Pearl Jam limited edition chrome Pono Player

camaros

Can someone please download some of the tracks and convert them to MP3 so we can all hear how them came out?

KV4053

camaros said:

Can someone please download some of the tracks and convert them to MP3 so we can all hear how them came out?

Me thinks you be confused. Very very confused

cutz

Dollar said:

I'm still waiting for a shipping confirmation here in New Jersey!

Same here.

High Fidelity 2000

Looks like Neil Young was forced to forge Eddie's signature before production took place.

Kidding of course... but yeah that looks nothing like the prototype picture. Better throw it on ebay!

vaggar99

still not a single comment on the sound quality of this thing. what gives? from what i can tell Eddie's signature changes everyday.

october22

2-feign-reluctance said:

Sitting in a box collecting dust does nothing for the company. I'd like to buy one but want to hear from people about quality.

Exactly. Suddenly my request for a review of the actual sound quality isn't so laughable, is it? I guess the wonderfully insightful "very good first impression" review is what we'll have to go with for now. And yes, I know I could search elsewhere for what others think of Pono's sound quality in general but as this is a Pearl Jam forum (which was so kindly pointed out to me earlier), I am sort of interested in, oh I don't know, maybe hearing someone's thoughts on the two Pearl Jam albums it came with...

vaggar99

okay, i'm just gonna say it, this thing is a p.o.s. isn't it?

PJ_Soul

100 Pacer said:

I realize this is going to sound absurd, but that Ed signature doesn't look right to me.

)

All the reactions to these things are funnier and so much more cynical than I expected!

I wish I'd bought one now... i would have already reported how the fucking thing SOUNDS. I've skipped some pages, but has anyone actually tried listening to one yet?? Or are you all still too upset about what it looks like?

morello

Yep, hanging out to hear how it sounds, other than "very good first impression".

Can someone who has one open it up, plug in some headphones, have a listen & let us know what the sound quality is like? Heck, even compare it to whatever other portable music player you have if possible!

PJ_Soul

shecky said:

LOV2ROCK said:

WTF?!
The original photo showed RED glasses!

)

JohnnieBeBlue

PJ_Soul said:

100 Pacer said:

I realize this is going to sound absurd, but that Ed signature doesn't look right to me.

)

All the reactions to these things are funnier and so much more cynical than I expected!

I wish I'd bought one now... i would have already reported how the fucking thing SOUNDS. I've skipped some pages, but has anyone actually tried listening to one yet?? Or are you all still too upset about what it looks like?

I'm going to frame mine right next to my framed vinyl and framed coffee mugs. Isn't that what these things are for?

Kev - Coat and Keys

The songs are very good - hmmm No Kevin, we knew that.
So how do I describe sound in words...
By far the best I have ever heard them through headphones. I guess a real clear, sharp quality to it. Or something.
I am very impressed (still not referring to the UPS dude - but again he seemed nice though).

pdalowsky

PJ_Soul said:

100 Pacer said:

I realize this is going to sound absurd, but that Ed signature doesn't look right to me.

)

All the reactions to these things are funnier and so much more cynical than I expected!

I wish I'd bought one now... i would have already reported how the fucking thing SOUNDS. I've skipped some pages, but has anyone actually tried listening to one yet?? Or are you all still too upset about what it looks like?

given2fly23 said:

I understand that it isn't what they had pictured before these were manufactured, but it's not like Ed's sig looks fake, it just looks like the older "E" that he used to sign:

Oh of course, its definitely the version from around 2008-2011 - probably earlier too.......its exactly the one used on the Klausen and Vedder Chicago AP poster. Which is fine, the only point being made is to wonder why that choice was made?

Im sure once the product is in hand we will all be very happy we ordered and never let them go (well that will be whatever happens) but from the initial images there is a little feeling of disappointment that it initially looked tons better than the end product.

No big deal I guess.

pdalowsky

Those wanting a sound review, patience ...

Demetrios will be back with an indepth review - he has a treasure trove of HD recordings primed and ready but im sure it will take time to make a decent review of it, rather than a knee jerk judgement based off one listen.

Give it a few days and Im sure we'll see some quality feedback on the sound

on2legs

pdalowsky said:

PJ_Soul said:

100 Pacer said:

I realize this is going to sound absurd, but that Ed signature doesn't look right to me.

