[Super Pang]

zorntel, there should be a Micro SD in the case with your music. 
 
I was pleasantly surprised by the packaging of the Signature editions (mines a Pearl Jam). Really nice. The UI isn't as ropey as I expected either. The Ponomusic software seems really comprehensive too. 
 
Plugged mine into my Mac and dropped some high res FLACs of my favourite music over for a listen with B&W P7.
 
First impression was that it sounds good. Transparent, detailed and dynamic with a lot of air around instruments. I expected it to sound warmer for some reason.
 
I then, perhaps unfairly, spent half an hour comparing Pono to my twice-the-price Sony ZX1. This revealed Pono's shortcomings. The air around instruments I mentioned is perhaps a little too much, everything sounds more defined on the Sony. Pono sounds looser, most noticeably in the bass department. Pono is less subtle and more unforgiving for it. The ZX1 is more focused, more musical and gets the best out of my P7s.
 
Not a revolution in sound then, but a decent enough $300-400 DAP.

 

[Sound Eq]

so all the hype for something not as good as zw1 so my interest is gone for now 

 

[musicday]

I think Neil Young should listen to the Tera Player, very very good sounding DAP with more then 15 h battery life.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

I think Neil Young should listen to the Tera Player, very very good sounding DAP with more then 15 h battery life.

Also take some note of what gadgets and devices look like now that we are in 2014.

 

[roadrat]

  Received my Herbie Hancock signature this morning.  As the other user mentioned...really nice packaging.  Downloaded the Pono Jriver app and watched the videos.
 
The interface on the device is nice...pretty intuitive. The first thing I noticed however is that the promised two Herbie Hancock albums were missing from the device...only a 24/192 neil young track from Harvest was there.  I'm assuming they haven't gotten the tracks yet...but its pretty weird given tons of Herbie available in high res.  Also not in my online account and didn't receive an email (with shipping) telling me this would be the case.
 
Transferred a couple of tracks just to give it a quick listen...its been a while since I've used JRiver...so took watching the video to get this all right.  Transfer was reasonably speedy...I haven't used an ipod in years so don't really remember what that was like...but these files are really big in comparison to the old 256 aac's.
 
I transferred a Blue Nile track I know well (24/96 track I ripped with a Lynx Hilo AD/DA from original vinyl and my Rega RP6/Exact) and a Reference Recordings Sampler album including orchestral, organ and some Dick Hyman jazz music...24/176 recorded as well as anyone in the business with broad dynamic range.
 
So the comparison was between
1. their jriver app on my mac outputting to a 24/192 Meridan explorer going to a Little Dot MK9 with upgraded tubes driving Audeze LCD2's.
2. pono player outputting via fixed line level to the same Little Dot MK9 with upgraded tubes driving Audeze LCD2's.
 
I'd say they are in the ballpark.  The output from the pono is a little lower than from the Meridian...about 10% less...but not an issue.  But the more I listen the more I like the pono...particularly on the Dick Hyman reference recordings track...and the blue nile.  Better instrument separation and space on the pono.  I'd say bass is pretty equivalent between the two...as judged both by some Liszt pipe organ but also on the electric bass and bass drum on the blue nile.  The best description I can give is that the pono is just a bit more delicate and has air (ayre...ha ha). The sound from the Meridian feels heavy...but given the difference in output its hard to say for sure whether this isn't a volume issue. But I definitely prefer the pono sound...I listen all the way through on tracks.
 
I bought the pono for the car (Infinity in a Hyundai) and my mobile rig (Shure SE535's with a Ray Samuels Hornet)...so will give those a test later today and report back.

Great quickie review.  Keep your thoughts coming!
 
Do you have to transfer via Jriver?  Can you drag and drop with Windows Explorer?

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

Eversi

so all the hype for something not as good as zw1 so my interest is gone for now 

What do you mean? It looks better than zx1

 

[Saraguie]

I think Neil Young should listen to the Tera Player, very very good sounding DAP with more then 15 h battery life.

However, at triple the price.

 

[zorntel]

thanks Super Pang...didn't even think to look towards the unlabeled micro SD...sure enough two HH albums were there...kind of weird they didn't put these in our online pono accounts (not even a "free" U2 album there...ha ha)...would have thought that would have been easier.

 

[bruce1967]

  However, at triple the price.

..and no screen display, only WAV support, nothing else and no EQ, no bass boost, no “sound enchancement” features of some sort or so I've read.

 

[zorntel]

 
Do you have to transfer via Jriver?  Can you drag and drop with Windows Explorer?

