[Ableza]

This is an enthusiast's forum, yes?  The amount of negativity towards this new endeavor is incredible to me.

 

[goodvibes]

   
Here's the linkedin for the "keyboard warrior" you claim "knows little to nothing about audio in general":
 
 
Would you believe that this ignoramus got paid to write that clueless article?

  And what's with all those cited statistics, industry analyses and references to interviews with audio engineers? My god, what a newb!
 
What I'm saying, dear boy, is that you're the tool here.

So he's an educated weenier. Anybody that says this off hand like it's always a good thing is a bit full of himself. "but you'll be giving the middle finger to artists and record stores everywhere" 
 
It's actually possible that Young actually never liked CD quality and is trying to improve things. I know that's true for myself, I think it might be better to take him at his word than to project a financial motive. The author said Young responded to that question but never related it. 
 
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2014/03/audiophiles-thinking-and-neil-youngs.html
 
I don't like the shape and have great access already so it's probably not for me but I don't see why anyone would want to try and kill another choice before it can even be experienced. Self important know it alls. when it exists, see how it works. Then if you don't like it, don't buy it. Who the heck is this author think his protecting with that rhetoric? 

 

[goodvibes]

  This is an enthusiast's forum, yes?  The amount of negativity towards this new endeavor is incredible to me.

Enthusiasts are often cross bearers that know what's best for everyone.

 

[Ableza]

  Enthusiasts are often cross bearers that know what's best for everyone.

"cross bearers" is not the term I would use for that particular type of "advice.".    My idea of being an enthusiast is to be the one on the bleeding edge trying everything that comes along just because it comes along.  I love being an early adopter of new ideas.

 

[elviscaprice]

.

 

[anetode]

 
And what I'm saying in response to that very fulsome and informative reply is that if those qualifications are all legitimate, he has less excuse that the average gadget hack for writing something as feeble-minded as the article linked previously. In other words, if an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of typewriters came up with the same article word-for-word, they would be less culpable, having not known what they were doing in between public masturbation and faeces-throwing (the latter two being similar to posting snarky put-downs on Twitter).

Aside from gussied up mockery you haven't really pointed out what the author of the article got wrong and why. You've built up this notion of a vacuous keyboard warrior without realizing the irony presented by your own comments.
 

  So he's an educated weenier. Anybody that says this off hand like it's always a good thing is a bit full of himself. "but you'll be giving the middle finger to artists and record stores everywhere" 
 
It's actually possible that Young actually never liked CD quality and is trying to improve things. I know that's true for myself, I think it might be better to take him at his word than to project a financial motive. The author said Young responded to that question but never related it. 
 
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2014/03/audiophiles-thinking-and-neil-youngs.html
 
I don't like the shape and have great access already so it's probably not for me but I don't see why anyone would want to try and kill another choice before it can even be experienced. Self important know it alls. when it exists, see how it works. Then if you don't like it, don't buy it. Who the heck is this author think his protecting with that rhetoric? 

 
I'm not sure that the author is questioning Young's passion for music or audio quality. It certainly appears like Young's concern is genuine and that Pono is a good faith effort on his part; however that is not incompatible with the downsides which the educated weenie pointed out. He's not protecting anyone so much as calling out the Pono project in the greater context of his understanding of the industry. I may not agree with everything the article said but he does make some valid points.

 

[PalJoey]

Here's another one, mocking RCA and XLR output sockets for being old-fashioned (the Pono has neither) and the actual sockets on the Pono for being old too. The author does not suggest an alternative way of getting sound out of the player. On the other hand, the iPhone is considered "life-altering". He (I'm assuming Chris is a he - okay it almost certainly is a he, isn't it?) then riffs on the "it's only for old guys" schtick and also refers to one part of Ayre's digital circuitry as a "woozle-wuzzle".

