

Or whether you'll actually receive anything at all.

 

They'll deliver a Pono player. I'm not worried about that. And they'll launch a PonoMusic store. I'm not worried about that. Kickstarter doesn't let a project take your money and deliver nothing.

The risks I see are that I may not like the player. I may not like the sound of the player. The player may not do gapless to my satisfaction. The UI on the player may stink. Those sorts of risks. I'm willing to gamble that the player will meet my needs better than my current iPod Classic.

I'm getting desperate to be rid of my iPod Classic. I don't like it. The only things I like about the iPod are that it has a good UI on the player and it does gapless playback. Other than that the thing sucks and I want to be rid of it. I *HATE* iTunes software. I hate the lack of support for FLAC. It's possible but problematic to use software other than iTunes to sync the Classic. Works OK to sync from JRiver Media Center, but sometimes the data on the iPod gets corrupted and needs a full complete resync rather than just a refresh sync. Every time I plug it in the computer for a sync I have to wonder if I'll be able to do just a quick sync to add a new album or if I'll end up needing to take several hours to do a full resync. I hate that. I also don't like the sound of the iPod Classic. The only way to get good sound from it is to use an external amp with it and good external amps are in the $300 range. If the Pono player is able to deliver good sound to me without the need for an external amp the Pono will be overall less expensive to me than an iPod or any other iDevice player. I am desperate to be rid of that damn iPod. And to never own an Apple iDevice ever again. So that's my motivation for gambling $300 on the Pono player.

 

You forgot to mention that you want to get rid of your iPod

 

LOL. I knew the relationship would end up like this when I got the iPod because the iPod is selfish and doesn't play well with others. But at the time there were no viable other choices that I thought were worthy. Nothing else really with a good UI on the player, gapless playback that worked, and something that I knew would be supported. Now were're finally getting some potentially viable choices with other players. I'll have to wait and see how the first date goes with the Pono.

 

Not hardly. There are legions of Kickstarters that have not delivered.

I'm not saying that I think Pono will fail to deliver, but I think that possibility should be considered, especially given reports that they don't even have a real prototype. At the very least, I think the October delivery date seems overly optimistic. I certainly considered this all, which is why I decided to cancel my order, even though I had gotten in for the Neil Young signature edition.

From the Kickstarter FAQ:

 

My understanding is that a legion = 6,000. I'm thinking it's a bit hyperbolic to suggest the number of Kickstarter projects that have not delivered is a multiple of that number

But having said that, I'm going to wait until (if) Pono moves to a mass market status before I even consider purchasing one.

 

According to the Pono Kickstarter page the delivery date for some of the players has already been pushed back to December 2014.

 

It sure looks to me like the people ordering knew they were getting a December delivery:

So I don't think this December development means anything to those expecting an October delivery.

 

I pledged my money within the first couple of hours and got the Neil Young Artist Signature Series Pono. I don't doubt I'll have mine by late October. It's anyone who pledged after March 19th that will have to wait until December. Seems like Pono was a little conservative on how well the Kickstarter campaign would work.

Now let me at my two cents about the Pono Music Player and Store. I've been following NY and the Pono start up since I saw him on David Letterman back in 2012. Neil Young is an artist. I believe it hurts him to know that a majority of people who listen to his music in this day of age don't hear it in the way he intended it to be heard. He thinks his art as a musician is dying. And to be honest I kind of agree with him. Terrestrial radio just plays the same 8 songs over and over, more people just buy singles then whole albums, and young people are lining up outside stores to buy the latest phone, not the latest music. All Neil Young want to do is make high fidelity music mainstream again. The Pono will have a good DAC and other hardware. Will it be as good as some of the portable rigs people on this forum have? Maybe yes or maybe no. Will it be better than the current 160g iPod classic? Yes I think it will. All Neil Young is trying to do with Pono Player is show the 13 year old kid who only has listened to 128kb mp3s on his/her iPod that better sound quality is out there.
As for the Pono Music store we should all be pushing for Pono. Neil Young has said its all about hearing it the way it was recorded in the studio. He champions the 24/192 resolution, and I bet that ever NY album on pono will be 24/192. But he also made it very clear that Pono Music store is meant to make available music the way the artist choose to recorded it. If an artist only recorded at 16/44.1 that was their choice and they'll have to live with that choice. Pono music store is more about allowing musicians the choice of how their music is heard. If anything I think the Pono Music Store and Player has the best chance we've seen in a long time of making artist have a reason to record at higher resolutions and use better music mastering. The consumer always win when products have competition. The Samsung Galaxy did that to the iPhone and hopefully the Pono will do that to the iPod.

 

I enjoyed this article:

http://radio.com/2014/04/11/neil-young-interview-pono/

 

If NY wants the audience hear "the same music as the artist intended", does that mean Pono will deliver the multi-channel mix, before mastering? Maybe with a pair of yamaha ns-10 or mackie monitors?

 

No, as that would be the the unfinished version (if I am understanding you correctly). Although you could choose to listen to those monitors they are not found in every recording studio nor could they have been in use in the years before they were even built. You are joking I believe?

 

Some more reading on the subject:

http://www.reddit.com/r/kickstarter...ete_list_of_funded_kickstarter_projects_that/
http://evilasahobby.com/2014/01/18/...game-projects-fully-deliver-to-their-backers/
http://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/when-kickstarter-investors-want-their-money-back.html

Yes, of course what I wrote was a bit hyperbolic. I'd even go so far as to say, a lot hyperbolic.

My point, however, is valid--there's no guarantee that Kickstarter campaigns actually deliver and timelines often slip. The Geek Out Kickstarter that was supposed to deliver in January still hasn't finished shipping backer units, for instance. I hope the Pono campaign ends up being everything they've promised, but I think that is rather unlikely.

 

My understanding is that LH Labs still hasn't shipped the majority of Geek Out units, to say nothing of Geek Pulse which I believe was supposed to start shipping this month. And the Pulse is much more complex than the Out. Yes, I would say that history strongly suggests Pono will be late as well.

 

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

In one of the early marketing videos, many 'stars' lauded 'Pono' etc., having been driven round by Neil. listening in his car.

So, genuine question - exactly what type of hardware is Neil using in his car to be garnering all of the very complimentary comments about the sound quality of what was heard. Also, is this specific vehicle based hardware possibly part of the longer-term development strategy.

Please excuse me if this has been asked & answered elsewhere.

Best Wishes,
David

 

I was very close to supporting at the $300 level. My thinking was that a multi-format player and a good headphone section could provide an upgrade in sound that my aging ears might be able to appreciate. (I'm currently using iPhone 5 w CDs and a few Hi-Res albums encoded as Apple lossless for iPhone playback.)

However, the more i thought about it, the more i started to wonder, that even assuming the player actual ships late 2014, how likely is it that the initial version will truly be the full-featured player we would all expect, but rather will have some significant gaps that will make the subsequent version much more desirable? While the $300 price seems pretty good, i think - for me at least - it makes a lot more sense to wait an iteration or two for the hardware to shake out a bit, even if it means paying the higher price.

 

I use a Classic (on shuffle) in my car. No problems. Not sure if I have even listened to it with earphones. I would rather not listen to music at all, than be frustrated with it because of "hardware"...

 

Well my iPod Classics have brought me years of on the road listening pleasure ease of use and a nice listing experience but to each his own