[kallekutta]

  LOL the video on the Kickstarter page is ridiculous.  The one with all the famous musicians stepping out of a car having just had a religious music experience, going 'that's the best sound I've EVER heard'.  With no reference to what they were listening to, or what the PONO stuff was being compared to.
 
It's all very silly but there's part of me that wants to believe.  I can't help it!  

They say in the video that they compared 24/192 vs CD vs MP3.

 

[Foolwolf]

I got this in the e-mail this morning (Swedish time).
 
I kept the ones that I believe to be most of interest. The rest of the ones not included were about the Kickstarter as such.
I think that point 2 is the most interesting with 3 and 7.
 
1. What headphones do you recommend? The audio experience is excellent with any decent headphones or earbuds from many of the well-respected brands. We've used products ranging from $80 up with top results. At our press demo yesterday, Ayre used Sennheiser Momentum headphones that retail for $300. We've also gotten amazing results using Audeze headphones, Etymotic in-ears, and many others. To those asking why we didn't bundle headphones, it's because many already own a pair and we wanted to offer the PonoPlayer at the best price possible. That said, we will be providing more recommendations and offering several models for sale when we launch our online store after the Kickstarter campaign. 
2. Can I use the PonoPlayer with Linux? There will be desktop software for Mac and PC computers for managing and adding your content to the player like iTunes, but there are no plans for an app for Linux. You will likely be able to add songs to the MicroSD card, which will appear on your Linux computer as an external drive. 
7. Will Pono support DSD playback? No plans on this first release. We are focused specifically on PCM at this time because it has broad acceptance, and when done properly, still offers the best sonic solution. While DSD is also a great format, it simply doesn’t have broad enough acceptance by consumers, studios, or labels. 
8. Will there be a Pono Mac app to play the FLAC files I purchase on PonoMusic? Yes. I would suggest using a simple file converter application such as this … http://sbooth.org/Max/ 
9. Does the PonoPlayer use Bluetooth? No Bluetooth. Audio over Bluetooth is not suitable for high resolution. 
10. Any DRM limits on PonoMusic? None. 
11. Can I use the player with my car's USB port and see the songs on my car's display? No. You can use the player as an auxiliary source and plug it into the car's input connector. 
12. Where will the PonoMusic Store be available? The PonoMusic.com Store will launch in the US, UK, and Canada. We plan to grow and expand from there. 
 
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Cheers

 

[TokenGesture]

This is so quixotic that I want to believe.  Keep on rockin' in the free world!

 

[miceblue]

 
LOL the video on the Kickstarter page is ridiculous.  The one with all the famous musicians stepping out of a car having just had a religious music experience, going 'that's the best sound I've EVER heard'.  With no reference to what they were listening to, or what the PONO stuff was being compared to.

It's all very silly but there's part of me that wants to believe.  I can't help it!  

They say in the video that they compared 24/192 vs CD vs MP3.

I'm guessing they were fairly low-bitrate MP3s. There are a bunch of people, including myself, who have a very hard time distinguishing any differences between high-bitrate lossy formats and CD-lossless formats of the same master.

And as discussed earlier, HD music is typically a different master from the CD and that difference is far more audible than any 24/96+ vs downsampled 16/44.1 differences.

Most of the artists in the video were walking out of cars too. The Pono's dedicated DAC is likely better suited for music playback and fidelity than whatever, probably stock, consumer-grade system is in the car.

 

[PalJoey]

There's an interview on AudioStream with Neil Young about Pono. 
http://www.audiostream.com/content/hello-mr-soul-my-interview-neil-young
 
What he seems to be trying to do is make decent-quality downloads more commonplace. We on this forum know about Linn, HDTracks etc., but Pono is aimed at making it a non-techy, everyday thing for the masses.
 
There's also this quote: "We provide the best it can be and if the best it can be gets better, Pono will supply the new track for nothing. You get it. You already bought the best it can be, the best it can be just got better, so you don't have to pay a penalty. That's why you bought it and it doesn't cost more."
 
 

 

[kallekutta]

Most of the artists in the video were walking out of cars too. The Pono's dedicated DAC is likely better suited for music playback and fidelity than whatever, probably stock, consumer-grade system is in the car.