 
I'm guessing someone snipped all the ringpulls off this guy's breakfast. Even more whiney and insecure than the average audio-bashing article... but I'll accept that other opinions are available: https://medium.com/shallow-rewards/710fa81d52fe

 

[fiascogarcia]

  Here's another one, mocking RCA and XLR output sockets for being old-fashioned (the Pono has neither) and the actual sockets on the Pono for being old too. The author does not suggest an alternative way of getting sound out of the player. On the other hand, the iPhone is considered "life-altering". He (I'm assuming Chris is a he - okay it almost certainly is a he, isn't it?) then riffs on the "it's only for old guys" schtick and also refers to one part of Ayre's digital circuitry as a "woozle-wuzzle".

 
I'm guessing someone snipped all the ringpulls off this guy's breakfast. Even more whiney and insecure than the average audio-bashing article... but I'll accept that other opinions are available: https://medium.com/shallow-rewards/710fa81d52fe

This Chris Cox is kind of a sadsack, isn't he?  Yes, I'm sure there are a lot of $10 chips that help navigate fighter planes too!  I'll be waiting for his first $50 DIY player to come out.

 

[Achmedisdead]

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/steve-jobs-stereo-system/?mbid=social_twitter#slide-id-796601

 

[SilverEars]

  http://www.wired.com/2014/04/steve-jobs-stereo-system/?mbid=social_twitter#slide-id-796601

Very interesting.  The man that is responsible for popularizing mass produced music player for compression formats was a closet audiophile.  I kinda had a sense he was really into music, I pictured him with better equipment at home, and what he sold were just for business sake.  

   He is after all a business man.

 

[Canaudio]

  Another keyboard warrior passes judgment on Pono, despite not apparently having much of a clue about... well, anything. But specifically not Pono: 
http://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/blog/what-pono-is-doing-to-the-music-industry-nothing
 
 
 

I would say the author is pretty much correct.  Perhaps the Pono will be a decent player, but so what? Now there are lots of decent players.  My Fiio X5 costs less and I have it today, not in October.  The Pono store is going to sell remastered flac files - HDTracks filled that niche years ago; as Peggy Lee said: "Is that all there is?'

 

[jlbrach]

I myself dont understand the need...there are already webstores selling hi-rez or flac recordings and there are already players better than the pono available...i myself own an ak120 and have loaded my own cd collection using flac...i think the goal is good but i dont see where this is anything new?

 

[PalJoey]

 
I would say the author is pretty much correct.  Perhaps the Pono will be a decent player, but so what? Now there are lots of decent players.  My Fiio X5 costs less and I have it today, not in October.  The Pono store is going to sell remastered flac files - HDTracks filled that niche years ago; as Peggy Lee said: "Is that all there is?'

HDTracks is an USA-only operation, and its reputation is currently a bit shaky when it comes to the provenance of some of their 'hi-res' files. I've had a look at their website and their range of music is not massive either.

 
Until the Pono store is launched, why criticise the choice of music from it? The author knows no more than I do about how big the catalogue on offer will be, but the tone of this article tries to give the impression that he does. Look closer, and the author's criticism of the choice from the Pono store (which does not yet exist) appears to be based on looking at a promotional photo of the prototype player's screen and claiming that that's all that will be available - old white rich guy music.

 
The Pono player is cheaper than an Astell & Kern, pricier than a Fiio and about the same as some Hifiman products. The author quotes someone saying that you couldn't tell the difference between FLAC and MP3 on "a pair of cheap headphones", conveniently missing the point for the sake of his argument. Such headphones would make any player sound poor.

 
The whole tone of the article is that of a personal attack, not a considered view of the Pono project.

 

[Ableza]

How many of the expert opinions being offered about Pono are informed by having tested the player and used the files and explored the store?  None.  Until the final version of the device is actually available and the store is up then they are all just farts in the wind as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Saraugie]

How many of the expert opinions being offered about Pono are informed by having tested the player and used the files and explored the store?  None.  Until the final version of the device is actually available and the store is up then they are all just farts in the wind as far as I'm concerned.

Is this the a sequel to Dust in The Wind? Lol.

Your right of course, when it comes to the actual player and P.com store.
The only indisputable fact is the awareness of the desire to have better sounding audio is not confined to a few audio 'nuts'