[mr_bill]

Breaking free from the Itunes Iphone ecosystem - that I like a lot. (even though I am an Iphone owner)

[JohnR]

Not at all. If you go to the pono website http://www.ponomusic.com/#faq , they answer a lot of questions. The files are FLAC. They are portable and can play on any device that does FLAC at 24/192 (at least as I read it).

Thanks Scott. I looked at the FAQ (same as on KickStarter) and missed the FLAC part somehow...  still, it also says something about "certified Pono quality" (the light on the player goes on)

With hi-rez compatibility limited/inconsistent on phones and ipods, they needed to launch their own DAP to showcase their hi-rez music files. 

Thanks Russ, it all makes sense to me now.

I'm a bit KickStarted out at the moment ...

[Crimson]

What, no pledges yet? 

[brother love]

Dead hippies are turning over in their graves, Neil Young was on CNBC earlier today with Jim Cramer (interview is available on cnbc.com under Videos tab).

Not hugely informative, but I did learn that Cramer's Neil Young fave is Harvest ...

[OzarkTom]

Over 2mil in a little over 36 hours. As long as the musicians stay promoting this product it will be a sucess.

[JohnR]

3.5 Mil.

 

[fredgarvin]

Not at all. If you go to the pono website http://www.ponomusic.com/#faq , they answer a lot of questions. The files are FLAC. They are portable and can play on any device that does FLAC at 24/192 (at least as I read it). Albums will be between $15 and $25USD, pretty much in line with HD tracks. The pono player is simply a HiRez, portable player that accepts SD cards that hold the FLAC files. It has a 64G internal hard drive in conjunction with the 64G SD card.

The word 'pono' is Hawaiian and means 'righteousness'.

And a built in Sabre DAC, and other audiophile quality components. Pono is good for all of us.

"Pono is aimed at the mainstream," said Neil Young. Audiophiles already know about flac etc.

"If we fail, we know that people will realize something is wrong (with MP3)... if this succeeds everyone wins. Support us," said Neil Young. Excellent point.

"I want to bring music to where it can be. It is the 21st century. Why should we be suffering [with MP3] at the hands of some mega-tech company?"

"In audio there's never been such low quality [music] and the opportunity for it to be so great."

Pono is getting wide coverage in mainstream magazines, sxsw, and on tv.

As one might suspect the bad press is coming from competitors and audiophile sources. Envy?
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0414/pono_ponoplayer_ponomusic.htm

[OzarkTom]

Pono has now added Mettalica to their signature series and is promising more later on down the line. As long as Neil keeps coming up with more artists, the money should keep flowing in.

Too bad about any negatives, Pono will be a big help to the belief of Hi Rez to the masses.

[OzarkTom]

30 more VIP dinners and reception with Neil Young was added today, now only 2 left. That is only a 5K donation.

[JohnR]

As one might suspect the bad press is coming from competitors and audiophile sources. Envy?
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0414/pono_ponoplayer_ponomusic.htm

Nice article. He talks about the "bad press" but doesn't say where. Doesn't matter, so much for "Save the Stereo", looks like these (pono) guys are on the job.

[JohnR]

Oh well, here's an example of bad press: http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/features/opinion/392844/why-we-shouldnt-get-on-board-neil-youngs-pono-music-revolution.htm

But, even IF CD-quality "has resolution beyond what the normal person can hear", (and we ignore the attached caveats) the thing is you can only get it on... CD! People don't want to order CDs and wait for them to arrive, then have to rip them and worry about whether it all worked OK. They should be able to just buy it and get it. Plus there is the effect on the production side of things as well, as mentioned in the KS video (I didn't find many parts of the video very believable but I think there has to be impact here).

I have to admit I was skeptical for quite a long while. But I'm totally in now. Well, I didn't buy a PonoPlayer yet, but that's a different question.

[Crimson]

I couldn't resist, and pledged a RHCP edition. This is after I pledged a Pearl Jam edition. 

[bjski]

I couldn't resist, and pledged a RHCP edition. This is after I pledged a Pearl Jam edition. 

I made a pledge for a player. Would have gotten the PJ version but they were all gone. 

[OzarkTom]

This is a late drum roll..........4mil.

[JohnR]

Oh, it turns out I can't buy Pono Music anyway. Wrong continent.

[jtwrace]

Oh, it turns out I can't buy Pono Music anyway. Wrong continent.

Not legally.

[JohnR]

Um, well, considering that the BIG selling point of Pono Music is to not sacrifice convenience for quality, I'd say that IP workarounds not to mention the possibility that you might actually get caught, might just somehow invalidate that concept...

[OzarkTom]

Darn, Neil added Buffalo Springfield to the signature series.

[JohnR]

Gosh, nearly 5 million.

[vortrex]

Funny how they chose a chassis design the same as my first mp3 player from 11 years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/iriver-IFP-180T-128-Flash-Player/dp/B00017IX0Q