PONO Hands-on Review

It was sarcasm. He was giving an impression of it being durable. It goes without saying that time will tell how it holds up, though that depends on how one treats it. Still, one can quickly determine build quality. Some portable devices feel flimsy and some don't.

 

Audio reviewers nearly always comment on the build quality. In most instances, they have had limited time with the item being reviewed. They are giving their impressions. That's what Bowie Fett did. There is nothing wrong with what he wrote. People are just looking for any reason to knock Pono, so they are digging into anything said that is positive.

 

I appreciate your informed review. Someone who has actually heard the player?

What? A review can be glowing or critical and still be objective.

 

He liked it, so he posted a glowing review. Which included mentions of various aspects. You'd have preferred if he had acted like he didn't like it as much?

 

I'm not sure if I would call a two line 'review' glowing. It was more like a positive comment.

 

Never.

 

Big and Tasty and a hot fudge sundae no nuts, my favorite lunch. That is 'till I had cancer and my triglycerides went through the roof. Super Size Me!

 

Hope you are doing well Morinix.
Cheers.

 

Thank you. I am now. That episode ended 10 years ago.
Best!

 

Good to hear, and you are right about diet link.

I'd like to hear some more objective hands on reviews.

 

Seriously doubt hi-res would have any impact even with the best car stereo. And certainly not anything related to 'clarity' and 'punch'.

 

Wow. I've just learned things I never knew. One can't appear glowing about audio without fear of getting blasted with an extinguisher. Also, hi-res has no effect regarding sound quality. Thanks for the enlightenment guys.

 

I'd be more inclined to trust a review that discusses the pros and cons of said product, wouldn't you agree?

 

Regarding complaints of negativity: while it's always good news to audiophiles that new technology is making high quality audio available to more people, the reality is that most who want a Pono based on the reports that have come back so far will never have one. It's a "niche within a niche" product and only those willing to provide a 6 month interest-free loan to the manufacturer will ever possess one. That's somewhere between beta tester and early adopter. The problem is that if it ever becomes a mass market consumer product (and that remains to be seen), it will be obsolete. So the Pono's alleged awesomeness has to be balanced against its actual existence. And for most, it simply does not exist. It's only written about in audio hardware forums.

 

Well, that is the standard requirement to be a published critic. But there is a level of mistrust in that as well, since a serious review MUST contain pros and cons, how can we be sure that is more trustworthy than an honestly enthusiastic one? Personally I think an open emotional response to something can tell a lot about how I might like it - as opposed to a dry measured voice of authority.

 

It is really sad how people behave when they are sitting anonymously behind a computer moniker and want to make themselves feel smarter than everyone else. After having many years of experience with many audio systems, both home and car, and with the sound of digital playback since its inception to date, I have another perspective. I have not heard the PONO player. I would really like to hear one with CD quality, uncompressed sound though.

I can tell those who are curious that the sound of a stereo system, for car or for home, can be greatly improved when the quality of the front end (source and source component) are improved. For instance, before the advent of CD and even just afterwards, I had a couple of really nice sounding car stereos in a few different vehicles. I have of course had many CD players and DACs and heard many recordings and formats as part of my life and business experiences. The stereos that I had which included really nice speakers and amplifiers, preamplifiers would sound great playing back cassette compared to other systems and when I installed a CD player, the sound improved significantly, the only significant change being the format. I have heard the same type of improvement when replacing an old home CD player with a new DAC or when upgrading phono cartridges, etc. So it is not surprising, nor do I find it dubious in any way, that a listener would hear a nice improvement when switching from radio or cassette or whatever to a CD quality system in another car or from a factory CD player to a hi-rez file player via an 1/8" input on the cars console.

Rather than try and bash away at a product that I have not heard, I appreciate the OP's time and thought to share their findings with us. It sure beats reading another thread with a bunch of disgruntled men making nasty comments to strangers for sport.
to better sound.
-Bill

 

I own one. It exists. Been getting a lot of play since I got it Friday.

Been listening on phones only so far, MEElectronics SP51s and Sony MDR-7506s. Nice phones, but nothing fancy schmancy. Still very easy to get lost in the sound. Makes you really want to crank 'em loud and get immersed.

