November 2014 archive

Pono – Part Three: The PonoPlayer

I spent the past five days with the PonoPlayer. On and off, mind you — I put it down for, like, 15 minutes or so, every so often. I didn’t want it to get, like, weird. It’s just a gadget. Just a gadget. Just a gadget. The PonoPlayer is Neil Young’s Kickstarted entry into the …

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Pono – Part Two: PonoMusic World software

Last week my Pono shipping-notification email arrived and included a link to the PonoMusic World software. Even before installing and using the application (and even before receiving my PonoPlayer four days later) I was expressing reservations about it. This isn’t fair to Pono or its software developers, of course. The rarified air exhaled by audiophiles …

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Pono – Part One: The Unboxing

My Pono Kickstarter premium arrived on Friday morning. The Neil Young LE PonoPlayer was packaged in a lovely bamboo box with the PONO logo carved (embossed? branded?) into the front. Accompanying the PonoPlayer was an AC plug, Micro-SD card, USB cable, a leather zipper pouch, a Welcome card from Neil Young, and an instructional brochure. …

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PonoPlayer Cometh – with JRiver as an Interface

I got the notification email today: my PonoPlayer has shipped from China and should be here by Thursday the 13th. In the email were .dmg download links to the “PonoMusicWorld” desktop software for Mac and Windows. I downloaded the Mac version, extracted it and – presto! – a screen opened that looked an awful lot …

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Waiting for Pono

Folks are getting a bit restless about shipments of Pono’s Kickstarter premiums. Some have received their Pono players, but I’m still awaiting word regarding my Neil Young LE unit. As soon as it arrives I’ll post photos of The Unboxing…and maybe even write about how the mythical thing SOUNDS.