[doctorjazz]

Anyone recommend a particular balanced cable?

 

[olddude]

I just ordered a balanced cable from Moon Audio for my Fidue A83.  Not cheap.  

 

[doctorjazz]

Hmmm, I have the Fidue A83, love the sound but not the fit (but I'm a really difficult fit). Have to play with them some more, tip roll, etc, really want to try the balanced option.
Thanks

 

[Ike1985]

Is it worth getting an AK120 now that the Pono is out?
 
Do I need an amp to use JH13 FP's with the PONO?
 
I just read that the PONO has an output impedance of 5 ohms, the JH13's have an impedance of 28 ohms.  28/5 = 5.6.  Won't this negatively affect the JH13's?  In what ways?  IS there anything I can do to remedy it?

 

[shawnbeonkey]

I purchased a balanced cable for my HD600 from this page, and I'm very, very happy with it. The HD600 is driven as well as I've ever heard it, I've got no complaints at all. Very impressed with how well the PonoPlayer performs in balanced mode, the only thing I could hope for given its low price is better battery life, but I can deal with that.

 

[olddude]

I have two pairs of iems, 11 and 22 impedance, no problems.  I'm buying a balanced cable for the Fidues and don't expect any issues.  Pono engineers have posted as to the impedance thing and stated that it is not really an area of concern for folks.  This thing sounds great.
 
Should you not buy a 120?  Up to you.  I'd say the question would be more like, should you buy a 120ll?  Again, this thing sounds great.  It's a bit bare bones in places, but the sound is, shall I say it again, really great.  Mine was a gift, I was loving my X5, I thought no way, tried it, and haven't used the X5 since.  It costs $400, the 120 costs $800-900.  Is it twice as good?  The 120ll costs $1600.  Is it four times as good?  I would say that if you like spending money, buy the more expensive ones and know they are more expensive.  But are they 2X or 4X better?  No.  Five percent or ten percent or fifteen percent?  Maybe, but no more.  Your money, your ears.  

 

[aleos97]

Can anyone tell me about the Pono player's battery life?

 

[olddude]

8-10 hours is the claim.  Probably depends on file type (hi-res takes more) and how long you leave the display on for.  Works fine for my uses.

 

[doctorjazz]

I just ordered a balanced cable from Moon Audio for my Fidue A83.  Not cheap.  

Definitely not cheap...mind telling me which you bought (it doesn't explicitly mention the A83 anywhere, is that the iem version?)
Thanks

 

[olddude]

http://www.moon-audio.com/silver-dragon-cables/silver-dragon-v1-iem-shure-headphone-cable.html
 
$185 to start.
 
I was told (fingers crossed) that Shure SE is the box you need to check for type of connectors.  Use the pulldown for Terminal and choose Balanced Pono for $30.  So, $215 plus shipping.
 
These are the Silvers, and they are, well, silver cables.  They are +$35 over the Blacks (copper).  I emailed the boss at Moon, and he suggested these.  Someone else here has the Blacks and likes them.  Those were $180 plus shipping.  

 

[doublea71]

Just an oddity from the Ponoworld site: Track 9 from Beck's Sea Change (Already Dead) is different from the MFSL version I have - the PONO master doesn't have the same intro and goes into the lyrics pretty much straight away. Not sure if there are any other differences with other tracks, but I thought that was worth mentioning. Difference in sound quality is very subtle, but this is with a J3 and VSonic GR07s, not exactly the most resolving gear in the world (but not slouches either).

 

[charleski]

  Pono engineers have posted as to the impedance thing and stated that it is not really an area of concern for folks.

They stated they aren't going to fix it (because of some misguided concerns about negative feedback) - not quite the same thing. As long as you use phones with a flat impedance curve or with high overall impedance it shouldn't be too much of an issue, though.

 

[BlackstoneJD]

I tested this player with Grado PS1000 phones and Sennheiser HD600 phones. Gave my Ayre QB-9 DSD and Bryston BHA-1 amp a run for their money. This thing has huge bang for the buck. Very refined sound. My dad has one and is enjoying it and his primary source is a dCS stack. The circuitry is designed by Ayre and is on par with their other gear. Industry sources tell me that they spent almost a year of research and development time on the project of their other projects were delayed. This is a no-brainer if you were in the market for this type of product.

My dad tested with B&W P5 snd P7 phones. Very satisfied.

 

[alphabetagaga]

  Cheers for the reply, might consider the PONO when it eventually hits the UK.
 
As for my DAC, I noticed this bit of blurb "it's a 24bit/192kHz asynchronous USB design, offering a significant sonic step up for computer music lovers", so I am a bit confused as it seems like both the player and my DAC should be able to handle 192hz files.
 
Anybody else like to chip in?
 
edit, posted this before I saw your reply olddude

 
when is that, any ideas?

 

[olddude]

For any old Folkies out there, I just ripped the 2nd Richard And Mimi Farina album, Reflections In A Crystal Wind, and tried it on the Pono.  It is incredibly detailed, all of the string work comes through with a, dare I say it, crystalline  beauty.  I get my Moon Audio Balanced Silver Dragon cable Thurs, can't wait to see what this sounds like with that attached to my Fidues.