Pono – No!

Well I was a day one Kickstarter supporter of Pono. But after much consideration I am pulling out. I am a true believer in high rez downloads as the future of audiophile listening, but the Pono device just does not make sense for me.  Here are my reasons:

• When I am listening to a portable device (for me that is my iPhone with Spotify) convenience is more important that quality.
• When I am listening to a portable device quality gets lost because it is typically fighting with background noise – in the gym, riding my bike, running, in the car, etc. My iPhone and Spotify is going to be “good enough” in these situations.
• When I am listening at home – I am going to be listening to vinyl, CDs (because I have thousands and can’t afford to replace them all) or digital downloads.  In the case of digital downloads I won’t be using the Pono device in my audiophile system – I will be using my Mac and a DAC.
• Finally – I have a better place to spend my $300.  Friday night I accidentally knocked my turntable’s needle and bent the cantilever.  I am using that as an excuse to upgrade my $125 cartridge for a $300 one.  How am I going to fund this?  By canceling my Pono backing 40 hours before the campaign was going to hit my credit card.

I am not cynical about the Pono concept – as you can see it just does not work for me.  I hope the Pono project kicks the industry in the nuts – and it looks like it might be working – rumors are coming out of Apple that they will have high rez downloads later this year.  That would be victory and would make Neil proud.  Good luck Pono – I will be rooting for you!.