![]() ![]() ![]() The PonoPlayer and to a similar extent the Walkman NW-A17 are handicapped by their lack of wireless. (Plenty of other high-res audio stores are also available, and the Pono is, happily, compatible with files downloaded from competitors.) Interestingly, the player has also a light to indicate when you're listening to a "certified PonoMusic song," or in other words a download from the Pono store. It can reproduce DSD, FLAC, ALAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF and unprotected AAC files at up to 24-bit/192kHz. Unlike many modern players featuring apps, wireless connectivity and video playback the PonoPlayer is designed to do one thing: play downloaded music. That would barely get you through a cross-country flight, and it's only an eighth as long as that of the Sony NWZ-A17 Walkman, its principal competitor. And most importantly, its 6-hour battery life (on high-res audio files) just doesn't pass muster. Firstly, it has a number of ergonomic annoyances - that shape! - a quirky touchscreen and effectively only one button. Yet for all its charm, the PonoPlayer comes with some notable caveats. Its sound quality is a cut above others at the price, plus it has a number of high-end features that are unusual at this level such as DSD playback (the high-end digital format that was the basis of SACD) and balanced output. While the benefits of high-res versus CD are another argument completely, the Pono is a flawed player on the precipice of something really great. Whether it's the iconoclastic shape, the friendly menu system or the warm, cuddly sound, it stands out from its competitors in many ways. After trying the PonoPlayer for the first time at CES in January, I noticed something intangibly seductive about the PonoPlayer. As Martin Mull once said (and has been frequently repeated by many, such as Elvis Costello), writing about music is like dancing about architecture, and that's kind of how I feel writing about this player. ![]()
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