Neil Young readies Pono music service for expansion Part 3

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/580-audio-salon-pono-event-wrap/

 

Thank you for this. I wasn't able to make the event, but really wanted to be there. I'm impressed with what John Hamm has to say about Pono being committed to provide as much background as possible about the recordings available for download. There seems to be almost unanimous feedback that the Pono sounds great. It's unclear that the units they were using to demo have "Ayre guts" or not.

 

I believe it's stated in the comments section of one of the recent CA articles about the Pono Audio Salon event that they were still using the prototype units from earlier in the year and have yet to implement the Ayre innards.

 

oneway23 is correct. It's in the link I posted above.

 

Yikes. Still using a non Ayre implemented unit? That's a bit disturbing as October is not that far away... I have to imagine they are mostly finished with the final design but don't have any units around to demo with. I'm in for the Petty model and can't wait.
Now to decide on where to go from the Audio Technica ATH m 50 phones ...

 

Looks like Hamm is saying, "don't worry, your Pono will sound better than this". which pretty much shuts down any concerns.

We'll see. So far, I give Pono an "A" for PR.

 

I was there. It sounded fantastic. We are in good shape. Hamm seemed like a brilliant and can-do guy, the perfect foil for a visionary like Neil Young. They are acutely aware of getting it out on time, fixing the UI and making this thing WORK!!

 

As I said earlier in the thread, the Pono folk really seem to have done a great job partnering with the right people to produce the right product while seemingly taking the early adopters' concerns into account.
Long journey remains, but I'm a fan of how things are progressing thus far

 

Full AXPONA presentation:

 

Thanks so much!

 

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1734153

 

What's interesting about "Apple getting into hi def audio" is the nearly universal assumption that (if true) the files will be lossless. What if they're 96kHz lossy? I'm having a hard time squaring the available capacity of the non-iPad iOS devices (64GB max today) with the storage requirements for lossless 96kHz+ files.

In this regard, I think Pono's story will be better.

 

Very interesting that the HD iTunes rumors are heating up as WWDC approaches. I hope it's true, and I hope larger flash storage capacities are announced with it in new iPhone models.

 

Yup, figures, lol, Apple is going to steal the thunder from the Pono express. Pono goes around convincing people that hi rez music is wonderful and Apple comes in before their release to pull the rug out from under them. You could see that coming, if not Apple there are others.

 

That MacRumors article almost makes it sound as though a software update is all that is going to be required to "flip the switch", so to speak, on High-Res.
I know it mentions the bit/sampling deficiencies with the current product line, but a new lightning connector alone won't make it happen.

Isn't the Applearmy going to be required to upgrade all of their devices if they want in?

Perhaps Apple is going to have some new third-party docks with high-res DACS built in that will bypass the older devices' limited DAC capabilities, in order to bring aboard those who choose not to upgrade to the most recent models.

It'll be interesting to see how this impacts all of the current "audiophile" aftermarket solutions.

 

20k backers and some blog articles does not equal "thunder". It's still no more than a blip, and there's no reason to expect it to be more than that.

 

Still, it would be fascinating to know how seriously the Pono is discussed in Cupertino and if it had any impact on Apple's product direction decisions.

 

Clearly enough "thunder" to apparently prompt somewhat of a preemptive strike from Apple, no?

Say what you will about the pros and cons of the Kickstarter crowd-funding model, but coming out of the campaign as the third largest funded project in the history of the site is still a mighty impressive feat.

Now, the percentage of people who supported the endeavor due strictly to the collectible players is another argument altogether, and may certainly have legs.

We'll see.

 

Well maybe, but that is still rumour. I remain skeptical that Apple is going to sell high-res even with all the rumours and supposed leaks floating about. We'll see of course and I'll be very happy if I'm wrong, but I don't actually see how this would benefit Apple. It's not likely to increase sales much (if at all) and issues around device storage capacity and playback capabilities could prove to be something of a headache.

Even if Apple could steal the market for Pono, I don't see that being very meaningful for them. For good or bad, streaming is where the future is -- if Apple could offer some sort of higher quality streaming and take a bite out of Spotify's market, that would be a huge win for Apple. But I don't think that the market Pono represents is worth their while to be honest.

 

You bring up a lot of great points, all well worth consideration. Great post.

 

You may wish to keep them as they seem to be somewhat close sounding to the source however there are other options and sounds you may prefer. Here is an interesting place to check out.

http://www.sonicsense.com/blog

http://www.sonicsense.com/blog/head...here-for-yourself#audition100headphonesonline

 

Pono says they will be posting an update on Kickstarter next week.

 

To me Pono is a non-starter hardware wise, there are already better and cheaper options out there. The real game-changer is if Apple puts more flash storage in it's iPhones and a DAC that can decode 24/96 or 192. If they do Pono will relegated to the tarpits of technology. That being said, if Pono could focus not on hardware but instead on getting artists and labels to release and reissue their releases in "properly mastered" hi-rez then they could be onto something. Unless Apple is already doing this, but even if they are I'll be there will be a lot of brick-walled and upsampled garbage put out there as "hi-rez".

 

Such as?

 

I agree strongly. Nobody has heard Pono but still this thread has captured more jibber jabber and nonsense than most any. I don't understand why.
I am looking forward to hearing the player and selecting from the music as I'm sure so many are. The real question is why would Neil Young even bother if everyone thinks all the other stuff out there is so much better or capable. You think he needs the money? I sure as hell don't.

Is it because it's not free? Look around at the money spent in systems trying to make downloads listenable!

No problem there right?

Really...