[FFBookman]

Wow excellent review of the PonoPlayer here:  http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/pono-player-and-promises-fulfilled
 
This guy even admits his biases at the beginning and then proceeds to put serious hours into testing the PonoPlayer against other players of all shapes and sizes.  Good stuff!

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

Yup Tyll is a legend. He invented/popularized the portable headphone amp in the 1990s

 

[Koukol]

  Wow excellent review of the PonoPlayer here:  http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/pono-player-and-promises-fulfilled
 
This guy even admits his biases at the beginning and then proceeds to put serious hours into testing the PonoPlayer against other players of all shapes and sizes.  Good stuff!

'In the case of tough headphones, it is possible to use the balanced drive ability of the Pono Player that will effectively double its driving power"
 
 
OK, now I understand why some 650 owners are happy without an amp.
Of course it would double the power...duh!

 

[CarmenC]

Carmen, may I ask what battery pack you purchased?  Thanks!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OZK02E0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[olddude]

   
I have a bug for debunking silly claims in general mainly because I'm an audio professional.  Silly claims that have become conventional wisdom regularly come back to bite and complicate my job.  And yes, I've been critical of Sony's recent marketing.  I hadn't noticed anything from FiiO recently that warranted attention but then, I don't go out looking for these things.  (I have a FiiO.  It sounds good.  I'd like to hear and test a Pono, but not enough to go buy one.  A good DAC/amp is a good DAC/amp, and I have a few already.)

A- I'm not asking your opinion, I'm glad you have one, don't push it on me please.  I have no idea, nor do I want one, about who you are or what you do.  Your sentence is self-aggrandizing at the least, and more likely grandiose.  Please, be polite and keep your ego in check.  There is no need for you to drop in here and tell us you are here to save us.   
 
B- I spent thirty years as a professional photographer and heard enough claims from "professionals" in that field about how this is better than that to learn to ignore the claims of many professionals.  Especially those who start a sentence with the phrase "I'm a professional."  No offense.  Though, since YOU used the word "silly," maybe I'm the one who should be offended.  We can disagree about what is what, and that is fine.  But, as you say, you don't HAVE a Pono, so, frankly, your input here in this forum has no validity.  So why bother?  You are just one more person coming here to tell us that we don't know what we are hearing because you know better even though you have no actual experience with the device we are talking about.  Or are you merely talking about hi-res?  If so, you should probably post on a hi-res thread.  
 
C- I have several Fiio DAPs and I can hear the differences between them.  And I have a Pono and I can hear the differences between it and my Fiios (and the DX50 w/C5 amp and the Colorfly C3 w/same that I've sold).  I've also listened with various iPhones.  A good DAP is not the same as another good DAP.  Some are better than others.  So here we are (not you) discussing the differences in DAPs and why we like the Pono over others we have or have owned.  That is a discussion by people who have something/experience with something all talking about the same thing.  

 

[castleofargh]

auto censure. that was good for nobody.

 

[paulchiu]

  Yup Tyll is a legend. He invented/popularized the portable headphone amp in the 1990s

 
A legend indeed.  Back in the 1990s when Tyll started Headroom, I spoke with him numerous times over the phone.  This was well before the internet.  I think I learned how to listen and critique equipment through our conversations.  I also bought many of Tyll's inventions.  Including this one that still sings and works flawlessly (when connected).
 

 
The Max captured a lot of attention. Some compared the sound of it to the Orphesus HE-90 when used with the HD600 at the time.  1996 or so.  Many did formal reviews on one, including Stereophile.  
 
A classic timeless piece of gear from Tyll and Headroom.  It was sad to see Headroom no longer makes amps.

 

[olddude]

   
A legend indeed.  Back in the 1990s when Tyll started Headroom, I spoke with him numerous times over the phone.  This was well before the internet.  I think I learned how to listen and critique equipment through our conversations.  I also bought many of Tyll's inventions.  Including this one that still sings and works flawlessly (when connected).
 

