The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
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The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
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Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#2For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"](http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm), and his [responses to the responses](http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm).
I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones, between a v0 MP3, an iTunes 256kbps AAC, and a FLAC file. I can tell a difference with vinyl and the amp, but while it's different, I would hesitate to say it's _better_, let alone assume the reason why.
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#3For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
I love vinyl not for the audio quality but for the ritual and commitment of putting the needle down on a side and listening to the whole thing. It's a really nice, anti-add way to listen to music.
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#4"In terms of its sound, I would say that for me it's without equal in the realm of hand held portable players in terms of pleasurable listening...When I compare it side-by-side in blind tests with other players I find its smooth yet resolving treble to be its stand-out characteristic. "
" This test pitted the Pono Player against a Galaxy Note 4 and an Apple iPad Air. This was actually the hardest test to get a reliable grip on identifying the various players... Because differences were so small I had to rely more on a subjective approach—just relaxing and sensing how the music was affecting me. Usually it would take me 5-15 minutes of listening and slowly switching back and forth between sources before I could determine which was the Pono Player."
One of these things is not like the other...
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#5For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
While personal anecdotes are not typically good for discussions, in this case it's important to compare your equipment against the reviewers: he's using $300 headphones in a quiet room, using well-sourced high-quality music. The original proposition for this device involved unleashing a world of 24bit, 192khz audio downloads, which is not worth it by a long shot [0]. I don't doubt that the engineering inside the Pono player is top notch, but it will require an ecosystem of other top-notch gear to take advantage of it -- including music that wasn't specifically engineered to be played out of a smartphone's earbuds (Mastered for iTunes, for example).
And if you're going to get all that gear together, you're going to want at least decent conditions for listening (quiet, mainly) or those details you paid $400 to get out of the music will be drowned out.
I guess the point I'm making is - who is this DAC meant for? It seems like its attempting to fill a space (or create one) that is already filled.
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#6"The articles that have been published by others criticizing Pono for lauding the virtues of the small differences between file resolution or between a Pono Player and an iPod are ignoring the importance of subtlety in an art form."
TL;DR - Don't you bring your SCIENCE in here, I like being conned with audiophool nonsense!
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#7For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
I started listening to vinyl a few years ago and bought some albums I've listened to dozens (if not hundreds of times) on digital. Horn sections I didn't even know existed showed up on tracks; instruments were so crisp and distinct it was like I could go to a part of my room and grab the sound out of the air. The effect is less jarring for stuff I haven't been able to acclimate to over such a long period of time, but it's definitely better, and it's because there is more fidelity.
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#8For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
I started listening to vinyl a few years ago and bought some albums I've listened to dozens (if not hundreds of times) on digital. Horn sections I didn't even know existed showed up on tracks; instruments were so crisp and distinct it was like I could go to a part of my room and grab the sound out of the air. The effect is less jarring for stuff I haven't been able to acclimate to over such a long period of time, but…
Assuming the digital copies had an adequate bitrate, it's possible that the differences you're hearing between vinyl and digital are attributable to 'loudness war' brick-wall limiting. Some studios choose to use different masters for vinyl and digital which can make vinyl sound better.
To quote Daniel Rutter: "[B]etter-mastered music will sound better on cassette than badly-mastered music would at a zillion bits per second."
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#9For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
I love vinyl not for the audio quality but for the ritual and commitment of putting the needle down on a side and listening to the whole thing. It's a really nice, anti-add way to listen to music.
There's a song that goes: "Revenir d'exil comporte des risques // comme planter une aiguille dans un vieux disque" (coming back from exile has its risks, like sticking a needle in an old record)
Re: The Pono Player and Promises Fulfilled
#10For a counterpoint, based on actual science, make sure to read [Daniel Rutter's excellent "Righteous Bits"]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz143.htm ), and his [responses to the responses]( http://www.dansdata.com/gz145.htm ). I listen to MP3s, I listen to AACs from the iTunes store, I listen to FLAC (concert bootlegs), and I listen to vinyl with a tube amp. I cannot tell the difference, even on quality studio headphones,…
I started listening to vinyl a few years ago and bought some albums I've listened to dozens (if not hundreds of times) on digital. Horn sections I didn't even know existed showed up on tracks; instruments were so crisp and distinct it was like I could go to a part of my room and grab the sound out of the air. The effect is less jarring for stuff I haven't been able to acclimate to over such a long period of time, but…
Objectively, for virtually any definition of 'fidelity' vinyl has less fidelity than digital systems. If you read about the production on vinyl you will get a pretty good idea of the series of compromises in fidelity that are required to create a release. That said, the inherent deficiencies of the medium necessitate different and typically less aggressive mastering. Many listeners, including myself prefer this. If you were to listen to a digital recording mastered the same way you might be surprised to hear even more detail.
Fun fact: Some producers that use digital recording systems will mix in analog noise because the noise itself can be very pleasing in the right dosage. In this way it is used more like an effect rather than an inherent limitation of the recording process.