Listening almost exclusively to HiRez tracks, either DVD-A rips or downloads. The two biggest takeaways -- ear fatigue is just not an issue, and the low end presentation is glorious and so smooth. Easy to tell the good recordings/masterings from the not-as-good ones. Redbook sounds good too, but the HiRez sounds bigger and wider, as it should.

The software and interface still do feel kinda beta, but despite some clunkiness I've managed to do everything I need to. There are gaps in playback you can hear with connected musical pieces. I've had one firmware update delivered and the gaps seem shorter now. I'm sure they're still working on that part.

Is it worth $400? I'm not sure. Value is a really subjective concept when it comes right down to it. As a piece of audio gear, it's not the most amazing thing since sliced bread. But it is easily the best portable music player I've ever heard. It sounds really good.

As for the naysayers, these threads are obviously total click bait for them. It's pretty funny. And kinda pathetic. But whatever gets your rocks off, right? Just if you fall in the naysayer camp, be sure to NOT listen to the Pono. Never. Maintain you purity at all costs! If your friend hands it to you in their car, chuck it out the window like Jake from the Blues Brothers with the cigarette lighter. Just remember that you're doing them a favor because you're assessment is correct as usual. It's a burden being smarter and more righteous than everyone else, but you're up to the task.

 

I confess, all this discussion has really succeeded in getting me wondering if the thing really does sound good. There's plenty of room for improvement in the analog bits of an iPod (or phone) even if you think the format makes no practical difference. And FWIW, I think it's totally plausible that an improvement could be heard on a car stereo. I can hear the difference between AAC and ALAC files on the stock stereo in my Ford Fusion.

I just want to imagine the in car demo of the PONO went more or less like this:

 

Holy crap, two positive reviews of the Pono, from peeps who have actually heard it personally!! I surely hope we don't get any more of these, what will we do if the haters don't get to blow hard about the player they have never heard? Wait, I'm wrong, the haters will always find something to complain about, regardless of it's factual or not. Carry on...

 

Well said!

 

So, anyone had it hooked up to a decent hifi system yet?

 

Indeed. You remember when the Pono "idea" was first announced? They all said that it would never even happen. Then they "poo-poo'd" it's highly successful Kickstarter campaign. Now they say it can't be any better than an iPod and it's going to fail in the marketplace...

Even though I have no interest in the Pono at this time (might pick one up for my wife after they work out the bugs), I do so enjoy the naysayers having to eat their words.

I told you all: Underestimate crazy hippie visionaries at your own risk.

 

It depends on how much leeway you're willing to grant in the "decent" department. My home office system, which is where my CSNY LE PonoPlayer has gotten 99.99% of its use (headphone otherwise) consists of the following:
Technics SA-GX170 Stereo Receiver, 80 watts per channel, purchased in the late 90s, I believe &
a pair of Infinity Primus P152 2-way 5/25 Bookshelf Speaker, mounted on the wall behind my desk, at about 6 feet off the ground.

My impression is the PonoPlayer lifts this, whatever you want to call this, "so-so", "mediocre", "average", "pathetic" rig way above its pay grade. I've been hearing things in recordings that I never knew were there.

Others are going to feel differently, that's their right, but, personally, I don't think of the PonoPlayer as a portable device at all. I think of it as a very small piece of audiophile equipment. But, hey, that's just me, and maybe I'm easily satisfied.

 

My rig would be "mid fi" in the grand scheme of things (though I love it) -- a Yamaha CA-2010 integrated amp and Tannoy Mercury M20 two-ways.

Yeah, it sounds pretty fab. Listening to the 24/96 of War's "The World Is a Ghetto" and it's like you can hear the spit on the reeds. Lots of air. And the bass is fat fat fat.

I'm used to listening to my Oppo 103 as a source. This is easily as good as that.

 

Are all the 1.6M tracks in the library at least in redbook 16/44 lossless FLAC? Are they priced at the usual $0.99 each? (1.6M according to the counter on the ponomusic.com site) Non-owners of pono can't see details of price or resolution on the site only the titles.