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Old 02-02-2015, 04:01 PM
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Default iPhone beats Pono in blind test

David Pogue did a blind A/B of an iPhone vs a Pono and most people preferred the iPhone.

http://screen.yahoo.com/yahoo-tech-video/pogue-review-ponoplayer-171032215.html

http://www.yahoo.com/tech/it-was-one...496883039.html

The test has many flaws but I find it still interesting. It seems that he uses the iPhone 6 and I was surprised to find a clear improvement in the sound versus older iPhone. I guess they changed the DAC to a better one.

Let me put my flame suit on first
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Old 02-02-2015, 04:33 PM
2fastdriving 2fastdriving is offline
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Wow, that stings

But if you notice, some of those people are using ear buds. Some are using decent headphones (I think).

The main flaw though, is that these people are right off the street and really don't care about SQ. I wonder what would happen if the same test was tried with golden eared AA subscribers

Honestly, when I started in this hobby, I didn't know what I was listening for, and I couldn't really describe "good sound" vs. "bad sound" nearly as easily as I can now. I wasn't exposed to much "good sound" so I didn't know what was possible. That's what it takes.
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Old 02-02-2015, 06:17 PM
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I listened to a Pono with good headphones (HD650s) and was underwhelmed.

My A&K AK100 II sounds a LOT better, IMO.
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Old 02-02-2015, 06:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2fastdriving View Post
Wow, that stings

But if you notice, some of those people are using ear buds. Some are using decent headphones (I think).

The main flaw though, is that these people are right off the street and really don't care about SQ. I wonder what would happen if the same test was tried with golden eared AA subscribers

Honestly, when I started in this hobby, I didn't know what I was listening for, and I couldn't really describe "good sound" vs. "bad sound" nearly as easily as I can now. I wasn't exposed to much "good sound" so I didn't know what was possible. That's what it takes.
He made the test with the headphones and then another round of test with the earbuds to see if the result would be different.
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Old 02-02-2015, 06:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Puma Cat View Post
I listened to a Pono with good headphones (HD650s) and was underwhelmed.

My A&K AK100 II sounds a LOT better, IMO.
It could be the DAC of the Pono which is making the difference. I'm willing to believe a poor DAC will never make up for better quality files.

This could be a blow to the whole HD files as the Pono is what the public will hear about.
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Old 02-02-2015, 07:48 PM
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I read this.. and now I want to place an order for this:



So I can connect my iPhone to my car.
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Old 02-02-2015, 08:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2fastdriving View Post
Wow, that stings

The main flaw though, is that these people are right off the street and really don't care about SQ. I wonder what would happen if the same test was tried with golden eared AA subscribers
The first thing golden eared AA subscribers would do is order all new WW cables and some new tubes for the iPhone. After a few hundred hours break-in we would want to test again and then get everyone's opinion before making up our minds. If the regulars here all agree we might say it's better. Of course we would still need to order a few more tweaks to help clear up any jitter in the wireless.
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Old 02-02-2015, 10:09 PM
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Some questions about this test.
1. How did they match the levels? I don't see any test equipment, and you sure can't do it by ear.
2. How do we know the files even came from the same masters? What, really, are they comparing?
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Old 02-02-2015, 10:44 PM
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Like Stephen, I also listened to the Pono and ended up with the AK. But I must say as a long-time iPod and iPhone listener, I did think the Pono sound was better than Apple using Shure ES535. Trying to evaluate players like this using earbuds or cheaper headphones is a bit like trying to evaluate a good turntable using a Bose Soundwave system, or comparing a Porsche to a Subaru by driving 10 mph around a parking lot.

Tony
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Old 02-02-2015, 11:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W9TR View Post
Some questions about this test.
1. How did they match the levels? I don't see any test equipment, and you sure can't do it by ear.
2. How do we know the files even came from the same masters? What, really, are they comparing?
This is the flaws that the first post in this thread didn't explicitly say- but you nailed it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Antonmb View Post
Like Stephen, I also listened to the Pono and ended up with the AK. But I must say as a long-time iPod and iPhone listener, I did think the Pono sound was better than Apple using Shure ES535. Trying to evaluate players like this using earbuds or cheaper headphones is a bit like trying to evaluate a good turntable using a Bose Soundwave system, or comparing a Porsche to a Subaru by driving 10 mph around a parking lot.

Tony
I get the analogy you are saying, the venue is all wrong
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