Pono music player - an opinion Well this will be an opinion on more than just Pono. If youre perfectly happy listening to mp3s on Apple ear buds connected to your iPhone then this is probably of no interest to you. I think that may be the equivalent of looking out a dirty window at the sunrise, but if you havent gone walking over the hills as the sun rises majestically out of the sea, then work away. You wont miss what you never had. If on the other hand youve stood in front of a good pair of speakers driven by a good amp receiving input from a high grade record player and felt your world being shaped and changed, and would like to experience something similar again, this opinion may interest you. OK, time to park my high horse, I know, I do that. Part of it is frustration. I want to share my own experience,but I fill up with semi religious zeal and talk shite. Sorry, enjoy music in any way you can. Pono is the music player that Neil Young has been going on about. I think it may well be his idea. It is shaped like a small toblerone bar and plays high definition music files. It wont play mp3s as far as I know. It will play CD quality and up from there to 24bit/192khz. You can plug it into your car stereo. I was given one by my very thoughtful children, or rather I was given the promise of one, as the Pono Player wasnt for sale when my last birthday came around. When I eventually did get it a few weeks ago, I downloaded some high quality music, loaded up and went for a drive. It sounds wonderful. It is a bit old hat technology wise, and wont give your iPhone a run for its money in any department but one. The sound. However in that one department, it leaves the iEverything standing with its mouth open, tongue trailing on the ground. Certain music wont benefit much from what Pono offers. Lots of music recorded in the 80s by early digital means, and more recent digital recordings on to MP3 devices etc. Ive found music recorded in great rooms by great engineers really shine. Rudy Van Gelder recordings from the 50s and 60s, and Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington stuff and the like. Really good classical recordings, stuff from labels like ECM. Music recorded with all the players in the same room, playing together. I particularly like recently remastered recordings that have been released on SACD (super audio CD) or like formats. I havent had it long enough to say more than that. One of the reasons Im writing this is because there has been a lot of negative comment about Pono online. Much of it is not well informed, and in lots of cases I get the impression that the opinion was formed before evidence was sought. Some people just dont like the idea of a high quality alternative. Why cant you have a pint like everybody else. Some commenters point out that it wont take off in a big way, which is almost certainly true. Quality rarely trumps convenience in this world. I would guess that Taylor Swift outsells Joni Mitchell and a large percentage of people heard Hallelujah for the first time on X-factor. No matter. Re-park the high horse. I think Pono has its place and I find it more engrossing than the alternatives. I will be enjoying it for some time to come.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 11:47:44 +0000
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