PONO Hands-on Review

This is the kind of mumbo-jumbo that turns me off Pono. Hi res files available before Pono? Check. Good, affordable DAPs that play these files pre-Pono? Check. Pixie dust to make everything magical? WTF? A holographic soundstage is the measure of a great player? Why?

An intellectually dishonest campaign fails to move me. I do believe some users will enjoy the Pono more than other DAPs available for comparable or lower prices. Other people will prefer different players. That HD Tracks is a better source for hi-res files than the Pono site seems to be well established at this time (I have checked out both sites).

 

I use an iPod Touch, 5th Gen, 64Gb model. It uses my own CDs as source WAV files for playback. Flat is not a word is use to describe the sound. Insight, depth, detail. All present and correct. That is not the sole preserve of one player.

 

Fine. Enjoy your Fiio or iBasso or odac. That's going to be the best you're ever willing to try.
Some of us are willing to explore and know there is better sound. There's more to sound quality than specs. Not all high-res players sound the same.
Yes, some DACs are able to go holographic. You'd know if you were ever willing to try something like that.

Magical is just a word to describe sound quality that is more enjoyable in a way that gives me goosebumps. That experience is in fact magical when it happens. Not many DACs or portables are able to achieve that. Which is why it's special when one does.

 

The Apple portables have what I consider a flat soundstage. Yes, I consider that to be flat sound. Now imagine what the soundstage is for what I don't consider flat.
As a comparison, I also consider larger DACs like the Schiit Bifrost to be flat sounding. The Geek Pulse Xfi I recently got I consider to be very 3D, but also lacking the magic I want.

 

Okay, so "I want" is a different barometer entirely. Thanks.

 

I am well aware that not all DAPs sound the same (why you assume I would is a mystery to me). I never said I was not willing try better DAPs. I won't buy a Pono because of the their BS marketing campaign. I would consider an AK Junior (or something comparable) in the future, though the $500 price does not work for me.

 

Would you still consider an AK Junior if one of their spokesmen said something that you found silly?

 

I'm not good with hypothetical questions, sorry.

 

More to the point, would I buy a Pono because Neil Young thinks music on digital players sounds crap, per se, but it'll be magical on his just by virtue of the player alone?

Flawed. Logic.

 

I'm guessing this is addressing my question - but I am not sure.

Anyway, I didn't follow Neil Young and all of his comments about the PonoMusic Player. I never heard the comment that you stated. If I had, it would not have effected me one way or another.

I saw Neil Young talking about the PonoMusic Player on David Letterman. He kept saying "It sounds like God!". I found that to be a silly way to promote the player. But I didn't give it much thought.

What got me interested in the Pono was all of the people - who actually heard it - saying that it sounded really special or something along that line. This eventually had the effect of wanting to hear it for myself. I ordered one from Amazon knowing that it would be very easy to return. I was quite glad I did. Magical is not a word I associated with digital sound. I have experienced a magical feeling while listening to LPs and everything is right. The PonoMusic Player is capable of creating that feeling with digital sound.

I'm so glad that some hangup about Neil Young did not cause me to miss out on this.

 

I have no hang up about Neil Young. Just the logic expressed by both he and some others in regard to this player. Much of his music I own and enjoy. Hang up? None.

 

I'm happy you enjoy the Pono player. I have no problem with Neil's music, or him personally -I just have serious issues with his campaign to promote Pono. I did get a chance to hear a Pono player briefly, and it sounded about the same as my Fiio, but I did not get to give it extensive use and would not claim I could base an informed opinion of Pono on my brief listening experience. I have read many reviews online which are generally positive. There are some review postings that are IMO overly critical and not balanced at all. Other comparisons where the Pono performs about what you would expect for the $400 price (better than the $200 Fiios, not as good as a $700 AK) I find to be the most credible I have read to date.

 

I have not read through all 21 pages so please forgive me if this was covered.
I need a new portable player for work and garage. I am an iTunes user with a lot of songs/albums on my hard drive, many from record labels of new and upcoming releases. Will Pono accept mp3 and m4a (Apple Lossless) files as well? I am looking at a new iPod Touch as my old one fried, literally. I am currently using an old iphone at work.
Thanks
b.

 

Let me first out the gate, to state a resounding "Yes, it will accept both of those formats plus many more!" Regret to hear about your iPod Touch. Sad day.

 

Though I have only .flac and .dsf files on my Pono player, an interested friend of mine has a large library of nothing but .mp3 and .m4a files she'd like to move to a Pono if she purchased one. I created .mp3 and .m4a (both Apple lossless and compressed) files here at home as a test and my Pono played them all without issue.

 

I have had a Pono for two weeks now and have enjoyed it immensely playing my iTunes library (mix of ALAC, 320 AAC, 256 AAC) and all of the files sound better than they did on my iPod classic or iPhone. The DAC in the Pono is superior - I can't compare it with FiiO though.

 

The Pono doesn't support playing lossy files (mp3, aac) gapless. It will play lossless files (like FLAC, ALAC) gapless.

Would be a potential issue with albums that are meant to be played gapless. Like Dark Side Of The Moon, or Sgt. Pepper, or certain classical music works.

 

This thread may be better suited to your question:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...ch-portable-mp3-player-do-you-suggest.393965/

 

Win a Pono:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st..._=top_level_post_id.998276460206054&__tn__=*s

 

So I finally took the plunge. Faced with the choice of the Fiio X5 2nd gen (I own a gen 1) and a Pono (black), I chose the Pono and a pricey 200GB micro SDXC card. Need lots of GB for all the lossless files I want to put on the Pono.

This will primarily be my bedside rig.

 

I think you will like the sound. I really do. (The only negative comments I remember, from someone that actually listened to it, was from a member using high impedance headphones (Sennheiser HD 600 or 650) without a balanced cable. That didn't work out well for me either, while I was waiting for the cable.)

Do you know if the 200GB Micro SD works with the Pono? Last I read, they stated up to 128GB for the Pono. That could have changed for all I know.

 

Regarding cans, I have a Sony MDR-Z7 that I think will pair well with the Pono. It even has an option for balanced cables.

Regarding SDXC, the spec goes all the way to 2TB, so it should work and the Pono should be agnostic. I have a 128GB card as a fallback just in case.

 

Yes! The Sony MDR-Z7 even comes with the double 3.5mm terminated Pono balanced cable in the box!

 

I see that the Sennheiser HD650 that I tried unbalanced is 300 ohms vs. 70 ohms for the Sony MDR-Z7. Seems like quite a difference.

Before you decide to buy balanced cables, if you do, you should be aware of a possible difference between Sony and Pono balanced cable wiring.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/headphones-for-pono.433016/page-2#post-12657903

I don't know if this applies to your headphones. Might be something to check out.

I just saw @oneway23 post. Do we know if those cables are compatible with the Pono?

Sorry. I just noticed that Ham Sandwich is talking about Oppo PM-3 with a Sony balanced cable and PonoMusic Player. I have probably brought up a non-issue.

 

Yes, Dino...Same cable, same wiring...pretty cool, eh?