[Sam Edwards]

No word yet on my Patti Smith edition. I'm jealous. I like Herbie and Pearl Jam but the aging punk rocker in me couldn't resist supporting Patti. I'm sure it will be soon now. Glad you all are enjoying yours. 

 

[zorntel]

Saw the Herbie one...I love Herbie, would be nice, but I need to know about power and see some impressions before I part with my X5/E12 stack...ah well...I am sure in 6 months I might be able to get a decent condition second hander. I have a classified open in the FS section to trade if anyone is up for it...

What do you mean by "power"...sensitivity?  Tons of juice with both my Audeze LCD-2's and Shure SE535...can play ear bleed loud with the amp in the pono.  Used it in the car today too...really nice. Lots of other impressions in my posts several pages back.  If you want other things...just ask.

 

[fleasbaby]

What do you mean by "power"...sensitivity?  Tons of juice with both my Audeze LCD-2's and Shure SE535...can play ear bleed loud with the amp in the pono.  Used it in the car today too...really nice. Lots of other impressions in my posts several pages back.  If you want other things...just ask.

Nice! How is the sound? The X5 is pretty flat, almost boring after a while, the E12 is meatier, especially with the bass boost on. Anything you can compare it to?

 

[Soused]

Nice! How is the sound? The X5 is pretty flat, almost boring after a while, the E12 is meatier, especially with the bass boost on. Anything you can compare it to?

Yeah who wants flat music? Fortunately you can add EQ on nearly all music players, apart from the really good extremely expensive audiophile ones.

Does Pono have EQ options?

 

[duo2sonic]

Thanks to those who've shared their impressions. I'm waiting for my regular Pono. I ordered on the first or second day of the Kickstarter, so hopefully it'll ship soon. I'm a little bummed to hear a lot of the files aren't high rez yet. I hope they change that really soon. I could get them elsewhere, but I want locked into that upgrade guarantee.

I know it won't be the best portable player , but I'm looking forward to my new toy!

 

[Levanter]

Considering someone previously mentioned it's below ZX1 in almost all areas, i'd say it'll be far from the best... i'm sure more impressions will start pouring in soon.

 

[duo2sonic]

My biggest hope remains the same: that this will increase the market for high rez music so we'll get new and better sourced/mastered audio. $300 is a small price to pay if we truly get an influx of better sounding stuff. If the labels think the market is there, there's a chance this will happen. And then we all win. To me, this is an investment in the future that comes with a fun toy. Players come and go, but content is what will last.

 

[Soused]

My biggest hope remains the same: that this will increase the market for high rez music so we'll get new and better sourced/mastered audio. $300 is a small price to pay if we truly get an influx of better sounding stuff. If the labels think the market is there, there's a chance this will happen. And then we all win. To me, this is an investment in the future that comes with a fun toy. Players come and go, but content is what will last.

 
$300 is not a small price for me.  You must be loaded.
 
Why not give me the money, and I'll send you a Kinder Egg and some free downloads off the internet?

 

[doublea71]

  Considering someone previously mentioned it's below ZX1 in almost all areas, i'd say it'll be far from the best... i'm sure more impressions will start pouring in soon.

 
That's just one impression, but I don't think anybody ever expected it to be the best (despite their marketing campaign). I like how different it is from everything else out there and I wish I had backed it instead of the Geek Wave.

 

[Levanter]

That's just one impression, but I don't think anybody ever expected it to be the best (despite their marketing campaign). I like how different it is from everything else out there and I wish I had backed it instead of the Geek Wave.

Whys that? I have more expectations on the Wave compared to Pono though. At the end of the Pono campaign I already had a feeling the player would only be average or at best on par with X5. They weren't very transparent compared to Geek.

 

[doublea71]

Whys that? I have more expectations on the Wave compared to Pono though. At the end of the Pono campaign I already had a feeling the player would only be average or at best on par with X5. They weren't very transparent compared to Geek.

It all feels like a bit of a bait and switch because they're putting so much focus on other products right now, like the Geek Soul. Updates about the GW are scant, so it leaves one the impression of not being a high priority (that's just my perception, though). The Pono looks really cool to me with its against-the-grain design approach and it's being shipped pretty much on time.

 

[meat01]

Does anyone know how much more the PONO downloaded music is going to be versus buying a CD from Amazon and ripping it?

 

[bruce1967]

I read that the downloads for the Pono store would be $15-$25 per album.

 

[rickhawk22]

A really great review of the Pono player from a user on the Pono community who compared it to Vinyl and the AK120
https://ponomusic.force.com/_ui/core/chatter/groups/GroupProfilePage?g=0F9A00000004ppK

 I have quite a few albums in original vinyl, 180 gramme newly remastered vinyl, CD, remastered CD, SACD and hi res. Vinyl replay is Michell Gyrodec SE with all mods to current spec, Modified Rega RB300 arm with one piece litz cable through to the preamp. Cartridge is Dynavector DV20A low output moving coil. Is not the very best turntable combination, but is no slouch. Lots of natural detail, dynamics and great bass.
I also have an A&K 120.
Used to be that original vinyl was the best with the A&K a pretty good second with a 'good' hi res version of the same album - equal second with the remastered 180g. Original vinyl in tip top condition is hard to find though. Home ripped versions sound really good.
What I find is that listening through revealing, accurate headphones (IEMs in my case), the vinyl sounds really great, although surface noise, which is not so evident through speakers, can be a real pain and intrude. This is so using the home ripped versions played through Pono or the original through the Michell (preamp is an Arcam C31 BTW...).
The same album though Pono bests all of the other formats I have tried. Including vinyl, and the A&K. That's new for me.
Others may rightly say that my vinyl replay is not the best and that the A&K is not a 240 - both are true. I have heard better vinyl replay but not the 240.
What may be a real surprise is how very very good 16/44.1 versions can sound.
I love J J Cale's stuff, especially the first 5 albums, been listening to them since they first came out. They have always sounded muddy and a bit flat. Love the music so have put up with that. Pono bring them alive for me, they sound like they did when I first heard Cajun Moon off Okie - the first track I heard (1974?). That is a great part of the Pono experience. "Like hearing it for the first time" is something I thought I would never say again. Except I do, all the time. ... More

 

[Ableza]

Very nice.