Neil Young readies Pono music service for expansion Part 4

Or don't understand that data-compressed files have only hurt the industry, and decreased opportunities for the average person to hear quality audio. I have read where several producers don't particularly care how good the quality of their work is because no one will hear it in their ipods or cell phones.

 

Seems to me that Neil has made the company an easy target.

 

Your evidence for this being what?

 

Not in terms of money, but in terms of souns quality.

 

I think the question is why lossless data-compressed files have hurt the industry as opposed to lossy data-compression. I don't think FLAC and ALAC have hurt the industry in terms of sound quality. mp3 and aac and other lossy formats, yes.

 

Will the Pono accept any Micro SD card or is it limited to 64GB? The FAQ on the Pono page says it supports up to 64, but I've read elsewhere it will support any size.

 

I have used a 128GB card. No problem.

 

Agreed, it's very sad to see the DR scores contain so few Pono uploads but already have a DR5 and DR6 in the mix.
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=&album=Pono

And BSSM, the original CD is DR13, Pono is DR9. Tsk, tsk.

 

I just don't buy into a reference quality portable device.

by and large, if you are portable, you are doing something else in addition to listening to music. If you are driving, walking, exercising or anything else you not paying attention to the quality as much. If you are portable, you are probably not in a quiet listening environment and that eats up any quality improvements. Noise canceling headphones can make a difference but they are not practical or safe for many applications.

All the best to Neil and everyone that digs Pono, I hope it works. We are about ten years to late for a dedicated music file player to get anyone excited and if you want to sit down and appreciate great sound, better options exist that don't require repurchasing a catalog.

 

I sort of agree, but I am interested in the Pono as a player than I can easily move from room to room, or take from home to the office. That's mostly how I use my portable players currently. Maybe also in the car, but that would seem like overkill to me (but apparently not to Neil Young).

I can't imagine anyone actually using a Pono on the run as you would an iPod (but who knows, maybe they'll start making accessories where you can strap a Pono on your upper arm while jogging).

 

I basically agree with the critique of mobile hi-res music, but it sounds like you are also critiquing hi-res audio files in general. You don't think hi-res is an important part of a home listening system?

 

Oh no, I'm pro Hi-res. I am just not bought in to portable Hi-res. I have gotten more into Vinyl in the last year or so and part of the improvement for me is being forced to sit down and pay attention. One great thing about records and replicated on Pono (to some degree) is listening to and entire album. For me, "shuffle" takes away from the experience. I think they only way to not listen to an album all they way through is to create a playlist. The "next" button can also keep me from getting into new stuff.

 

I've been using my Pono in my car stereo and it sounds phenomenal. Nice clean bass, crisp highs, and no door rattling noises! It is a multipurpose device and I am very happy with my purhcase.

 

But you said that there are options for better at hom sound than one that requires repurchasing a catalog. That made me think you were against repurchasing a catalog in hi-res. Can you elaborate?

 

y

yes, its called a home stereo. It has real big speakers, an amp and plays records, cd's, FLAC files, DVD's, Blue rays and just about anything I hook into it.

 

And you can't take that with you, either when you die or when you travel. It seems as if half of the whole idea of portable music is the idea that you might just be able to travel with your music as you remember hearing it on your home system. This means in a hotel room as well as perhaps walking down a street.

 

If Pono can match what we have going on with our home systems through a 1/8 mini jack they have indeed revolutionized the industry.

I think that for people that truly value and prize high-fidelity, they have built a system. For people most people portable music doesn't need to be that good. It is a sad but true statement, an IPhone, ear buds and streaming are the standard. Is the Iphone crowd going to find a Pono demo, get bowled over and start actually buying content? God I hope so but I don't think that is realistic.

so now we are down to Audiophiles, who already have collections and equipment to buy more equipment and content for the sake of portability.

Which by the way we already have portability, it will just be better. Portable doesn't need to be better. no one ever said the Walkman cassette player was better than a record back in 79 but it sold like hot cakes. This is niche marketing and a very small niche at that. the majority of which may be on this thread.

 

I'm listening to the PonoPlayer right now as a source in my home headphone setup. The player has a neat sound. A sound that I don't have from any other source. A 1/8" mini jack isn't the best way to connect source gear to a home system. But the special neatness of the PonoPlayer's sound is still there. I figure I may as well enjoy it with the home gear cause I like the sound.

Ayre introduced the Ayre Codex at CES. Looks like it may be the home gear version of the PonoPlayer's sound. If the idea of connecting a portable player to your home gear freaks you out you can wait for the Ayre Codex to get released.
http://www.audiostream.com/content/ayre-codex

 

Everybody talks about it being portable and how you really can't benefit from hi-res while 'on the go'. but as you just stated, i enjoy it more as a dedicated DAC (I'm actually referring to my FiiO X3) It sounds AMAZING connected to my iMac, using iTunes & audirvana with my audio-technica ATH-M50's.

Currently playing this actually

 

Yeah, no kidding. My point was you said you were looking for something that did not entail repurchasing a catalog. Sounds to me like you are anti-hi-res and are fine with vinyl, rebook, or whatever in a good system. That's fine.

Maybe you are in favor of hi-rez, but not replacing anything in your catalog with it.

 

How do you like that program - I'm curious about it. Of course the Pono comes with a JRiver Skin, but I've heard good things about Audirvana. Does it play Flac?

 

This makes it sound like you can take your Pono with you when you die! A music lover's dream. Is that why Neil mentions God?

 

Neil Young (PonoMusic)

I am traveling in Europe and have one set of PONO balanced phones They are open back prototypes and are the best sounding phones I have heard to date. They are extremely light and comfortable and are not expensive. We are trying to build phones that match the PONO player quality.

Its too soon to say when we will have them for sale but we are working to have them for you in the near future.

Thanks for listening!

Headphones
Comment · Like · Share · June 12, 2016 at 2:29 AM ·

 

Randy Leasure (PonoMusic)
AV Insider talks to Pono's own team members Kevin & Randy about Pono's start and where they are headed. AV Insider — Episode 72: Neil Young's Pono Player Is Righteous - rAVe [Publications] »