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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Wappinger Falls,NY
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Hello All,
So I received my Pono player the other day.
Here are my 1st thoughts.
To get started you need to open the Pono Music World App,either on your PC or MAC.
Once you create an account and sign in,you can then browse the Pono music library .
The titles range from standard CD REZ to HI REZ in the FLAC format. Pono supports all the formats except DSD.
Should you also have a ITunes account,the Pono site will automatically transfer all those files onto the Pono Music World App. So basically you can have your music files all in one place.
The device comes with a USB cable. This is used for charging the player and connecting it to your PC or MAC,to transfer the files to the player. You cannot use the USB to play the device,either in the car,or at home.
The Pono has two 3.5 MM jacks. One is for headphones. The other is the Line Out,used to connect to a home stereo. To use in the car,you will need a cable that has the 3.5MM plug on both ends. One will go into the headphone jack, and the other into the cars AUX input. To play at home you will need a cable with a 3.5MM plug on one end,connect to L/R RCA Phono cables,at the other end. I plug them in my receivers AUX input and it works great.
The Pono screen will not even come close to any of todays smartphone screens. It kind of reminds me of the original IPods in their look and resolution. But it gets the job done.
Ive had my player since Friday, and have not had to charge it yet. The battery should last 8/9 hours,but that depends on use,of course.
The Pono comes with 64GB already installed. A Micro 64GB SD also comes with the unit, for extra storage. So you have 128GB of space.
From what I've read,the DAC converter,that was designed by AYRE of England,is very similar to the one used in the OPPO 105.
The transfer process,once the music is downloaded,is a drag and drop process,to begin the transfer to the PONO. Transfer times for standard CD REZ are very fast, HI REZ transfers take more time. The couple I've done so far took about 10 minutes each. But again that depends on the length of the transfer.
So the big question is, how does it sound?
Ive listening to both standard CD REZ and HI REZ titles, in the car,on headphones and on my home stereo.
Compared to a Apple ITunes device, the Pono sounds fuller,with a warmer sound and great soundstage .The music seems to have more presence,than I've ever heard from my IPad.
My listening included Dire Straits Communique, and Wes Montgomery Full House,both at standard CD REZ. Also Fleetwood Mac and Rolling Stones Let It Bleed,both at HI REZ.
Frankly its hard to believe that such a small and light device can produce this kind of high fidelity sound.
So thats my brief experiences with PONO so far.
Im very impressed.