[bruce1967]

  I am not a gear head.  I try to get good gear--that delivers the music, so I can pay attention to it, and NOT the gear--
and I use it until it starts intruding on the music.  I have been using three Ipod classics (very large music collection) and
an RS P-51, with Westone 4r.  And it begins to seem to be time to make some changes.  So I wondered if I should wait 
for a Pono player, and I read as much of this thread as I could stomach. I usually find head-fi fairly informed and serious.
Why is this thread so dumb and mean-spirited?

That's a good question. I would have thought audiophiles would have welcomed a new DAP and not only that but an online store where you can purchase hi res flac files. What's not to like about that?

 

[PalJoey]

 
That's a good question. I would have thought audiophiles would have welcomed a new DAP and not only that but an online store where you can purchase hi res flac files. What's not to like about that?

Spot on. Has any other DAP or download service received such a kicking before release and review?

 

[fiascogarcia]

 
That's a good question. I would have thought audiophiles would have welcomed a new DAP and not only that but an online store where you can purchase hi res flac files. What's not to like about that?

Seems that many people got turned off by Pono marketing itself as a "revolutionary" product?  Don't know what else; the selling price is too low?

 

[RRod]

 
That's a good question. I would have thought audiophiles would have welcomed a new DAP and not only that but an online store where you can purchase hi res flac files. What's not to like about that?

 
Right now, nothing.  But the onus is definitely on the Pono Store to deliver more than just hi-res versions of bad masters.

 

[bruce1967]

I don't know...maybe they just don't like Neil Young...

 

[bruce1967]

   
Right now, nothing.  But the onus is definitely on the Pono Store to deliver more than just hi-res versions of bad masters.

I agree. Hopefully the store does sell real hi-res music and not just upsampled versions or hi-res versions of bad masters as you say. We shall see.

 

[Saraguie]

Seems that many people got turned off by Pono marketing itself as a "revolutionary" product?  Don't know what else; the selling price is too low?

If we take us HFs and all the ' Audiofiles' on Earth out, then to the rest, Pono IS a revolutionary product. Old Man is known by Millions of people who don't know Red Book from Green Book , DAC from Johnny Depp. Think big picture.

 

[Soused]

The cheesy overblown promotion did it for me.

 

[RRod]

The cheesy overblown promotion did it for me.

 
If you were seeing it on a Mac you probably only got 5% of the content.

 

[tgdinamo]

With all the high end DAPs being slim and pocketable why the hell does it look like a toblerone bar?

 
I'm not in the market for Pono but I like the shape and thickness. Makes it less likely to bend in the pocket then typical slim touch phones/players (ie iphone6 or iphone6 plus), and also this shape gives the headphone plug more breathing room when it's in pocket (less likely to bend/break). The photo with Pono in jeans pocket (in that review) looks ok to me.

 

[L0SLobos]

If we take us HFs and all the ' Audiofiles' on Earth out, then to the rest, Pono IS a revolutionary product. Old Man is known by Millions of people who don't know Red Book from Green Book , DAC from Johnny Depp. Think big picture.

The ponoplayer is revolutionary for its bad design and poor/unknown specs along with ambiguity of it's shady marketing. Funny how there's only one review (most companies get some preproduction units out to prominent reviewers) and the reviewers were not allowed to use their own music, and the review did not include comparisons to other players.

Also, I hardly think anyone from my generation would want a product that's associated with Neil Young and looks like toblerone.

 

[PalJoey]

The ponoplayer is revolutionary for its bad design and poor/unknown specs along with ambiguity of it's shady marketing. Funny how there's only one review (most companies get some preproduction units out to prominent reviewers) and the reviewers were not allowed to use their own music, and the review did not include comparisons to other players.

Also, I hardly think anyone from my generation would want a product that's associated with Neil Young and looks like toblerone.

According to What Hi-Fi, their review was of a prototype.
 
If it is at all possible to wait less than a month, maybe then we'll find out what the actual Pono player is like.

 

[Ableza]

The ponoplayer is revolutionary for its bad design and poor/unknown specs along with ambiguity of it's shady marketing. Funny how there's only one review (most companies get some preproduction units out to prominent reviewers) and the reviewers were not allowed to use their own music, and the review did not include comparisons to other players.

Also, I hardly think anyone from my generation would want a product that's associated with Neil Young and looks like toblerone.

Like I said before, haters gotta hate.  And doing that before the product is even launched reminds me of the Chicken Little story.  Only with hate instead of fear.
 
Posts like this do not come from people who are serious about this hobby.

 

[fiascogarcia]

If we take us HFs and all the ' Audiofiles' on Earth out, then to the rest, Pono IS a revolutionary product. Old Man is known by Millions of people who don't know Red Book from Green Book , DAC from Johnny Depp. Think big picture.

Completely agree.  The discussion of all the negative comments centers on the Head-Fi forum responses.  Personally, I'd be tickled with another high performance DAP selling for $350 to $400!  There's plenty of room in the industry for that.

 

[L0SLobos]

  Like I said before, haters gotta hate.  And doing that before the product is even launched reminds me of the Chicken Little story.  Only with hate instead of fear.
 
Posts like this do not come from people who are serious about this hobby.

They (Pono) have shown nothing to put faith in onlookers and potential customers. And by any chance even if the sound is decent, it will fail with the average person (who apparently Pono are trying to attract

) simply because its design sucks. Seriously, who designed this monstrosity?! Pray tell how many people are lining up to buy this thing, let alone even know about it, compared to the masses readily spending their hard-earned cash on the new iphone/ipad/smartphone.
 

 
Completely agree.  The discussion of all the negative comments centers on the Head-Fi forum responses.  Personally, I'd be tickled with another high performance DAP selling for $350 to $400!  There's plenty of room in the industry for that.

Lol if this thing can't outperform the Fiio X5 it's trash. It better have higher sound quality and or UI if it wants to compete with a lower cost competitor.