ralphpnj wrote:
> Thanks Archimago!
>
> What I liked most about your write up was that you very clearly
> differentiated between the hardware and all the surrounding hype/BS. In
> essence: as a piece hardware the Pono Player delivers as promised,
> however when the hype/BS about hi-rez audio is removed the question that
> remains seems to be - "what's the point of a portable hi-rez audio
> player?"
You're welcome! It was a fun night of measuring and thinking about what
I wanted to say about this piece of equipment after playing with it for
the last couple months off and on.
I think the Pono saga has been a fascinating one to watch and comment on
over the last few years - essentially last 3 years. A fascinating
exploration of technological evangelism by a guy (NY) who I believe
truly believes what he says (eg. hi-res sounds like "God", MP3's having
literally 8% or whatever of "the sound", analogue being unquestionably
the hi-res standard, and countless others) despite the lack of even face
validity for anyone who spends time with the technology or actually
honestly do some testing and experimentation for themselves. Then to see
the millions of $$$ of Kickstarter support for these claims, the merger
of fact (yes, hi-res music can be more objectively "accurate") and
fantasy ("revolutionary" sound). Ultimately the comingling of the
audiophile "cult of personalities" - Neil Young's legendary status as a
musician mixed with someone who supposedly knows how the technology
works...
The polarity between what technology folks see and how it's presented in
the audiophile magazines is a fascinating projection of these
intertwined threads of faith and truth. I think someone should write a
book on this one day :-).
Archimago's Musings: (archimago.blogspot.com) A 'more objective'
audiophile blog.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archimago's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2207
View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=104094
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