# PONO Player Review--Can you hear a difference??



## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

So here is an A/B blind small sample listener test between the Hi Res PONO player and an iPhone wit iTunes MP3 files. In short, not one of the testers could discern a difference, whether using headphones or Apple ear buds…In fact, AFAICT, there was approximately a 20% preference bias towards the iPhone playing iTunes files over the Pono with its high res files--

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/it-was-one-of-kickstarters-most-successful-109496883039.html

Curious what you all think!!!


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

I bet Neil young has nothing to do with engineering behind it. I think that if you enroll famous name you can sell anything to american public. good marketing.
People so used to overcompressed **** that they think it`s better because truly it doesn`t matter.


----------



## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

I wonder if the playback on the iphone was slightly louder? That will cause a bias like that. Even just a half dB, while not very audible will sound "better" when switching sources quickly.

Otherwise, the results are about what I expected. I have found, that even with my Stax Electrostaic Earspeakers (fun to say!) I can hear a very slight difference at 256kbps mp3 to lossless and almost no difference between 320 and lossless. And it only shows up on very complicated music.


----------



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Engineers at Neil Young’s company admit doubts on music player | New York Post



> If you’re skeptical about Neil Young’s pricey new music download service, you’ve got company — inside Young’s company, even.
> Product engineers for the shaggy rock icon’s newly released Pono digital music player have privately admitted they aren’t convinced that the high-resolution audio files it plays have any significant technical advantage over CD-quality files, sources told The Post.
> Instead, Young’s Kickstarter-funded PonoMusic has decided to hawk so-called “hi-res” files as a marketing strategy, betting that numbers-obsessed audiophiles will pay up for the higher advertised digital sampling rates, tech insiders said.
> “It has been clear throughout that Neil Young himself is all about the hi-res,” one source close to the situation said. “There’s no doubt in his mind that it sounds better.”
> ...


----------



## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Victor_inox said:


> I bet Neil young has nothing to do with engineering behind it. I think that if you enroll famous name you can sell anything to american public. good marketing.


I wouldn't put any money on that bet, then. 

Neil put together a team for this. This is his passion. I even read an interview with David Crosby and even Croz spent a fair amount of time talking Neil's project.

Not at all that I agree with what Neil/Croz have to say on the matter... Just saying that this is not the case of attaching a famous musician to a product to sell it. This is the musician's product and he's (and his friends) are pushing it.


----------



## High Resolution Audio (Sep 12, 2014)

David Pogue, who did the A/B comparison in the above link did not use the balanced output of the player, which would unleash the magic and reveal the true difference between the Pono Player and MP3 player. This is why one can not always believe test results. 


Here is a link to an audiophile review of the PonoPlayer. 

Mini-Review: Pono Music Player | Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile


Neil Young had nothing to do with the engineering of the Pono Player. Charles Hansen of Ayre Acoustics in Bolder Colorado did.

Will the $400 Pono Music Player sound like a $27,500 stereo preamplifier? - CNET


----------



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

High Resolution Audio said:


> David Pogue, who did the A/B comparison in the above link did not use the balanced output of the player, *which would unleash the magic and reveal the true difference between the Pono Player and MP3 player*. This is why one can not always believe test results.
> 
> 
> Here is a link to an audiophile review of the PonoPlayer.
> ...


but magic isnt real...


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

It`s coming down to money, $27.500 preamplifier he designed sold in what quantities?
I bet if they sell 100 a year that would be not too optimistic?
$400 player will sell in thousands, due to public ability to buy it.
Would I buy $27500 preamp? no I wouldn`t,I know circuitry behind it and value to me is not worth it. do I think it`s wonderful piece of engineering marvel, absolutely!
BUt there is less expensive options to achieve very similar results.
It`s also silly to declare that one piece of equipment sounds 90% as good as other.
is 90 % good enough? how about 50%? at what percentage we consider it complete ****?
PONO 90% as good as Ayre KX-R Twenty? wonderfull, does that percentage correspond it`s true value? why wouldn't they ask $20000 for it then? Because they will sell none.


----------



## 14642 (May 19, 2008)

Too much magic in audio. I've been wandering around Singapore all weekend checking out competing high end gear and all I can say is that there BETTER be some magic in these things somewere.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Whaaaaat?! People couldn't tell the difference between decent quality AAC files and HiRes FLAC in a "blind" test?! 









And of course the blow hards will continue to sing praises to PONO. 









Someone wake me when the industry stops compressing the dynamic range to hell and gives us decent masters in digital format.


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Andy Wehmeyer said:


> Too much magic in audio. I've been wandering around Singapore all weekend checking out competing high end gear and all I can say is that there BETTER be some magic in these things somewere.


 What an awesome way to say something without actually saying anything, you are my hero, we all should learn from the best.


----------



## 14642 (May 19, 2008)

Maybe i can be clearer:

Too much high end audio is BS. Sometimes the BS is fraudulent and sometimes it just the good intentions or ignorant enthusiasts.


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

Andy Wehmeyer said:


> Maybe i can be clearer:
> 
> Too much high end audio is BS. Sometimes the BS is fraudulent and sometimes it just the good intentions or ignorant enthusiasts.


That what I see every year on CES in high end audio rooms.
It`s amazing what some people come up with to sell their ****. At least most of it looks great.


----------



## Picaro (Feb 18, 2015)

First off, while I respect Pogue for attempting to educate the masses on various technology subjects he often does so in a less than scientific manner. His Pono comparison was not much better than average and had several flaws. Least of which is taking average joes off the street who may or may not have any ability whatsoever to distinguish was does or does not sound decent, or even different for that matter. Listening is much more subjective than seeing, and that is why it is easier to sell video upgrades than audio ones. It's pretty much proven that the average person has questionable listening skills, otherwise manufacturers would never get away with producing the lousy sounding albums of today (heavily limited, etc.).

Those supposed quotes from a Pono insider are pretty lame as well, and even if accurate don't amount to much.

As for the Pono player, it appears to be a pretty decent unit, and on par with others in its price range. It appears to have very clean separate line out and headphone jacks, plus the two can be used in combination to feed balanced line outputs for headphones (very nice). The only real complaints I have heard were about some OS flaws that have pretty much been worked out, and which most other units have had as well.

As for the hi-rez music, while the average hi-rez transfer probably won't sound head and heels better than a non-hi-rez version, the plus side is that many hi-rez versions will have been remastered using better techniques/equipment than originally. Additionally, I have read that most agree hi-rez mastering allows for benefits of its own, as it allows files to be handled differently/better, and that is a plus.

Lastly, the Pono store appears to be stocking a lot of previously OPO titles that are available nowhere else, and overall pricing can range from very good to so-so. Given time the Pono music store may be the best thing going for them. However, I am also looking forward to future improved versions of the Pono player.


----------



## HighQman1974 (Jul 20, 2014)

If your doing an A/B with headphones and earbudes your just banging your head against the wall. Your listening with the amplified headphone jack which is not what this thing is meant for. This thing sings when you hook it up to a HiFi system using the Left and Right fixed audio outputs. WOW! Even in car mode hooked up to my Pioneer 80prs thru the Aux in. Huge difference. Dont pay any attention to someone only using headphone. Theyre not doing a good review


----------

