Is Pono All It's Cracked Up To Be?

I forget; why was Pono even launched in the market place?
 
mep said:
I forget; why was Pono even launched in the market place?
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"Pono means righteous. It is a Hawaiian word, the one, the pureness. On behalf of Pono, we thank you for helping us give music a voice. You have helped to set the stage for a revolution in music listening. Finally, quality enters the listening space so that we can all hear and feel what the artists created, the way they heard and felt it.

This is done when the artist makes the best available, wanting to share it with you. It happens when the artist lets you hear and feel more than what is on your CD or MP3 of any song. CDs and MP3s are derived from the original masters, and now, with the PonoPlayer, you can finally feel the master in all its glory, in its native resolution, CD quality or higher, the way the artist made it, exactly. That’s the beauty of Pono.

It’s been a long time coming. It was not easy getting this far, but you made it happen by supporting Pono’s vision for better listening. We have been working with the labels, with the artists and producers, and we will continue to do that. We go to the source to find the best and bring it to you. Pono wants to preserve the history of music, in all of its beauty and expression, for all time. Forever.

There is a way to do this right, and we are going to do it. We will be sharing how we will do this with you over the next few months, while we build your first ever PonoPlayers. We are going to do some revolutionary things. We will make music available in a way that has never been done, a way that allows for constantly attaining the best listening experience.

Thank you to the artists, the recording companies, big and small, and most of all, thanks to you music lovers for making this happen with your amazing support."
 
Pono is just another "me too" PCM digital playback device capable of playing files up to 24/192. I can't believe this had to be crowd funded when the market place is already 'crowded' with these types of devices.
 
It is a gateway drug for the masses. Neil wants to show the kids what fidelity is all about in a simple, hipster kinda way.
 
I think the Pono store offers much more than the Pono player. Already it probably has the largest selection of 16/44.1 or better quality album downloads of any of the online music stores, and it has just launched. Prices aren't great but are generally comparable to their competitors.
 
rbbert said:
I think the Pono store offers much more than the Pono player. Already it probably has the largest selection of 16/44.1 or better quality album downloads of any of the online music stores, and it has just launched. Prices aren't great but are generally comparable to their competitors.
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Then maybe the real deal here is they are hoping to sell CD and higher quality files and not the player so much. The player's only claim to fame is the tie-in with Ayre which most kids will have never heard of and the name will therefore be meaningless to them. There are already plenty of portable devices that do what the Pono does (and more) currently in the market place.
 
I almost bought John Hamm's Soulution preamp before he resigned and had the opportunity to chat with him about the Pono business model. Developing a brand around un-compromised resolution was the primary concept. A place you could go and know with confidence that real due diligence had gone into title selection as opposed to some of the up-sampled crap out there. I think Mep's read on the player is accurate but imo its not the main part of their program.
 
I guess I focussed on the part where Steve found many popular headphones didn't work with the Pono player. That seemed rather short sighted.
 
I focused in on the part that the Pono player brought nothing new to the market as a playback device. What Pono is bringing to the market is the ability to download RBCD files for those who love RBCD. That is a niche that hasn't been filled to any great extent. It seems like you either download lousy/lossy MP3 files or you download hi-rez files.
 
Consider me one of the masses. I bought a PONO via the the Kickstarter site and love it. It has no problem driving my Momentum headphones that I wear on the train to work. It's a huge upgrade from my iPhone. I was looking into the A & K player when this came along. I have no issues with the display, the app or the website.
 
I posted on another site yesterday that while it is great to have portable high-res music, many people use their phones for music. So, Pono means they have to carry two devices. Neil needs to add a phone to it, and call it Phono.
 
BlueFox said:
I posted on another site yesterday that while it is great to have portable high-res music, many people use their phones for music. So, Pono means they have to carry two devices. Neil needs to add a phone to it, and call it Phono.
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If you had a pono that had a phono with a large screen that down loads porno you would have a hat trick.
 
I was in the KS as well, and enjoy my Norah Jones silver color Pono. I agree with some of the comments here, the player is not the most revolutionary device one could want. It was affordable, and really plays nice music. I think the attention to accessing the studio masters, and making them easily available to consumers. Take your regular consumer, and point him to the HDTracks site. Formats? Resolutions? Where do I click to get it on my iPod?

I think the Pono store is coming along. I am not wild about the Pono branded JRiver player program, but I am dealing with it. MP3s were fine back when you were on Dial-Up internet, which was the main method of internet at home at the time. One can easily tell the difference between the 256 MP3 and a FLAC Redbook file on most gear. If you have better gear, and folks are buying better and better headphones these days, )not nearly as many iBuds do I see anyways) one can tell the difference between redbook and hirez files. It does take better gear, and the attention to detail to discern it.

I think he (Neil Young) timed the market well, headphones are an exploding market, as well as really good mid-fi audio gear. As well, consumer spending seems to be on the uptick, independent of your party. As well, vinyls comeback is highlighting the difference between iPod sound and "good" sound. I have 2 of my 3 children (20 somethings) using vinyl regularly in their own apartments.

I feel many (not all) people are ready for better sound than low quality MP3/AAC files. Tidal is another nod to this movement.

I understand that he will be putting out more gear, boxes for your system, as time goes on. Although there is another crowded market - hirez DACs, and streamers. Time will tell.
 
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