rajagopal_j
Active Member
This was interesting, thought I will post it here. How many backers would we have?
Neil young announces the launch of ponomusic
Neil young announces the launch of ponomusic
Neil Young's music player for Audiophiles
- Thread starter rajagopal_j
- Start date
indialogue
Active Member
[IMG2][/IMG2]
The other factor that is holding me back is that the device sounds too good to be true. 128GB storage, ESS9018KM-based player with design inputs from Ayre (who have a good reputation for their DAC range) for just USD399, undercuts every other "audiophile" music player out there. I'd be interested to see if this turns out to be just early-bird pricing or if they can actually deliver significant volume of products at this price point
TBH, though I'm a huge kickstarter fan, I think I'm going to wait and watch when it comes to hardware campaigns - the general impression is that they rarely meet their timelines (delays of 1-2 years are not unheard of) and the quality that they finally offer gets diluted as well.
The other factor that is holding me back is that the device sounds too good to be true. 128GB storage, ESS9018KM-based player with design inputs from Ayre (who have a good reputation for their DAC range) for just USD399, undercuts every other "audiophile" music player out there. I'd be interested to see if this turns out to be just early-bird pricing or if they can actually deliver significant volume of products at this price point
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Well... Neil Young is into this whole "Hgh-definition" --- marketing terminology: high sample and high bit rates may or may not equal high definition. Yes, I know many fellow hfv-ers believe it does. Neil Young is a musician (one of the best voices ever) and maybe, just maybe, he might think it is actually a good idea for the music companies to have yet another way of selling us the same music yet again.
Paint me cynical. Yes!
Now, all that aside. What's unique about this device apart from the fact that it is shaped not to easily fit a pocket, and is doomed to be nick-name pornomusic?
Paint me cynical. Yes!
Now, all that aside. What's unique about this device apart from the fact that it is shaped not to easily fit a pocket, and is doomed to be nick-name pornomusic?
Neil Young reaches Kickstarter target to fund new music player within a day - News - Music - The Independent
some excerpts ..
Digital albums downloaded via PonoMusic are expected to cost between $14.99 and $24.99.
This is rescuing music, Young told the convention. Its an artist-driven movement to take it back.
Sir Elton, appearing alongside Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Arcade Fire and other artists in a video, said: I havent heard a sound like that since vinyl. It was wonderful.
some excerpts ..
Digital albums downloaded via PonoMusic are expected to cost between $14.99 and $24.99.
This is rescuing music, Young told the convention. Its an artist-driven movement to take it back.
Sir Elton, appearing alongside Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Arcade Fire and other artists in a video, said: I havent heard a sound like that since vinyl. It was wonderful.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Hype! Hype! Hype!
Neil, go back to singing. That is something you are really good at. One of the best.
Neil, go back to singing. That is something you are really good at. One of the best.
square_wave
Well-Known Member
That is the same as what they charge on HD tracks.
Pono is just a mobile music player rumored to be developed by Ayre, hence well designed. Odd shaped though.
I kinda like the fact that higher definition playback (than mp3s) on mobile players is getting adequate publicity because of all the hype and promotion by these musicians.
24/96 makes a difference ? isnt redbook enough ? These are arguments that will continue till the cow comes home..like cables hence irrelevant. There is hype everywhere !! I like the positive hype for a change
Pono is just a mobile music player rumored to be developed by Ayre, hence well designed. Odd shaped though.
I kinda like the fact that higher definition playback (than mp3s) on mobile players is getting adequate publicity because of all the hype and promotion by these musicians.
24/96 makes a difference ? isnt redbook enough ? These are arguments that will continue till the cow comes home..like cables hence irrelevant. There is hype everywhere !! I like the positive hype for a change
24/96 makes a difference ? isnt redbook enough ? These are arguments that will continue till the cow comes home..like cables hence irrelevant. There is hype everywhere !! I like the positive hype for a change
His "under the ocean" analogy is a bit over the top. For now, till an unbiased, third-party review becomes available, I will consider all the (celebrity) endorsements as hype. Also, the kickstarter video is very short on technical details.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
That is a good point. But isn't the whole thing rather biased towards oldies? Hands up anyone under 25 who's heard of Neil Young?
A low-cost, decent quality device that will not store or play anything under 192kbs (never mind the sample rate for now) endorsed by Dr Dre... that might sell millions and change some musical perceptions!
