Pono released a firmware update for its Player this last Wednesday. The big news: DSD playback has been added. Last weekend I downloaded and installed the update, then sideloaded a batch of DSD files to the Pono Player. I bought Blood On the Tracks from AcousticSounds’ store and cued up “Buckets of Rain” and “If …
Tag Archive: pono
PonoMusic World Software Update
There’s been an update of the PonoMusic World application, the software that’s necessary if you want to download music from the Pono Store. The update takes the PMW desktop application from its initial 20.0.35 build to v20.00.42, then .44, and then (I assume this is a recent, non-stable build?) 20.00.45. What does this mean? Here’s …
Pono Innards – EXPOSED!
Mike Beauchamp has posted the first (so far as I know) teardown analysis of the Pono Player. This SFMH thread brings it all home.
Pono Software Update Alert!
This email just arrived with an “ACTION REQUIRED!” subject header. I didn’t use the download link but instead opened the PonoMusic World software and tried the update from within the app. It worked! I’m curious whether this new version of the software offers increased stability, or if changes are limited to Pono Store improvements. Will …
Pono – Part Four: Followup
I’ve had the PonoPlayer in my sweaty, insatiable hands for twenty days now. The shakedown period is pretty much over. I’ve learned a few more things since my initial, somewhat overheated posts. * I like the detailed way that the Player handles reverb, whether it be a natural room sound or a studio effect. Decay …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
Another new post on Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile
I wrote some more music reviews for Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile. The latest installment includes brief paragraphs about new-ish releases from Brian Eno, Neil Young, Carla Bozulich, Charles Hayward, and vinyl reissues: Linda Perhacs’ Parallelograms and selections from the 1968 Rosemary’s Baby score by Christopher Komeda. Since I wrote the piece, it’s been announced …
