Pono Website Dedicated Thread

so what that they are a little bit here and a little bit there?

 

Well, at least you acknowledge they're up and running.
A sizeable and vocal minority were quite certain insisting that we'd never see a player produce, much less a hi-rez digital download site.
But it happened, and now they're nowhere to be seen.....

 

Tom Petty 'You're Gonna Get It' 24/44.1 for $16. A lot of RHCP albums in 24/96 that are not available elsewhere.

I think Pono is steadily updating the site and replacing (select/available) 16-bit albums with 24-bit. The problem is how to detect this, on the off chance something you'd like in hi-res has become available.

 

This needs to be jumped on by anyone who doesn't have it yet. Clearly a pricing error.

 

Not hi-res, but 16/44 Kinks Muswell Legacy Edition is $1.99.
Allman Brothers, complete Fillmore, 24/192, $35.29

 

Michael Jackson's catalogue is much better represented on Pono than HDtracks, including Dangerous and HIStory in 24/96.

BTW, has anyone found an easy way to search for Hi-Res material on the Pono site yet?

 

1/2 the price of the cheapest available on this 3 disc blu-ray release.
So it appears that there are deals to be had there...

 

The search function is too minimal. Hopefully they will fix that to allow us to sort by genre, bit rate etc...

 

One thing I've noticed-- there doesn't seem to be a way to select your preferred resolution, unlike other sites like HDtracks and SuperHiRez. If 24/192 is being offered, it seems that's the only version being offered.

 

For some reason I can't seem to put more than one item in my cart. Has anyone else noticed that?

 

Actually, it's a bit all over the place. They offer the 96/24 of Lee Morgan's "Cornbread" but not the 192 which is available at HDTracks. Maybe they are still filling in.

 

Site also needs a "wish list".

 

Um... guys Lee Morgan "Live at the Lighthouse" for $15.29 Do you realize how expensive this was until now? Cheapest Amazon price is $54.99! This site could be a music collector or music lover's game changer...

 

I love this comment because it's so true even if you miss the pun! All of us forum members should be restricted from viewing audiophile-type web sites at work because we get so overexcited and distracted!

 

I'm a writer and work from home. Today? Zero writing and much over excitement and distraction. I may have to ban myself.

 

The Clash, Hits Back — 32 tracks in 24/96 for $17.99.

 

There should be a dedicated one for the downloads like the HDtracks one so they can be discussed I think. Anything else about Pono could be merged into a separate thread though.

 

Definitely!

 

Pono's stated plan is to only offer a given title in one resolution (the highest available at the given moment) they said they will treat each edition separately so that they may be offering the regular edition and the deluxe edition for example. As for the highest available resolution if that given title ever changes to a higher resolution in the future then that newer version would take the place of the old one. The company that provided their content basically gave Pono all resolutions and titles they had which Pono is currently trying to filter out what resolutions or duplicates they don't want to offer. Thus a lot that was there before has disappeared yet new stuff has appeared resolutions and things like digital versions of the singles with their respective b-sides. For example Prince's When Doves Cry and it's b-side 17 Days used to be listed and now it has disappeared yet things like this are still listed under other artist's catalogs. They are still in beta mode at this point so things are still in flux. Not to mention Neil is still fighting with the labels to get the higher resolution stuff they have but are holding out on.

 

Exactly why I created this.

 

I've been enjoying being on the "new frontier" of the Pono and the Pono music store. Sure, it's not perfect (still labelled Beta) but a relatively new HD music format is exciting. The marketplace is turbulent. At CES, Sony just announced their new ZX2 Walkman for $1100 and there is an NPR article on the decline of downloads (iTunes downloads have declined 14%) due to the rise of streaming service subscriptions and advertised free streams.

With all that, I like the Pono. Earlier in the thread someone mentioned not being happy about buying the same albums all over again. As an "audiophile" and a faithful SHTV forum member for years, I'd say I get as much joy from buying improved remasters (LP, CD, SACD, HD Digital) and releases of well-known titles as much as I do discovering new music. I'm also discovering I enjoy the convenience of a playing an album via high resolution files over a 45 rpm LP.

So far I've downloaded from the Pono store (in DRM free FLAC files, playable anywhere high resolution FLAC files can be played) :

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue Mono 24/192
Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks 24/96
Allman Brothers - The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings 24/96
Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach 24/96
Grateful Dead - Sunshine Daydream - 8/27/72 Veneta, OR 24/96
Neil Young – (all at 24/192)

• Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
• After The Gold Rush
• Time Fades Away
• Zuma
• Comes A Time
• Rust Never Sleeps
• Live Rust

I’m enjoying every one. Using DVD Audio Extractor, I’ve ripped my DVD-Audios of Harvest (24/192) and On the Beach (24/88). Also digging the Led Zep FLACs from the super deluxe box sets.

Pono may not last forever, but it’s definitely reinvigorated my audio passion for listening to my favorite albums in high res digital. And isn’t that what this is all about?

I’m thinking my next purchase will be the Grateful Dead’s Wake Up to Find Out (Nassau 3/29/90 with Branford) at 24/192 (has anyone heard it in high res?)

 

I'm sure I read on one of these Pono threads that CSNY's Deja Vu is one of the exclusive releases in hi res. Just looked on the site and I can't find it anywhere, only the live album in 44/16. Did I imagine this or is this coming out soon?

By the way, I second the comment above that the Pono threads should be merged as it's getting really confusing keeping up with it all.

 

Well, there are already two separate threads, one for the Pono store/downloads, and another for the hardware, but people started talking about the hardware in the store thread. A couple of days ago, someone started a "Bad experience thread". Then, someone started this thread.

 

When's Pono coming to the UK ?

 

Also, when it was still in Kickstarter mode, the labels offered a LOT more titles that I see there now.

When is Quboz coming to the U.S.?