)

All the reactions to these things are funnier and so much more cynical than I expected!

I wish I'd bought one now... i would have already reported how the fucking thing SOUNDS. I've skipped some pages, but has anyone actually tried listening to one yet?? Or are you all still too upset about what it looks like?

given2fly23 said:

I understand that it isn't what they had pictured before these were manufactured, but it's not like Ed's sig looks fake, it just looks like the older "E" that he used to sign:

Oh of course, its definitely the version from around 2008-2011 - probably earlier too.......its exactly the one used on the Klausen and Vedder Chicago AP poster. Which is fine, the only point being made is to wonder why that choice was made?

Im sure once the product is in hand we will all be very happy we ordered and never let them go (well that will be whatever happens) but from the initial images there is a little feeling of disappointment that it initially looked tons better than the end product.

No big deal I guess.

I'm sure the signature choice was made by someone who is not an uber pearl jam fan. They likely got numerous samples and someone chose the old version. I doubt they put much thought into it since they were likely focusing on how the thing sounds.

100 Pacer

I typed out a very lengthy reply only to end up deleting it in favor of this brief comment:

The signatures (primarily Ed's) make absolutely zero sense. My gut feeling tells me the band instructed Pono to pull the original signatures submitted to them (the ones seen in the beginning of this thread) and someone at Pono thought "hey, why not ask the band to use a likeness of their signatures?" and the band said fine. The signatures that appear on the final product resemble the fake signatures you'd find on numerous eBay items, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone at Pono borrowed from a source there. The Ed signature is the one that caught my eye, looks like a dozen fake Ed signatures on eBay, and it makes absolutely zero sense for them to have abandoned the genuine and current one offered on the original image presented on their site for one that resembles one offered 5+ years ago and is quite off from the genuine article. When you, for lack of a better word, study the band's signatures since the early 90s until present day you start to realize the small but subtle differences make a world of difference. Paranoid and cynical? Perhaps. I still feel better sharing that viewpoint with those that paid for this device.

Just my $0.02

Here's hoping someone from either the Pono camp or the band's camp comes out and poops all over my theory because if I owned one of these I'd honestly would feel horrible and demand a refund otherwise.

lolobugg

100 Pacer said:

I typed out a very lengthy reply only to end up deleting it in favor of this brief comment:

The signatures (primarily Ed's) make absolutely zero sense. My gut feeling tells me the band instructed Pono to pull the original signatures submitted to them (the ones seen in the beginning of this thread) and someone at Pono thought "hey, why not ask the band to use a likeness of their signatures?" and the band said fine. The signatures that appear on the final product resemble the fake signatures you'd find on numerous eBay items, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone at Pono borrowed from a source there. The Ed signature is the one that caught my eye, looks like a dozen fake Ed signatures on eBay, and it makes absolutely zero sense for them to have abandoned the genuine and current one offered on the original image presented on their site for one that resembles one offered 5+ years ago and is quite off from the genuine article. When you, for lack of a better word, study the band's signatures since the early 90s until present day you start to realize the small but subtle differences make a world of difference. Paranoid and cynical? Perhaps. I still feel better sharing that viewpoint with those that paid for this device.

Just my $0.02

Here's hoping someone from either the Pono camp or the band's camp comes out and poops all over my theory because if I owned one of these I'd honestly would feel horrible and demand a refund otherwise.

i will defer to you since you seem to know a lot about their signatures....
but do you really think the band would let a company "officially" release a product with their name on it with fake signatures?

if so then I am super disappointed in both Neil and PJ

camaros

on2legs said:

They likely got numerous samples and someone chose the old version. I doubt they put much thought into it since they were likely focusing on how the thing sounds.

I will heavily disagree with that statement.... They made numerous signature layouts to ensure it looked like someone wanted it to look... The design team that made the case for the Pono most likely had nothing to do with the audio characteristics or electronics logic.

My guess to why the etching came out gold was a material change between the prototypes and also the laser settings that did the etching...

Kev - Coat and Keys

To add to my awesome earlier review...
The signatures have zero impact on the brilliant sound quality - mind you my player has Dave A's on it so it might be faulty.

vaggar99

the laser engraved signatures are a completely pointless and lazy concept no matter how look at it. If the makers really wanted to do something nice and unique, they would have come up with some cool looking PJ inspired artwork. That would probably have added a lot more value than some fake autographs.