[SearchOfSub]

I actually had the Pono player and the other day was at BestBuy Magnolia and heard the pairing of the Sony HR player on the Sony headphones and they sounded so good. Whichever song had a "HR" mark sounded 10x better than any Pono player. I would NOT recommend the Pono player but just go to your local BestBuy and get the new Sony player instead. It is THAT good! Better than Mojo too.

 

[dannyvstheworld]

I’ve tried Pono with Sony XBA-N3AP in balanced mode, and I felt it a significant improvement over the single ended mode. I would like to pair Pono with more IEMs in balanced mode, but the output power of Pono is really high that the volume of any multi-BA IEMs will get too high for my usual listening.

I’m looking at Campfire Comet and Final Audio E4000 at the moment, both have a very low 97 dB SPL, so I could get a comfortable volume in the Pono balanced mode.

 

[radicus]

I actually had the Pono player and the other day was at BestBuy Magnolia and heard the pairing of the Sony HR player on the Sony headphones and they sounded so good. Whichever song had a "HR" mark sounded 10x better than any Pono player. I would NOT recommend the Pono player but just go to your local BestBuy and get the new Sony player instead. It is THAT good! Better than Mojo too.

Might be but it's 3x the price of the PONO!

 

[barondla]

I actually had the Pono player and the other day was at BestBuy Magnolia and heard the pairing of the Sony HR player on the Sony headphones and they sounded so good. Whichever song had a "HR" mark sounded 10x better than any Pono player. I would NOT recommend the Pono player but just go to your local BestBuy and get the new Sony player instead. It is THAT good! Better than Mojo too.

Did you hook the Sony headphones to the Mojo or Pono?

 

[maira]

Sony HR player

which model have you tested?

 

[omchompchomp]

Might be but it's 3x the price of the PONO!

I love the Pono balanced with the sony a3 and 64 audio a12 both balanced. So musical! Just got a used sony wm1a. It's too early to say but the Pono isn't losing any ground.

 

[SearchOfSub]

which model have you tested?

I am not sure which exact model it was but I am pretty sure it's in the $200-$300 range because Magnolia inventory is low-to mid level equipment only. And all the headphones that were played with the Sony player were all around $200-$400 range. This Magnolia is the regular retail one not the Magnolia Design center that deal with higher end equipment!

 

[SearchOfSub]

Did you hook the Sony headphones to the Mojo or Pono?

I didn't get a chance to A/B the Sony headphone to Mojo or the Pono BUT I don't think it's really the Sony headphone either because EVERY headphone that were out in display sounded excellent through the Sony player instead. It's the Sony player that was excellent. I swapped between the Senns, Sony, and one other headphone and all of them sounded excellent through them. Every time I swapped headphones I was clearly able to tell the headphone signature between each other too.

 

[jdog]

I don't know if people are still interested in buying the Pono player or not, but for today only (5/19/18), Fry's Electronics Stores are offering the black version for $129.90. You will need to apply for a promo code and order online, but it certainly is a big price drop if you're interested. Here is a link: https://images.frys.com/art/email/051918_sat147yhn/sat_web.html?

 

[barondla]

I don't know if people are still interested in buying the Pono player or not, but for today only (5/19/18), Fry's Electronics Stores are offering the black version for $129.90. You will need to apply for a promo code and order online, but it certainly is a big price drop if you're interested. Here is a link: https://images.frys.com/art/email/051918_sat147yhn/sat_web.html?

Bought two yesterday. If promo code isn't entering look at Gift card info below. Mine had auto filled and was stopping code from working. Clear out gift card info.

 

[jdog]

Sorry guys. I called Fry's customer service after posting the ad, and they tell me the Pono's have been sold out. They must not have had very many left to sell...

 

[Headmusic]

I'm am a bit saddened the the PONO is no more..regardless, it is part of my Hifi setup and I play it directly into my PrimaLuna tube amp and get a lovely 'musical' and 'warm' sound, it is like an old turntable....

The only complain I have at this point is it's nearly impossible to copy file directly to it's crappy onboard storage space and the battery seems to have nearly cacked it. For someone who sung about 'piece of crap' it's
a shame Neil Young has designed a product that only got about 3 years of shelf life.. Oh well, I will attempt to use it until it goes into landfill, unfortunately....

 

[barondla]

I'm am a bit saddened the the PONO is no more..regardless, it is part of my Hifi setup and I play it directly into my PrimaLuna tube amp and get a lovely 'musical' and 'warm' sound, it is like an old turntable....

The only complain I have at this point is it's nearly impossible to copy file directly to it's crappy onboard storage space and the battery seems to have nearly cacked it. For someone who sung about 'piece of crap' it's
a shame Neil Young has designed a product that only got about 3 years of shelf life.. Oh well, I will attempt to use it until it goes into landfill, unfortunately....

Forget the built in memory. Cards are so big (up to 512gb) built in doesn't matter. Use an mSD to SD card adapter or card reader to load directly from computer.

It is possible to change battery with a little diy. It takes a very standard battery. Only problem is opening PonoPlayer with a guitar pick and tack soldering the battery back in. The instructions are on the PonoMusic forum and the Pono For Music Lovers Facebook page. If you don't diy, any competent repair man could have it up and going in 20 min or less.


Think you underestimate the Pono. It uses an easily obtainable battery. Is still working with the newest 512gb cards and sounds better than most portables out there. Darn good for the quick paced electronics world.

 

[Left Channel]

The instructions are on the PonoMusic forum and the Pono For Music Lovers Facebook page.

The Facebook page is active but the official forum is shutting down. Active forum users have moved to a new home, the RESono Community: https://ponotrial.onsocialengine.com/

@Headmusic this video may give you a good idea of what's involved with replacing the battery:

What @barondla said. Here's the teardown video:

 

[maira]

Is it possible to turn a balanced mmcx cable with 2,5 mm plug into 2 x 3,5 mm ? Or using a adapter for this like 2 x 3,5 mm male to 2,5 mm female?