I'm a mac user, but the pono didn't show up in the finder...which is the equivalent of windows explorer.  I believe transfer needs to be via jriver...which is a bit of ipod pain remembered...but transfer and syncing is much more flexible than in itunes.  Jriver MC is definitely a powerful tool...I used it for quite a while on my main system before switching to Audirvana for the better itunes integration.  Jriver is incredibly powerful but not very intuitive and I remember a long learning curve...and accidentally did a bunch of metafile damage to my very large music library...thank god for backups.   I hope that isn't a problem for pono with newbie users. At their price point they are obviously not after ZX1 or AS users...so they need to be itunes dumb to not loose people.

 

[tgdinamo]

 
..and no screen display, only WAV support, nothing else and no EQ, no bass boost, no “sound enchancement” features of some sort or so I've read.

 
All true. And also it's extremely picky about pairing with phones (for example if you want to get great SQ with iem's the ones that pair really well are > $1500).
HOWEVER, Tera has by far the best SQ I have ever heard. I have not heard AK240 but have heard AK120 and HM901 and Tera SQ is better - more natural/organic sounding - closest to vinyl "feel" I have experience with any mobile player.
Also no screen can be advantage depending on your usage scenario - I use my Tera exclusively in pocket so it's great to be able to jump between songs/artists/albums just by pressing buttons feeling them through jeans without taking the device out of pocket.

 

[zorntel]

  Great quickie review.  Keep your thoughts coming!

Ok...took it to the car...I felt like neil was in the drivers seat and the caddy was rockin'...ha ha...joke.  I think there might have been something other than just music going on in those videos...if you know what I mean.
 
The ergonomics are good...sorry can't upload photos...but the pono fits nicely in the Hyundai.  I like the triangular design...sits flat in front of the jacks in my car and angles right at the driver.  Connected it with a Moon Audio Silver dragon 1ft cable with double right angle 1/8" connectors (serious overkill for the car). Had no problem seeing the screen or changing songs.  Much better than my old iPod classic.
 
Only easy sound test was to compare it to a CD in the infinity CD changer.  This of course is not a fair test because I was using high res files on the pono.  But honestly it was the best sound I've ever heard in my car.  But then again I haven't gone to the trouble of running my mac into a DAC then to the car amp.  I also haven't used any hi-end DAPs in the car.
 
What I was looking for in the car was an easy to use portable option that would easily integrate into my mobile rig (Ray Samauels Hornet with Shure SE535s)...which had until now been limited to driving files with my laptop.  Later on I'll put some 16/44 files made from a test CD and do some ABA comparisons...but overall I'm pretty happy with the ergonomics in the car which is for me really important.

 

[PalJoey]

   
All true. And also it's extremely picky about pairing with phones (for example if you want to get great SQ with iem's the ones that pair really well are > $1500).
HOWEVER, Tera has by far the best SQ I have ever heard. I have not heard AK240 but have heard AK120 and HM901 and Tera SQ is better - more natural/organic sounding - closest to vinyl "feel" I have experience with any mobile player.
Also no screen can be advantage depending on your usage scenario - I use my Tera exclusively in pocket so it's great to be able to jump between songs/artists/albums just by pressing buttons feeling them through jeans without taking the device out of pocket.

Mind you, selling a media player to the mainstream market without a screen is probably not going to work, whether the screen's needed or not.

 

[zorntel]

  I believe transfer needs to be via jriver...which is a bit of ipod pain remembered...but transfer and syncing is much more flexible than in itunes.  

One thing I should have said is that this was simply connecting the pono to the mac via a usb cable.  I bet if you take the microsd out, put it in a reader you could probably drop files directly onto it.  I'll test that later tonight when I have the appropriate adapter.  I was hoping to set up a couple of 128gb microSD's this way for separate "playlists".  In the end I guess I could set up the playlists in jriver and then have them sync to the various cards.  syncing is very configurable in the jriver app.

 

[tgdinamo]

  Mind you, selling a media player to the mainstream market without a screen is probably not going to work, whether the screen's needed or not.

 
I completely agree. As great as I think it is I would not recommend this player to any mainstream users because you need different mindset and be willing to do some work (convert files to wav and be organized with how you store them on you Tera ready SD cards, etc). But for those of us who want the best SQ possible in smallest possible form factor with incredible battery life Tera is as good as it gets. Certainly the most incredible device I have purchased during my 30 or so years of playing around with various advanced tech gadgets. And best money I have ever spent on any hobby so far.