PONO - Where Music Lives

Like you'd be way better off having good speakers and a good amp/DAC & listening to 320 mp3s than having shitty speakers & listening to lossless files...

think i might spring for one of those DACs, thanks for the recs

This bit rate shit is a red herring... There's better and cheaper great equipment then there's ever been, it's actually cheaper than shitty Bose stuff people already buy!

You mentioned video games and hdtv so I thought you were wondering why there haven't been improvements in the underlying digital technology. But yeah, there's already good enough stuff and people don't buy it because people don't give a shit about sound quality for the most part.

Beats is kind of interesting because even though it's Bose-style marketing bullshit, at least it's a marginal step up from white earbuds, and it gets young people used to paying a good chunk of change for audio gear. I saw an article about how other more legit headphone manufacturers have been seeing a big uptick in sales thanks to Beats because people move on from them and upgrade.

It's kind of weird to me that Pono is focused on mobile, since I think some kind of beautifully designed retro-styled home box could be a better niche.

Maybe there will be some amazing new breakthrough in speaker technology eventually, but it doesn't seem like that area sees the same kind of R&D dollars that stuff like TVs and monitors get. But yeah, I feel like overall the basic digital audio technology, the DACs, and decent amps have all been figured out and it's just a matter of marketing to get people actually interested in buying stuff that's not total garbage.

yeah i'll give Beats (and Skullcandy before that) some credit for at least making big headphones fashionable again; I no longer feel like a nerd walking down the street wearing over-the-ear Sennheisers or Grados anymore. I'm on the fence on the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, which seem to be equally about high-end audio and high-end style; I almost expect to see them sold at Nordstrom or Saks alongide wallets and purses.

alongside

I think this is weather related or something. when I was in Montreal a couple years ago I ONLY saw people wearing over-the-ears. as a cali kid I was shocked but it kinda made sense for when in very cold weather, eh. and it made me think that in my normal warmer climes the last thing I want when enjoying tunes is to be all sweaty in and around my earholes, wot

I don't have much to add here, but I love the upthread description of Beats by Dre headphones as "a shithole".

I'll give PONO this clear advantage over Beats phones: nobody's going to snatch your PONO off you on the train.

PONO needs to have a feature where any .mp3 played at less than 320Kbps is randomly interrupted by ear splitting static.

it'd be like Spotify using adverts to drive the move to premium.

Should have been designed after one of Neil's famous giant amp props.

Would make a cool MP3 player case tbh

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MrmhVasiKAw/UHmn_7rzwFI/AAAAAAAAD0Q/6k6lQrliAo4/s1600/Neil+Young+626.JPG

I think this is weather related or something. when I was in Montreal a couple years ago I ONLY saw people wearing over-the-ears. as a cali kid I was shocked but it kinda made sense for when in very cold weather, eh. and it made me think that in my normal warmer climes the last thing I want when enjoying tunes is to be all sweaty in and around my earholes, wot

― Tom Waits for no one (outdoor_miner), Thursday, March 13, 2014 3:11 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i use my big over-ear monopricers as earmuffs!

Decent piece by Bobby Barry here: http://thequietus.com/articles/14724-neil-young-pono-player-review

My only issue with that piece is the air of vinyl superiority, which is tiresome at best and bullshit at worst. I mean, I acknowledge that vinyl sounds *different* but superior is in the ears of the listener.

"I buy music mostly on vinyl and listen to it on bespoke speakers that dominate my bedsit like twin sarcophagi in an Egyptian tomb."

http://0.tqn.com/d/goparis/1/0/a/D/-/-/colette-hultonarchivegetty-1940.jpg

i think a lot of reactions to the ponoplayers form factor are misinterpreting its portability. based on the way the player sits horizontally in this image, i feel like its portability is meant for having it sit on your desk at home, grabbing it and throwing it in the car on the way to work, and then setting it down at your desk

it definitely wasn't designed to be a pants pocket player

the other thing you can't tell from that image is that the player is eight feet tall.

Yeah I don't get the impression it's for walking around

Just noticed "Herbie Handcock" in that pic. Jesus Christ who is making these fucking marketing materials?

Is there a porn star called Herbie Handcock? Kinda feels like there should be.

http://thequietus.com/articles/14724-neil-young-pono-player-review

am i missing something or did this person not actually listen to this player? the word "review" a little misleading...

Just reviewing the facts at hand.

Oh dear. Handcock. An illegal rip maybe? Or some PORNO on Neil's PONO?

If I want to hear "Heart of Gold", "Watermelon Man", and "Blowin' in the Wind" through fine speakers, I'll go to Chipotle.

Beatsmania: "Beats Music is meant to be a curated recommendation service first, playlist creator second. The company hired individual curators like Scott Plagenhoef, former editor of the music site Pitchfork, and it also formed partnerships with Target, Rolling Stone magazine, the fitness chain SoulCycle, Thrasher skateboarding magazine and the Academy of Country Music to create, presumably, better lists than you can on your own."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/technology/personaltech/beats-hopes-to-serve-up-new-sounds-in-a-novel-way.html

If fitness chain SoulCycle can create better lists than I can on my own I have failed as a person.

I'm awfully happy with my Sansa Clip that plays regular flacs. It's not high resolution, but it's also $45, and even with the best sound-proof earphones, I question how much a difference extra sound quality is going to make when I'm sitting on the subway. But I'll find out, I suppose...

not too dis the sansa ..
but a few years back when on a trip to chicago, my nokia phone got drowned out due to a session of booze excess.
so as a short term solution i bought a sansa ..
no idea if yours is the same, but damn, the build quality was cheap and nasty and the display was unreadable.
but far worse, the sound quality truly awful in comparison to what i was used to.
within 24 hours i got a refund and decided to wait until i got home and could replace the nokia.

Not sure what yours was. I'd vote for it as best bang-for-buck for music players. Definitely sounds better than iPhone/iPod.

i have to give this to neil young tho, "Herbie Handcock" is hilarious

http://static.techspot.com/images/products/mp3-players/org/sansa-clip-plus-main_932857548_o.jpg

i knew pono was reminding me of something...

https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/10007444_720100121363134_2043088432_n.jpg

I remember when my soul rediscovered Super Mario Bros.

http://craphound.com/images/buddhamachine.jpg

lol @ Herbie Handcock, that is a delight.

http://bullmurph.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/herbie2.jpg

I mean, I acknowledge that vinyl sounds *different* but superior is in the ears of the listener.

I don't know, vinyl can be a completely analog reproduction of the sound. As long as you are digitizing music you are going to fall short of this standard, even with FLACs.

Handcock also gives new meaning to Headhunters, Vein Melter.

also Maiden Handjob

once again, ilm delivers

Watermelon Balls

Future Cock

Cock-It

Jizz Africa

Fat Prince Albert Rotunda

sex taint or something or other

hey did you hear that if neil young was the commissioner of the belgian police force, he would probably ban all staff from listening to janes addiction on their ipods?? apparently this rule would ensure that from now on, there would be strictly only pono for poirots

Thrust, featuring "Palm Grease"

Hey Dlp9001 have you seen this baby yet?
Sansa Clip Sport
http://m1.agitomedia.pl/image/700x700/160395ae8849e232d74b2891a9208e1e/odtwarzacze-przenosne/sandisk-mp3-sansa-sport-8gb-niebieski.2012769.2.jpg
Totally agree with your comments about the Sansa clip series, they are all I ever use now.