So, am I the only one who's disappointed with the Pono?
Yes. But only because you're the only one listening objectively.
This. This exactly! All the other listeners are idiots who don't have a clue. They can't listen objectively because when they listen to it... all they do is stare at the Eddie Vedder signature and drool on themselves.
We get it- you hate the Pono. You've hated it from the inception.
You (and some others) had your fingers crossed that the item would flop and at this point in time... it's fair to say that it hasn't. While this is unfortunate that you cant gloat about this, don't worry... there'll be other items that may have the potential to disappoint optimistic people!
"My brain's a good brain!"
0
KV4053
Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,503
So, am I the only one who's disappointed with the Pono?
Yes. But only because you're the only one listening objectively.
Well that's pretty presumptuous. I've compared it objectively to my Cowon J3 playing the same files and using the same IEM's and using my office sound system.
I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
One minute we are all buying these as souvenirs, the next we are listening to them wrongly. Please internet gods tell me how to use my Pono properly.
Heard mine against my Brother's iphone thing earlier, first time I'd heard that direct comparison and it was something. Although points for the iphone as they had two n's in Lightning.
So what headphones should I invest in? To get the full experience of Pono, engineers say using Sennheiser Momentums, Audeze Planars or Grados headphones.
One minute we are all buying these as souvenirs, the next we are listening to them wrongly. Please internet gods tell me how to use my Pono properly.
Heard mine against my Brother's iphone thing earlier, first time I'd heard that direct comparison and it was something. Although points for the iphone as they had two n's in Lightning.
I was half joking, but iPhone is not the competition here. If it is, they've got no chance.
Sorry. The world doesn't work the way you tell it to.
I was half joking, but iPhone is not the competition here. If it is, they've got no chance.
I was half joking too - so together we made an entire funny! That was just a side comment about the iphone as I hadn't heard the comparison directly before, but you raise a good point on competition. Neil Young probably sees one player sale as a victory and is more keen on getting more higher resolution music available, but the share holders will disagree.
Anyone else reading the rumors that the Ponostore is a majority of 16bit/44.1 downloads? Why would I buy from them if I could just rip my CD to get the same quality?
Anyone else reading the rumors that the Ponostore is a majority of 16bit/44.1 downloads? Why would I buy from them if I could just rip my CD to get the same quality?
You wouldn't. It's still in beta and they are all building up the HD content. Give them time
I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
0
KV4053
Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,503
Vs and "Lighting Bolt" both sound tremendous on Pono, especially with my Sennheiser headphones. Hope Pono upgrades the rest of the catalogue to 24 bit. Right now its all 16 for PJ except for the 2 records I mentioned.
I looked at Hendrix and Zeppelin in Pono store too, and those are all 16 bit as well.
For those that say iTunes downsamples HD stuff - you're right, but iTunes can natively play 24/96 you just need to make a few adjustments. Is it using the same electrical components/guts? No, but I'm not convinced it will change my listening experience. So, going to buy Vs. through HD tracks and see what the fuss is all about. I've compared my HD copy of PJ in Manchester from 2012 vs. mp3s vs. FLAC/WAV and to my ears the HD stuff is slightly crisper but overall it doesn't bring a resounding, all new overall listening experience.
For those that say iTunes downsamples HD stuff - you're right, but iTunes can natively play 24/96 you just need to make a few adjustments. Is it using the same electrical components/guts? No, but I'm not convinced it will change my listening experience. So, going to buy Vs. through HD tracks and see what the fuss is all about. I've compared my HD copy of PJ in Manchester from 2012 vs. mp3s vs. FLAC/WAV and to my ears the HD stuff is slightly crisper but overall it doesn't bring a resounding, all new overall listening experience.
Playing high-res files Macs can natively support up to 24/96, played through iTunes or other software. However, without a couple settings tweaks, audio files with resolution higher than 16-bit/44.1kHz will automatically be downsampled to that resolution. So the first thing you need to do is set your sound output to 24/96. To do so, open Audio MIDI Setup, found in /Applications/Utilities. Select the desired output on the left, and then change the settings in the Format section on the right to 96000.0 kHz and 2ch-24bit.
Once you’ve made this change, you can play files at any resolution up to and including 24/96; lower-resolution files will actually be upsampled to 24/96 (which, unfortunately, won’t make them sound any better.) There is one caveat here: Some applications have trouble with audio above 16/44.1. If any applications you use don’t play audio correctly after making this change, you’ll need to switch back to 44100.0 kHz and 2ch-16bit—at least while using those programs.
Change the Format settings in Audio MIDI Setup to 96000.0 kHz and 2ch-24bit. Also, running the music through your Mac’s built-in audio hardware means you’re probably not getting all the benefits of higher-resolution files. Ideally, you’ll want to use the Mac’s digital audio output to connect to an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) that is, in turn, connected to a stereo. Some examples of DACs are the $429 Cambridge Audio DacMagic ( ), the $299 HeadRoom Micro DAC, and the $129 NuForce uDAC-2. You can also stream these files using a Logitech Squeezebox (such as the Touch [ ]) and some other streaming devices.
