Yes I would, but only if there's a break-even between R&D and potential revenue.
And this is what I doubt.
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Neil Young to Debut 'PonoPlayer' High-Definition iPod Competitor This Week
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Yes I would, but only if there's a break-even between R&D and potential revenue.
And this is what I doubt.
Sounds like you missed the point to this product. It's a PORTABLE device, meaning it is designed for the very things you just finished saying it isn't designed for.
If you want to sit down and listen to hi-def music as a primary activity, you will already have a $8,000 home stereo system, complete with amp, pre-amp, receiver, high end DAC, SACD player and tower speakers, or $1500 headphones.
The pono is a good idea, just not well implemented. It would need to be a multifunction device (phone or small tablet, camera, video-audio recorder, etc) and need to be flat, and have 256 GB storage because hi-res files or even SACD files are huge. It would also need to come with its own high quality in-ear headphones, otherwise the hi-def audio chain is incomplete and you won't hear much difference between hi-rez and normal MP3 quality using ordinary ear buds.
Neil needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.
It's a shame and quite telling how the majority of people here rubbish something that is better quality.
It's like compact camera users making jokes about DSLR users as compact camera quality is god enough.
Its sad when something is rubbished for being better.
It's like compact camera users making jokes about DSLR users as compact camera quality is god enough.
Its sad when something is rubbished for being better.
If writing songs since the 1960's and selling millions of albums with those songs on them is dabbling, then I guess Apple is dabbling the phone market.
On another note, that player is DOA.
Neil Young has "dabbled" in songwriting? Really?
Back on topic... Why this, Neil? Jeez!
Haha came in here just to say this...
I get the feeling it's for people that want something to listen to which can sit on their desk at work in the office.
Or that they carry with them to a friends' place and listen to high res music on.
More transportable than portable.
Well the new Walkman is exactly that - an android-based hi-def player, and there are similar devices from companies like Astell&Kern too. But those players cost more than twice as much as the Pono hardware, and the audio hardware inside is not as good.
I would much rather this be a high-end multifunction device that replaces my iPhone, but that adds significant cost, and is not the market they want to support.
This definitely concerns me. With 128GB internal storage and 128GB microSD cards announced, it might not be too much of a problem. Nothing based on flash memory is going to be enough anyway. My library is approaching 2TB now.
Well they are going to be recommending certain models of headphone to use with it. But I think a lot of the market this is aimed at will already have high end headphones or IEMs.
Adding them would simply drive the price up, and at $400 it's already an expensive device. (but cheap compared to the other hi-def players)
This won't be nearly as good, and is now bigger than the Pono
If it provides multitrack mixing support, it will be really interesting. However, I doubt RIAA will give mastering control to the end user. Imagine being able to mute some instrument making the song more "raw" or even giving the option of adding alternate instruments (like exchanging an electric guitar for an acoustic guitar).
THIS would be revolutionary because would turn users a little bit creators of the songs they own. You could even share your mixes in social networks. User-accessible multitrack mixing would be the new MP3 revolution in the music industry.
While I'll allow that you can get a primary listening experience in some of those activities, (provided you have headphones that are sufficiently noise blocking) most of them will allow too much noise or distraction to provide the ability to distinguish the higher quality reproduction from a standard iPod.
Mostly true, but there's a convenience of having a high quality playback system that can be loaded with all (well, 128GB is prolly not sufficient) of your music for replay.
I agree with most of what you said, except the following:
- a multifunction device. While handy it is not really necessary for the use cases I see as suitable (tho we significantly disagree with that)
- need for bundled headphones. No self respecting audiophile wants to use the bundled headphones. Aside from the fact that many already have decent headphones, so no one would want to pay for any bundled modest units, everyone has their own ears. I happen to like some of the Senns, but others like Grado, Beyer Dynamics, or Stax, etc. Headphones are very personal.
I think this is at once too late (everyone has moved on to smartphones) and too soon (bandwidth and storage space for lossless are still limiting factors). I'm all for lossless audio though. I still buy CDs for this very reason. I have maybe 20,000 songs in my collection and of that less than a handful were purchased on iTunes. I hope someday iTunes starts selling lossless files so I can finally stop buying CDs.
"Musician Neil Young, who has also dabbled in songwriting and directing, has been working on a competitor to Apple's iPod for several years now, which is now close to seeing a release date"
Saying Neil Young has dabbled in songwriting is a hilarious gross understatement. I'm not sure how anyone that knows anything about music could write something so foolish.