Well, I can dream
And while I'm dreaming, I'd rather think of Neil Young like this
hyeah:Watch/Listen: It's beautiful
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ranjeetrain
New Member
Hype hype hype! Marketing using online tools in a new way.
As far as the "innovation" part in this; nothing new! There are much higher caliber "Audiophile media players" designed by the Chinese. They use premium components all through and some even have excellent measured performance well above other established players on the market. Too bad they haven't caught fascination of portable music fans.
As far as the "innovation" part in this; nothing new! There are much higher caliber "Audiophile media players" designed by the Chinese. They use premium components all through and some even have excellent measured performance well above other established players on the market. Too bad they haven't caught fascination of portable music fans.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
I'm glad I'm not alone in choosing those exact words.
Posted elsewhere >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
They tried it in a car! Sheeeeesh...
Most of them are older than I am, and probably deafer too. having spent far more time on very-high-volume stages. Hype Hype Hype.
24/192 is not new. How come all these big music industry names are acting like they just heard it for the first time? Hype Hype Hype.
Porno player*. Might be great, but this kind of in-your-face wall-of-PR promotion does nothing for me.
*And just one of the guys said, "say this right..."
At least one member has one on order. I'd rather hear their review than all this marketing, so I'll wait for that. And still be cynical
Can the mods consolidate all the porno threads? There'll be a dozen in a few days!
Zero marks to the name 'pono' and the odd shape of the player. Jonathan Ive, a British designer turned around the fortune of Apple Co. just by his product design skills. But if the product is good and people like it (I listen to vinyls ) I wish all the success it deserves.
Regards.
) I wish all the success it deserves. Regards.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
In another forum, somebody says that the Neil-Young-etc-Old-Farts image is a positive turn off to the young buyers.
Well, I've bought two Stephen Stills CDs only recently, so you tell that I'm firmly in the old-fart camp ...but, it is still a marketing issue.
There is also a good amount of cynicism as to the croud-sourcing method. "If he believes it's so good, why didn't he (and the others) finance it himself?" There are thoughts that the crowd-sourcing is just a form of advance marketing.
It's hard to get a grip on this thing. They tell us it is intended to be an ecosystem (bad) ...but then they say, yes, you can play your other music on it too (good). By bad, by the way, I mean the kind of brand lock in that Apple foists on people. Walled garden bad.
It may turn out that it is just a good portable player, and there is no absolute requirement to buy music from NY-porno-co. That might be good.
But, perhaps I stop this speculating ...because speculation is pointless!
Well, I've bought two Stephen Stills CDs only recently, so you tell that I'm firmly in the old-fart camp ...but, it is still a marketing issue.
There is also a good amount of cynicism as to the croud-sourcing method. "If he believes it's so good, why didn't he (and the others) finance it himself?" There are thoughts that the crowd-sourcing is just a form of advance marketing.
It's hard to get a grip on this thing. They tell us it is intended to be an ecosystem (bad) ...but then they say, yes, you can play your other music on it too (good). By bad, by the way, I mean the kind of brand lock in that Apple foists on people. Walled garden bad.
It may turn out that it is just a good portable player, and there is no absolute requirement to buy music from NY-porno-co. That might be good.
But, perhaps I stop this speculating ...because speculation is pointless!
indialogue
Active Member
BTW, I've put on myself on the list for a Pearl Jam edition of the Pono (sheepish) for now, as I still have 30-odd days to see how it goes and decide whether to cancel.
Things are still confusing and I'd love to see a third-party review of the player (which I'm more interested in than the music store to be honest) but a few things have been clarified:
Regarding the criticism of using Kickstarter to raise funds, I find that puzzling. Does anyone really think that Neil Young and coterie cannot afford to raise a couple of million amongst themselves? I just see this Kickstarter campaign as a marketing tool to build buzz (and get a few pre-orders in) till the official launch in Q3 2014. I mean come on, they are hiring Pentagram to do their webpage. LOL, money is surely the last thing they don't have.
A really serious comfort (for me atleast as a potential early-buyer) is that their technical partner for production is PCH International, a well-known and regarded OEM manufacturer (OK, its not Foxconn if thats another area of criticism), so unlike a lot of hardware startups (esp. those on Kickstarter), they have a far greater chance of getting production done properly and in time.