 
I don't think there is a consumer-grade system in Neil Youngs car, he probably have a pair of B&W Diamonds under the hood!

 

[big-man]

the PONO kickstarter went live and i jumped on...anyone else a backer? Managed to bag myself a crosby stills nash and young ltd edition one =)
 
 
now what im wondering is, will drag and drop be supported or will you have to use this special itunes-esqe set of programs?

 

[JacobLee89]

  There's an interview on AudioStream with Neil Young about Pono. 
http://www.audiostream.com/content/hello-mr-soul-my-interview-neil-young
 
What he seems to be trying to do is make decent-quality downloads more commonplace. We on this forum know about Linn, HDTracks etc., but Pono is aimed at making it a non-techy, everyday thing for the masses.
 
There's also this quote: "We provide the best it can be and if the best it can be gets better, Pono will supply the new track for nothing. You get it. You already bought the best it can be, the best it can be just got better, so you don't have to pay a penalty. That's why you bought it and it doesn't cost more."
 
 
 

 
So the upgrade from FLAC to DSD will not cost more to download?
FLACs file sizes can vary, but DSD's vary from around 22MB per minute! The tall talk doesn't mean that they can sustain the bandwidth!
 
That is however, if they are going to incorporate DSD (which I am guessing is the absolute end game format) into the PONO

 

[bcpk]

Why do they not support USB mounting / drag and drop? If there is no DRM on the files I don't see a need to use a proprietary client interface.

 

[VictorRomeo]

  the PONO kickstarter went live and i jumped on...anyone else a backer? Managed to bag myself a crosby stills nash and young ltd edition one =)
 
 
now what im wondering is, will drag and drop be supported or will you have to use this special itunes-esqe set of programs?

I backed a little late for the NY or CSN&Y editions...  they went fast.  I got in at Tom Petty and that makes me happy.  $400 is easily worth a punt for this device - certainly when compared to the Sony ZX and the A&K...  They're more of an investment. I kinda think a little bit of history is being made here with Pono....
 
So I've already got a bunch of HD audio from all the usual places and some are amazing and some are no better than CD.  There's no doubt lots more info to follow but I'm happy with what I'm being fed with already on the KS site.  

 

[big-man]

  Why do they not support USB mounting / drag and drop? If there is no DRM on the files I don't see a need to use a proprietary client interface.

i dont think it actually says anywhere that they don't, and with the inclusion of removable memory i expect that they will allow for drag and drop.

  I backed a little late for the NY or CSN&Y editions...  they went fast.  I got in at Tom Petty and that makes me happy.  $400 is easily worth a punt for this device - certainly when compared to the Sony ZX and the A&K...  They're more of an investment. I kinda think a little bit of history is being made here with Pono....
 
So I've already got a bunch of HD audio from all the usual places and some are amazing and some are no better than CD.  There's no doubt lots more info to follow but I'm happy with what I'm being fed with already on the KS site.  

 
I think the best thing that will come out of all of this is better players coming from all around. Assuming this player does take off as a mainstream device, the UI will have to be near perfect. All this means is that all the Asian manufactures will have to up their game in that department to be able to properly sit in the same market.
 
there are plenty of great sounding players out there but if you want a good UI to go with it you quickly run out of options...hopefully, this player will add some much needed pressure on the UI front at least.

 

[alphabetagaga]

  the PONO kickstarter went live and i jumped on...anyone else a backer? Managed to bag myself a crosby stills nash and young ltd edition one =)
 
 
now what im wondering is, will drag and drop be supported or will you have to use this special itunes-esqe set of programs?

got myself a neil young edition

 

[flatmap]

  Why do they not support USB mounting / drag and drop? If there is no DRM on the files I don't see a need to use a proprietary client interface.

With regards to Linux, they touched on drag n drop:  "You will likely be able to add songs to the MicroSD card, which will appear on your Linux computer as an external drive."  
So they hedged slightly -- but seems like they expect this to work.

 

[Xaborus]

In reguards to Neil's car, at one point in the video you can see tweeters near the a-pillar. So its pretty obvious his speaker system is not stock, and assuning he's smart and knows that his campaign relies on marketing, probably high-end.

 

[Gorillaz]

how do you order the pono via kickstarter?