Most people are really missing the point here. This isn't just another MP3 player. It is a player capable of playing high fidelity audio formats with a DAC that is supposed to be great to ensure awesome sound. Yes, you can play loseless with iPods but the DAC sucks. (LOL at the person who was saying DAP)
This device is for a niche market that actually cares about audio quality vs a direct competitor to the iPod and iTunes store. Believe it or not there are people that rather sit in front of speakers and listen to music vs in the background or watching TV.
There are already some sources like HD Tracks for High Fi audio and Young is supposed to have major labels on board to master more albums in these formats with the accompanying music service which is really exciting. Some still buy CDs to transfer to loseless and even lossy iTunes tracks can sound better with a good DAC.
Having said all that the device design does look questionable and there have already been similar products on the market. The music service may be the saving grace. We'll have to see how it pans out but I imagine it will be considered at least somewhat sucsessful for the market it's going after.
Saying Neil Young has dabbled in songwriting is a hilarious gross understatement. I'm not sure how anyone that knows anything about music could write something so foolish.
Most people are really missing the point here. This isn't just another MP3 player. It is a player capable of playing high fidelity audio formats with a DAC that is supposed to be great to ensure awesome sound. Yes, you can play loseless with iPods but the DAC sucks. (LOL at the person who was saying DAP)
This device is for a niche market that actually cares about audio quality vs a direct competitor to the iPod and iTunes store. Believe it or not there are people that rather sit in front of speakers and listen to music vs in the background or watching TV.
There are already some sources like HD Tracks for High Fi audio and Young is supposed to have major labels on board to master more albums in these formats with the accompanying music service which is really exciting. Some still buy CDs to transfer to loseless and even lossy iTunes tracks can sound better with a good DAC.
Having said all that the device design does look questionable and there have already been similar products on the market. The music service may be the saving grace. We'll have to see how it pans out but I imagine it will be considered at least somewhat sucsessful for the market it's going after.
Sorry but consumers don't want this overpriced ugly mp3 player with a propriety file format. They want the seamless integration between iOS devices and the unbeatable iTunes store. And with iTunes Mastering on many albums you already get stunning high fidelity audio as an Apple consumer.
My thoughts exactly... Neil Young needs to sue whatever scam artist is stealing his money with this silly a-decade-too-late venture.
Funny that the article states the Nano hasn't been updated in more than 3 years when it was actually updated in October 2012.
Are you a consumer market analyst? What research have you done to determine demand or lack of for this product? And what do you mean by consumers? Is there a giant market segment called consumers? And where did anyone say proprietary format?
What you mean is that you assume everyone in the world is just like you, and you don't want this.
You do understand that this is now being launched through a kick-starter campaign meaning that unless there is sufficient pre-ordering it won't get made don't you?
You could certainly say that your opinion is that there will not be enough demand, but please spare us your armchair declarations of what consumers want.
The 1080p movie download analogy only works if you forget about Blu-Ray discs and their overall superior quality.
So the iTunes Store offers compressed 1080p movies and 256 AAC music downloads instead of BR discs and CDs. Neither of these downloadable formats on offer are as HQ as their optical media counterparts, but the compromises are appropriate considering current ISP bandwidth limitations don't you think?
For $400, I'd rather buy a quality turntable at home and stick with lossy formats on the go. I use Bluetooth headphones anyway so it's not like I'll hear anything better than 128kbps.
Thunk!!
This product is going to sink like an anvil in the ocean. It's about 10 years late to the plate. Sorry Neil.
This product is going to sink like an anvil in the ocean. It's about 10 years late to the plate. Sorry Neil.
Why so negative? Let the kickstarter project success decide if there really is the demand for a $399 hi-fi music player... - actually this could be a good test run to check if people really are unhappy with the regular sound quality of the established music services like iTunes or if there is broad demand for something better...
And - posting a toblerone bar is pretty much on the same level as posting a garbage can at release of the Mac Pro. I just don't get the "yay I found something similar shaped, look!!!1!!"
- actually this could be a good test run to check if people really are unhappy with the regular sound quality of the established music services like iTunes or if there is broad demand for something better...And - posting a toblerone bar is pretty much on the same level as posting a garbage can at release of the Mac Pro. I just don't get the "yay I found something similar shaped, look!!!1!!"
An attempt at humor maybe? This is a guy with 35 albums, a couple Grammies and a dozen other music awards.
What I admire about him is that he has been playing music successfully for almost 50 years and has not fallen into the trap of being a live oldies show where he just plays his 40 years old hits over and over. He actually has been making new stuff.
But another music player? Is there room for that? He has always been interested in sound quality. Looks like he was just frustrated that none of the current players is really good. Apple still distributes compressed music.
He may find a small market but most people don't give a hoot about sound quality.