PonoMusic - My Morning Jacket Artist Edition

[wonderfulman]

For you Audiophiles out there, Neil Young and Pono are putting out a High Resolution Digital Audio Player. They are releasing special edition players for certain bands. You will get a chrome player with each band members signature laser-etched on the back. It also comes pre-loaded with the bands 2 favorite albums.

If you go to kick-starter, you can purchase the MMJ edition of the Pono player. It is a limited edition so only 500 MMJ players will be manufactured. Link below.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1003614822/ponomusic-where-your-soul-rediscovers-music

[Murph]

I just became one of the proud 500 My Morning Jacket Limited Edition Pono Player owners! I am number 17! This is something I can really get excited about!

Congrats man! That is really cool.  Please be sure to report back on the awesomeness of this thing, even though I'm seeing now that they arent being shipped out until October.  I'm sure it'll be worth the wait

[GO4IT]

I think I got 24 or 25.  This link arrived at a moment of weakness while I was listening to the 45rpm Circuital with amazing sound.  I trust Neil and MMJ so I think it will be worth it.

[Dillsnufus]

o man id love to buy one

[BigHerm]

What am I missing here? Why not just play FLAC files on ipod/iphone/etc etc?

[wonderfulman]

You can't play FLAC files on any Apple devices (some Android devices can play them and can get the higher resolutions, but they do not have the audio equipment to sound as good as High Res players do). You will need to convert it to an ALAC or MP4 file before you are able to play it through iTunes. The highest resolution an Apple Device can play is 48-24 where as the Pono can do up to 192-24.

[BigHerm]

You can't play FLAC files on any Apple devices (some Android devices can play them and can get the higher resolutions, but they do not have the audio equipment to sound as good as High Res players do). You will need to convert it to an ALAC or MP4 file before you are able to play it through iTunes. The highest resolution an Apple Device can play is 48-24 where as the Pono can do up to 192-24.

Aren't there 3rd party Apps that play FLAC?

In your car you can buy a $70 Kenwood deck and pop a thumb drive in and play FLACS.

Aside from all of that there is this:
http://gizmodo.com/what-is-high-resolution-audio-1252637824/1541582373/+marioaguilar

Anyways don't mean to shit on the thread just dont see the use for this.

[oistheone]

There is some SERIOUS debate among audiophiles as to what exactly is up with Pono. Pono is being mysteriously silent on what exactly the parts are that make Pono unique. Lots of stereo receivers and car decks are equipped with excellent DACs (digital to analog converters) which are capable of playing 24/192 FLAC files. Pono would enable you to listen to these files "on the go", but I'm trying to gauge if it's worth it. $400 for a less user-friendly iPod is a lotta cash. And the prospect of buying "Pono Master Editions" for all the albums I already have (at $20+ a pop!) is a little daunting.

I almost impulsively pulled the trigger on one of these, but I think I'll wait until they are actually released and I can try one myself before plunking down half a grand.

Having said that, I love the concept of hi-rez audio and greatly look forward to hearing some reviews.

[ewiser]

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ampliflac-free-hd-flac-player/id673068750?mt=8

Bunch of FLAC players for iOS.

[Santo]

I know the player is getting a lot of press because of the Kickstarter page, but I get the feeling that the real point of Pono is the music service. Neil Young is on record for criticizing the sound of downloads from iTunes. It sounds like he is designing Ponomusic to be the go-to download store for the lossless format with the Pono player being the signature companion piece.

[buymycar]

I know the player is getting a lot of press because of the Kickstarter page, but I get the feeling that the real point of Pono is the music service. Neil Young is on record for criticizing the sound of downloads from iTunes. It sounds like he is designing Ponomusic to be the go-to download store for the lossless format with the Pono player being the signature companion piece.

I guess people don't know about HDTracks?  I purchased Beck's Morning Phase from there, and it sounds fantastic.  Albums on there are less than 20 bucks a pop, but I'm not sure they have the three (is it really down to three now?) major labels that Pono will have.

http://www.hdtracks.com

[oistheone]

There is speculation that HDTracks just upsamples a large majority of their offerings, while Pono will "reportedly" be offering Pono-authorized remasters. I'd love some concrete info though, because this Pono Store, if it does indeed offer complete remasters, would be pretty damn awesome. Expensive, but awesome.

[Somey]

Official backer sucks I'm going to need to re buy live shows and stuff I bought but I can't wait to get my hands on this, Mmj signature series.

[GO4IT]

C'mon all you MMJ fans that didn't go to OBH and have all that disposable income

MMJ is losing out to all the other bands' signature edition Pono players.  It's embarrassing.  We've got only 69 sold and only Lyle Lovett, who was just added, is behind us at 2.

[itrainmonkeys]

Really wish I could afford this. I probably can't contribute for the device yet and I would probably have to slowly but surely re-build my catalog by buying a ton of stuff since I don't have a ton of high-quality audio already.

[buymycar]

[buymycar]

It looks like it came from the Pono twitter feed:

http://twitter.com/pono

Is Patrick's autograph missing?

[adastra]

My High Rez music player has a platter and a needle.

[itrainmonkeys]

Makes me sad that the number is so low.

I'd LOVE to have one of these but I just can't afford it right now. Just plunked down $500 for a root canal and $400 on car repairs so I'm pretty shot in terms of money. I'll be upset about missing out on an MMJ Limited one...especially if I end up getting a regular one down the line.

Of course....if anyone wants to gift me one I won't turn it down. My birthday is in November and I can pay you back in hugs and jokes. Haha, but seriously it's a shame that I'm going to likely miss out on this. 

[GO4IT]

Only 18 hrs left to get your MMJ Pono player and then they will never be sold again!

We're only up to 90 so 410 left to go.

Then again, the less they sell the more unique mine will be