I understand a lot of the backlash is regarding the whole concept of "hi-res" files being essential to the music listening experience (which I agree with, I'm quite happy with my 16/44.1 FLACs), but a lot of the criticism is not really relevant to the player in question. It'd be great if people started distinguishing between the two and directing their well-justified cynicism towards the "high-res files and related web store" and be more open-minded about the player, which does seem good on paper so far.
Things are still confusing and I'd love to see a third-party review of the player (which I'm more interested in than the music store to be honest) but a few things have been clarified:
- There is no DRM, so you can load whatever you want on to the device. You dont even need to use their app as you can just load it as a USB drive
- It plays everything except DSD (but who has it anyways) and DRM-locked files from Apple
- The market price is USD399 (USD300 on Kickstarter) which even in comparison to other Chinese audiophile players, offers a good price-performance. You're getting an ESS9018 DAC, 128 GB of storage and what looks like a straightforward UI etc. Dont see any other chinese player offering the same, and their UIs seem to have been lifted out of Norton Commander or Star Trek
Regarding the criticism of using Kickstarter to raise funds, I find that puzzling. Does anyone really think that Neil Young and coterie cannot afford to raise a couple of million amongst themselves? I just see this Kickstarter campaign as a marketing tool to build buzz (and get a few pre-orders in) till the official launch in Q3 2014. I mean come on, they are hiring Pentagram to do their webpage. LOL, money is surely the last thing they don't have.
A really serious comfort (for me atleast as a potential early-buyer) is that their technical partner for production is PCH International, a well-known and regarded OEM manufacturer (OK, its not Foxconn if thats another area of criticism), so unlike a lot of hardware startups (esp. those on Kickstarter), they have a far greater chance of getting production done properly and in time.
I understand a lot of the backlash is regarding the whole concept of "hi-res" files being essential to the music listening experience (which I agree with, I'm quite happy with my 16/44.1 FLACs), but a lot of the criticism is not really relevant to the player in question. It'd be great if people started distinguishing between the two and directing their well-justified cynicism towards the "high-res files and related web store" and be more open-minded about the player, which does seem good on paper so far.
indialogue
Active Member
Oh, I should also mention that the reason I'm putting my handkerchief on the seat (so to speak) is that I'm looking out for a new player, and the reviews of the Fiio X5 are mixed so far and there is no sighting of the Calyx M or Sony ZX1 anywhere in the market right now (meaning they are still being restricted to Korea/Japan sales)
Please name some names. I was not aware of such options, save for Hifiman. I am not that into portable media players but would still love to know the options.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
I'm happy that you are putting out your cash and buying one, and I'm looking forward to reading your review of the player and of associated experiences.
I admit it's a watching brief for me: I use a portable player on trains and planes, and that means only a handful of times a year. Back in the day when I bought my brick of a Cowon A2, that was pretty much "high-end." It was certainly expensive! But hey, gear... It's interesting, right? :lol:
Is the headfi/review site with a round up of the current market? I guess that Hifiman is now higher-regarded than Cowon...
EDIT: Interesting article on Inner Fidelity.
This is part of the porno problem. They are selling us the whole deal, and the 192-rave is a part of it. I agree that we can separate that out, if it turns out to be a good piece of kit. But they wouldn't want us too...
(my bold)
Me too.jls001 said:
I admit it's a watching brief for me: I use a portable player on trains and planes, and that means only a handful of times a year. Back in the day when I bought my brick of a Cowon A2, that was pretty much "high-end." It was certainly expensive! But hey, gear... It's interesting, right? :lol:
Is the headfi/review site with a round up of the current market? I guess that Hifiman is now higher-regarded than Cowon...
EDIT: Interesting article on Inner Fidelity.
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indialogue
Active Member
I'm interested to hear that too!! AFAIK, there is none. Nothing that has the cachet of a well-known DAC like ESS9018/WM8471/PCM1704UK, with 128GB storage and a decent UI not designed by 1st year graphics design students
Hi Thad,not putting my cash out yet as I still have 30 days to see how this pans out - I'm waiting for more details and reviews to emerge
of associated experiences - but this was my point, that the player needs to be looked on its own merits and not that of the associated experiences (which I've mentioned I'm not interested in). And since there is no DRM or lock-in as publicly stated by them, then there is even less need to look at it as an ecosystem. I do agree that they shouldn't have gone overboard with effusive praise for 192/24 music though and the confusing messaging about ecosystem
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
The pono ecosystem seems to be 24/192-FLAC based. But you can play your MP3s on the machine too.
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