Pono
been waiting for this.
anyone see pono actually being viable? form factor hideousness and weird ass shape aside...
The first pre-orders have already shipped. Here are some details from the website:
The PonoPlayer transports you to a sublime musical experience, from the most delicate passages of a string quartet to the thunderous power of a heavy metal band. This portable audio player uses circuitry taken straight from Ayre's own top-of-the-line products, costing tens of thousands of dollars, for unparalleled sound quality and unrivaled listening pleasure. Pono supports playback of high-fidelity audio of up to 192kHz/24 bit resolution. The PonoPlayer includes two 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) audio output jacks which offer you four modes of operation:
1) personal listening mode via headphones or earbuds,
2) home stereo or in-car listening mode with fixed volume output,
3) PonoShare mode with two pairs of headphones/earbuds,
4)
balanced mode provides ultra-performance for advanced users, separating left and right channel outputs across the two jacks. Great for use with high-impedance headphones, high-end home stereo systems, or professional equipment using balanced XLR input connectors.
Audio files can be loaded onto the PonoPlayer using the Pono Music Center desktop application (soon to be released on Windows and MacOS). The PonoPlayer can also be sideloaded as a USB storage device (Windows, MacOS, Linux).
I've read Bowers and Wilkins portable stereo's have their own converters, so when you plug in an iPhone to the dock it uses the built-in converters rather than the phone's converters. Sounds like a good option if you are looking for an 'all in one' portable playback system.
As for Pono's marketability, I could see them being sold in Magnolia Best Buy stores as a 'high end' iPod. It has potential...