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Review of PonoPlayer – Portable Music Player for Your Ears

Summary

When you want to put your eras with the highest audio quality, you will not miss the portable music player, PonoPlayer. This page collects the latest review of PonoPlayer for you, so that you can decide whether you will take one by yourself.

2021 Review of PonoPlayer

2021 Review of PonoPlayer

With the interest in high-definition music growing, an increasing amount of the content is being re-released by the record labels at higher resolutions. PonoPlayer is the exact one portable music player designed to play the highest quality audio music.

In this post, we will discuss the PonoPlayer review and price for your reference. Also the replacements of PonoPlayer will be introduced for you to make the comparison to select the best music player.

Part 1. What is PonoPlayer?

Pono Player

PonoPlayer is the Neil Young's championed portable music player that plays high-resolution digital music files stored on its SSD memory and a removable microSD card.

As a new music player, PonoPlayer can be used as a personal portable hi resolution music player, and it can be connected to a home audio system, a car stereo system. You can share music with others, and there is a microSD card slot which supports all capacities of microSD cards, and a unique Balanced Mode feature which enables you to hear the fullest sound possible.

While designed for use with the FLAC format lossless audio, the device can play other common formats including Apple Lossless (ALAC), uncompressed PCM (WAV, AIFF), DSD (DSD64) and DSD2 (DSD128), and the lossy formats AAC and MP3. PonoPlayer will play DRM-free audio in these formats from any source, including FLAC from HDtracks, AAC from iTunes, and lossless audio files copied or "ripped" from audio compact discs.

Part 2. PonoPlayer review and price in 2021

PonoPlayer Review

PonoPlayer review

PonoPlayer review from CNET is 7.1 out of 10 stars while 3.9 out of 5 stars in Amazon. Whether you like Neil Young or not, PonoPlayer has already attracted your attention. See the concluded reviews on Pono music player as the following:

Pros:

Cons:

PonoPlayer is a good portable music player that provides high quality music experience. But you should know that, compared to some Hi-Fi brands, PonoPlayer still can't give you that kind of high-end sound. Consider its quirky design and lackluster battery life, you can wait for the second generation of PonoPlayer.

PonoPlayer price and sale

Currently, the price of PonoPlayer is $359.95 with the following descriptions:

If you do not mind it, you could find the used PonoPlayer for sale on eBay, Amazon, etc.

Let's get a quick scan for the sale of PonoPlayer:

$299.99 for a used but very good condition from Amazon and $325 for a used but fully operational and functions from eBay.

Part 3. PonoPlayer alternatives in 2021 for your portable music player

PonoPlayer - FiiO X7 Hi-Res Lossless Portable Music Player

FiiO X7 Hi-Res Lossless Portable Music Player

Stars

Price: $397.95

Internal Storage: 32GB

Android-based smart portable music player, mastering quality lossless FLAC playback and AAC, MP3, WMA and DSD audio playing with 4 Cortex-A9 cores running at 1.4GHz.

PonoPlayer - Acoustic Research AR-M20 Hi-Res compatible audio player

Acoustic Research AR-M20 Hi-Res compatible audio player

Stars

Price: $824.91

Internal Storage: 32GB

Commitment to sound system to accurately reproduce the sound of the raw was recorded, it supports various Hi-Res audio formats such as FLAC, ALAC, WAV, DXD, APE, AIFF and even DSD64/DSD128.

PonoPlayer - Sony NW-WM1A Walkman Digital Audio Player

Sony NW-WM1A Walkman Digital Audio Player

Stars

Price: $1199.99

Price: 128GB

A tempting alternative to the iPhone to play music file. Not only music, it also lets you play games, receive FaceTime HD camera, take photos, and send iMessages with Wi-Fi support.

PonoPlayer - Astell&Kern AK Jr High Resolution Audio Player

Astell&Kern AK Jr High Resolution Audio Playe

Stars

Price: $269

Price: 64GB

Simplifingcomplex features of Hi-Fi audio to a smartphone-like experience, this PonoPlayer app supports DSD, the digital audio format widely considered to be the next-generation in high resolution audio.

PonoPlayer - Cayin i5 Portable HiFi Audio Player

Cayin i5 Portable HiFi Audio Player

Stars

Price: $499

Price: 32GB

Based on Android OS, plus it also supports third party app installation, just like the Fiio X7, it uses USB Type-C connector, standard 3.5mm headphone out and 3.5mm line out, plus WiFi and Bluetooth connections.

Apart from those portable music player that can replace PonoPlayer, you could also find music player software on your computer or iPhone or Android phone to take it more conveniently. But You may miss the high quality for music listening. Check this post to find the music player app for your mobile phone and computer.

Bonus tips: How to listen to any hi-res music on PonoPlayer

As mentioned before, PonoPlayer can play the music from FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, AAC, MP3 and more. If you get a music file that is not in the supported list, how do you do?

Convert the audio to be compatible formats with PonoPlayer.

Do not miss Free Audio Converter to help you convert other audio formats to PonoPlayer supporting formats.

Learn the details from the video.

FAQs of PonoPlayer

1. How to reset PonoPlayer?

First you should disconnect all power, press and hold Reset button on the back of PonoPlayer. Then power on your device and keep holding Reset button until the Status light is blinking orange. After that, the PonoPlayer will be restore to factory status and boot.

2. How to load/transfer music on PonoPlayer?

Connect your PonoPlayer to computer with a micro USB cable. Select Yes to enter Music Transfer Mode. You can drag and drop the music directly to the internal drive of PonoPlayer.

3. What kind of music formats does PonoPlayer support?

PonoPlayer can play almost any kind of music track like MP3, FLAC, ALAC, WAV (up to 32-bit), AIFF, AAC and DSD (2 channel DSD64 and DSD128).

Conclusion

In this post, we mainly talk about PonoPlayer. We give you a simple introduction of PonoPlayer and PonoPlayer review. What's more, we list some great Pono music player alternatives for you to choose from.

If you think this post is useful, do not hesitate to share it with more people.

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Rating: 4.8 / 5 (based on 192 ratings)

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January 11, 2021 10:42 / Updated by to Play Audio

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