Now, to the files themselves. Generally, high-resolution files are sold in FLAC format. You can play these files as-is using software like Stephen Booth’s free Play, Vincent Spader’s free Cog, which hasn’t been updated in a while, or the Songbird open-source player. But you can convert these FLAC files to Apple Lossless, if you wish, using tmkk’s free XLD, and add them to iTunes. If you do so, you’ll be able to see the effective bit rate of the files. For some files I tested, those in 24/96 format displayed bit rates of 2400 kbps to 2800 kbps, while those files converted to normal lossless files at CD quality (in Apple Lossless format) showed bit rates of 500 kbps to 600 kbps. (Note that you won’t be able to copy these files to an iPod or iOS device for playback.)
there are other hd music sites to buy from - hdtracks is one
I used to like shopping at hdtracks.com but then this note showed up for pretty much all their products .. "This product is not currently available due to region restrictions." That's awesome right? Last Pearl Jam 24Bit Flac-HD I bought from them was Lightning Bolt. I was able to purchase the product many months ago. There was no region restrictions. But now, they made the album USA exclusive. What a bunch of A-Holes!
I pray the Pono Store doesn't put a region restriction crap like what HDtracks does.
Comments
We get it- you hate the Pono. You've hated it from the inception.
You (and some others) had your fingers crossed that the item would flop and at this point in time... it's fair to say that it hasn't. While this is unfortunate that you cant gloat about this, don't worry... there'll be other items that may have the potential to disappoint optimistic people!
Please internet gods tell me how to use my Pono properly.
Heard mine against my Brother's iphone thing earlier, first time I'd heard that direct comparison and it was something.
Although points for the iphone as they had two n's in Lightning.
I'm thinking about buying one of these .. http://www.avshop.ca/sound-amp-pa-audio/headphones/over-ear-headphones/grado-ps1000-professional-headphones?gclid=CI3mx5rB_8ECFS2ZMgodTBsAJA . I should be able to hear Ed's long hair swishing back & forth on the Ten 24Bit Flac HD download with one of these. :bz
That was just a side comment about the iphone as I hadn't heard the comparison directly before, but you raise a good point on competition.
Neil Young probably sees one player sale as a victory and is more keen on getting more higher resolution music available, but the share holders will disagree.
PJ sig edition is a nice collectible but like with most new tech things i wait for the kinks to be worked out.
I looked at Hendrix and Zeppelin in Pono store too, and those are all 16 bit as well.
9/24/96, 9/28/96
8/25/98, 9/18/98
9/5/00
4/26/03
6/23/06
10/28/09
10/11/13, 10/12/13
10/1/14
9/2/18, 9/4/18
9/18/21
Macs can natively support up to 24/96, played through iTunes or other software. However, without a couple settings tweaks, audio files with resolution higher than 16-bit/44.1kHz will automatically be downsampled to that resolution. So the first thing you need to do is set your sound output to 24/96. To do so, open Audio MIDI Setup, found in /Applications/Utilities. Select the desired output on the left, and then change the settings in the Format section on the right to 96000.0 kHz and 2ch-24bit.
Once you’ve made this change, you can play files at any resolution up to and including 24/96; lower-resolution files will actually be upsampled to 24/96 (which, unfortunately, won’t make them sound any better.) There is one caveat here: Some applications have trouble with audio above 16/44.1. If any applications you use don’t play audio correctly after making this change, you’ll need to switch back to 44100.0 kHz and 2ch-16bit—at least while using those programs.
Change the Format settings in Audio MIDI Setup to 96000.0 kHz and 2ch-24bit.
Also, running the music through your Mac’s built-in audio hardware means you’re probably not getting all the benefits of higher-resolution files. Ideally, you’ll want to use the Mac’s digital audio output to connect to an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) that is, in turn, connected to a stereo. Some examples of DACs are the $429 Cambridge Audio DacMagic ( ), the $299 HeadRoom Micro DAC, and the $129 NuForce uDAC-2. You can also stream these files using a Logitech Squeezebox (such as the Touch [ ]) and some other streaming devices.
Now, to the files themselves. Generally, high-resolution files are sold in FLAC format. You can play these files as-is using software like Stephen Booth’s free Play, Vincent Spader’s free Cog, which hasn’t been updated in a while, or the Songbird open-source player. But you can convert these FLAC files to Apple Lossless, if you wish, using tmkk’s free XLD, and add them to iTunes. If you do so, you’ll be able to see the effective bit rate of the files. For some files I tested, those in 24/96 format displayed bit rates of 2400 kbps to 2800 kbps, while those files converted to normal lossless files at CD quality (in Apple Lossless format) showed bit rates of 500 kbps to 600 kbps. (Note that you won’t be able to copy these files to an iPod or iOS device for playback.)
I pray the Pono Store doesn't put a region restriction crap like what HDtracks does.