 
The Max captured a lot of attention. Some compared the sound of it to the Orphesus HE-90 when used with the HD600 at the time.  1996 or so.  Many did formal reviews on one, including Stereophile.  
 
A classic timeless piece of gear from Tyll and Headroom.  It was sad to see Headroom no longer makes amps.

Pretty.

 

[lamode]

  Wow excellent review of the PonoPlayer here:  http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/pono-player-and-promises-fulfilled
 
This guy even admits his biases at the beginning and then proceeds to put serious hours into testing the PonoPlayer against other players of all shapes and sizes.  Good stuff!

 
LOL, he wrote that it took 15 minutes comparing the Pono to a Samsung phone to tell any difference.
 
He also wrote that he needed to run the test a few times to learn which one was which before he could reliably identify different components.
 
Enough said.

 

[xiphmont]

  A- I'm not asking your opinion, I'm glad you have one, don't push it on me please.  

 
You didn't ask. FFBookman did. I was responding to his question.
 
Quote:

 I spent thirty years as a professional photographer and heard enough claims from "professionals" in that field about how this is better than that to learn to ignore the claims of many professionals.

 
Quite right.  Professionals are wrong all the time.  That's what makes science so useful-- basing your beliefs on repeatable testing and evidence (rather than 'some impressive dude' who may or may not be right) makes those beliefs worth a great deal more than just an opinion.

 

[olddude]

I believe in science but I also believe in art.  There are ephemeral forces at work.  
 
I know who you were responding to in your post, but this thread has been flooded with sound science folks and it gets a bit old.  Whether 24 or DSD is better (or not) than 16/44 is a marketing and consumer choice.  Lots of folks say mp3 is as good as FLAC.  Marketing choice  I can buy a cheap mp3 with parts removed (and I'm told it doesn't matter, the parts weren't important), I can buy a CD (which I'm told has everything musically that I need), or I can buy a 24/x or DSD (that I hope has a bit more ephemeral something).  My choice.  Maybe I'm a fool and I should be happy with the mp3.  Maybe I'm a fool and the CD is not as good as the 24/x or DSD.  Whatever.  I like having the choice.  
 
I've been around a long time, and I've seen and heard a lot of things.  When I was younger there was no stereo, no FM, no color TV, no commercial jet airplanes, very little plastic, no pushbutton phones, no computers, no internet.  As new things arrived, people would say how the new things weren't any better.  Well, I like the new things.  If that makes me a fool, so be it.  I like 24 bit.  If I want to use it, my choice.  I don't want a white knight telling me I'm a fool.  

 

[tgdinamo]

When it comes to music (or other arts) I believe my own senses foremost and after that people who I know have great senses (ie ears) themselves. I don't believe in "scientific" charts/graphs since I have heard too many albums that are supposedly horrible because they have low DR but they sound great nevertheless.
Neil Young for example has GREAT ears - proof is obviously his great music over the years but also mastering of few of his greatest albums is so superb that only someone with great ears could have tuned it like that.
Take a listen to his albums Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Zuma to hear how electric guitar is supposed to be recorded (best recording of electric guitar I have ever heard - regardless if you happen to like his music style try to focus on the SQ).
And by the way, both of these sound much better in 192/24 than on CD or God forbid MP3 (assuming you have a quality hardware capable of playing 192/24).

 

[xiphmont]

I don't want a white knight telling me I'm a fool.  

 
I said elsewhere there's no point to high res formats and it's possible to prove it.  Stating an opposing position is calling you a fool?  You're making it personal when it's not.

 

[xiphmont]

  Neil Young for example has GREAT ears - proof is obviously his great music over the years

 
Beethoven was completely deaf. 

 

[tgdinamo]

   
Beethoven was completely deaf. 

 
That explains why those symphonies are so loud!
All joking aside - he certainly used other senses to come up with all that great music (that must have been the case since I don't remember reading anywhere about his use of DR charts either).