[Brooko]

I'd love to hear impressions and comparisons from the New owners as well!

 
Posted mine a few weeks ago.  Would have liked to have kept it actually ......
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ponomusic-ponoplayer/reviews/12767

 

[ImperialBlade]

   
I think you own Shozy Alien too, right? Be interesting to gather your thoughts between them.
 
Hope you enjoy your Pono. =)

Hey H20,
 
I came REAL close to pulling the trigger on the Shozy, but went with the Pono instead.
I am hoping I made the right decision. Based on all that I have read, i think I did based on my particular needs.
Either way, I will be honest in my feedback. I also know the Pono sounds better as time goes on, so there is that for (me and others) to keep in mind.
 
Regards,
Eric 

 

[oldmate]

  Well, due to unpredictable events I'm now the proud owner of a Pono player.
 
Still waiting for it to arrive, but will begin studying my 24bit debating theories immediately. 

 

So you might be selling your DX90??

 

[subguy812]

Joining the ranks...waiting for the PONO to ship...guardedly optimistic. I really have never been so NOT excited about an item to arrive. I hope the PONO changes my mind. I registered to the PONO site to try to gain more info. Obviously, you don't want to amp this device. I hope it will drive my hp's fine.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  So you might be selling your DX90??

 
Word around town is, DX90's no match for Pono?
 
Let's find out... 

 

 

[olddude]

Finally YOU buy something I suggested.  Now I just hope you like it (I'm guessing you will).  24bit?  Dude, DSD.  

 
Too bad, looks like yours is not the yellow one, that's the one with the most cachet.  

 
Mine sounds great with the Fidues.  Sounds even better with a balanced cable.  Now, with the 846 it sounds even better.  
 
AND it has a screen!

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Finally YOU buy something I suggested.  Now I just hope you like it (I'm guessing you will).  24bit?  Dude, DSD.  

 
Too bad, looks like yours is not the yellow one, that's the one with the most cachet.  

 
Mine sounds great with the Fidues.  Sounds even better with a balanced cable.  Now, with the 846 it sounds even better.  
 
AND it has a screen!

 
I'm literally spending $$ thousands at the Pono music store while typing this. 

 
 
I look forward to joining you guys in the thread. Should be with me in a few days time if all goes well.  

 

[PalJoey]

As far as I can tell, the Pono Store is still USA only.

 

[H20Fidelity]

As far as I can tell, the Pono Store is still USA only.

That's probably a good thing.

Honestly, I'll simply by using 16bit FLAC. Maybe tinker in a few tracks of 24bit. There's not much urge for me to venture down 24bit lane.

 

[PalJoey]

There's one particular album I want to get, which isn't on sale on other sites (long-deleted as a physical disc), and it is only CD resolution. Other than that, I don't know how much I'd use the Pono Store.

 

[Lord Chaos]

I've had my Pono player for a few days now. It's doing everything I want it to, simply and easily, and the sound quality is excellent with my Denon AH-D7000 'phones connected directly. I have done brief comparisons with my Benchmark DAC1 HDR. Sometimes I think I hear a difference, other times not. One of these days I'll connect the Pono's line-level output to the analog input of the DAC1, play the same file on both systems, and find out what happens.
 
In the CD-quality vs. hi-res debate, I've come down on the side of CD quality. I've made live recordings at 24b/96k and compared those to downsampled versions. I've made 24b/96k LP transfers, and compared those to downsampled ones. Maybe I hear a difference, sometimes, but it hasn't been enough to persuade me to buy the "Studio Master" versions of downloads from Hyperion Records. The biggest effect on final sound quality that I have found comes from the original recording and mastering. I have some 1982 Denon CDs that sound as good as anything I've ever heard, no matter what the data rate is.
 
So, to me the Pono player is a definite win and an amazingly good deal at $400. The lack of features, such as pass-through DAC and EQ, doesn't bother me at all. I simply want a music player. I have had to make one accommodation with it, by adding album art to any album I want to play on it. On my main system (Mac Mini) I just use the Itunes text display, but managing the Pono is much easier with images.
 
There is one nitpick: The player makes two definite clicks through the headphones when it starts to play a new album. The rest of the time it is silent, and it plays back what's in the file.
 
Other devices I've used in this role:
Sony portable CD players and MDR-CD7 headphones (wore out, no replacements available)
Archos AV500 (would not play the Windows Lossless files I used at the time)
Squeezebox with Benchmark DAC1 (sounded good but was finicky and required a computer running)
Sound Devices 722 recorder (an experiment, as it's not designed for this role and won't play gaplessly but sounds very, very good)
Apple ipod touch (despite Apple's info, would not work with my main system, but worked fine with Windows 7)
Astell & Kern AK120 II (worked well enough, sounded good, had defective MicroSD card slot and required separate software on Mac)

 

[mink70]

Just got my Pono Player (I'm bowled over by its way with music, but am waiting for break-in and more impressions), and realizing that while it (with firmware 1.0.5) does play DSD natively, it does not recognize recognize my .iso files from SACD rips. Does anyone know what I should convert those files to in order to make them playable on Pono?
 
Thanks much.

 

[drew911d]

  Just got my Pono Player (I'm bowled over by its way with music, but am waiting for break-in and more impressions), and realizing that while it (with firmware 1.0.5) does play DSD natively, it does not recognize recognize my .iso files from SACD rips. Does anyone know what I should convert those files to in order to make them playable on Pono?
 
Thanks much.

ISO2DSD supposedly works.  I don't have the gear to rip my SACD, so I can't be sure.

 

[olddude]

You on a Mac or PC?  On my Mac I use iso2dsd and then convert using dff2dsf so I can change tags.  They both are easy to use.

 

[mink70]

  You on a Mac or PC?  On my Mac I use iso2dsd and then convert using dff2dsf so I can change tags.  They both are easy to use.

Yup, on a Mac. Thanks so much for the advice. How do you find DSD (vs PCM) to sound on Pono?