MP3 killer!

[ShriDurga]

Or just another marketing gimmick?

How exactly? By delivering high definition audio in stark contrast to the compressed mp3s that the common music consumer is used to through the likes of iTunes and streaming services like Spotify and Deezer. Pono plans to change the attitudes of the average music listener by providing ‘lossless’ audio (re: better than CD/mp3/stream quality), with [Neil] Young reasoning that once people really hear the difference, they won’t be able to go back.

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/news/international-news/340337/neil-young-preps-ipod-killer-as-battle-with-sony-looms.htm

[henry's cat]

Interesting reading. Doesn't Sony already have a lossless format - ATRAC Advanced Lossless? I've always found ATRAC encoded files give better quality sound than MP3. If Sony hadn't obsessed about copyright protection and Digital Rights Management ATRAC might have gained a foothold.

[THIS SUCKS]

it takes up too much space. also they would actually have to set the levels correctly like the older cds were. if it was cheap i would buy it for home listening.

[jammydodger1]

Or just another marketing gimmick?

How exactly? By delivering high definition audio in stark contrast to the compressed mp3s that the common music consumer is used to through the likes of iTunes and streaming services like Spotify and Deezer. Pono plans to change the attitudes of the average music listener by providing ‘lossless’ audio (re: better than CD/mp3/stream quality), with [Neil] Young reasoning that once people really hear the difference, they won’t be able to go back.

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/news/international-news/340337/neil-young-preps-ipod-killer-as-battle-with-sony-looms.htm

good read, I quess old neil must be fed up with people streaming and downloading his music on mp3! it wont kill mp3 in fact it probably wont sell a lot at all, if people are that bothered about the quality of the sound they will probably buy a hard copy like the obvious CD, or a high quality download file format that already exists.

if sony are doing their own version of a new lossless music format/file it had better realize the potential of making it compatible with mini disc and atrac this could be twofold it would please the mini disc community who invested both in the net md then later the himd units the latter was the one which had the potential of real high quality PCM with larger capacity discs.

and secondly market the damn thing properly this time! and try and make it fresh and new but still compatible with older tech too. not do an ipod type of thing that the new format only is downloadable/playable on a new player/recorder!

only news to me if it is possible to get it onto mini disc if I want a top quality sound I buy the original CD and listen to it on my separate which is not very often at all these days.

good read none the less lets hope sony do it well and don't balls it up.

[MDietrich]

The format Sony wants to introduce is nothing new. It´s called DSD and was introduced with the SACD thirteen years ago. The format Neil Young wants to sell is different. It´s high definition as well but uses a different (lossless -> no lossy compression) encoding scheme, probably with included Digital Rights Management so that it can´t be copied. The latter is suggested by the proprietary player Young wants to sell alongside it. Really, really stupid and I hope that he fails badly.

Both are just an attempt to cash-in at the growing HiRes download market.

Several HiRes players have already been released and right now DSD is all the rage within audiophile circles. Unnecessary so since it doesn´t offer any actual benefit. These DSD files Sony wants to 'introduce' have been released for the first time as a pure downloadable format in 2008 by some Swedish company, they have been gaining attention slowly but steadily. Even free software like foobar2000 can decode them with high quality. Apart from that, DSD isn´t compatible with older software/hardware. There aren´t many portable players around able to play them back... right now only two pop into my mind. Apparently, Sony wants to change that. But CD players? SACD players? BluRay players? Forget it.

All of this has nothing to do with MiniDisc or ATRAC.

[jammydodger1]

The format Sony wants to introduce is nothing new. It´s called DSD and was introduced with the SACD thirteen years ago. The format Neil Young wants to sell is different. It´s high definition as well but uses a different (lossless -> no lossy compression) encoding scheme, probably with included Digital Rights Management so that it can´t be copied. The latter is suggested by the proprietary player Young wants to sell alongside it. Really, really stupid and I hope that he fails badly.

Both are just an attempt to cash-in at the growing HiRes download market.

Several HiRes players have already been released and right now DSD is all the rage within audiophile circles. Unnecessary so since it doesn´t offer any actual benefit. These DSD files Sony wants to 'introduce' have been released for the first time as a pure downloadable format in 2008 by some Swedish company, they have been gaining attention slowly but steadily. Even free software like foobar2000 can decode them with high quality. Apart from that, DSD isn´t compatible with older software/hardware. There aren´t many portable players around able to play them back... right now only two pop into my mind. Apparently, Sony wants to change that. But CD players? SACD players? BluRay players? Forget it.

All of this has nothing to do with MiniDisc or ATRAC.

I wanted to say that ref. nothing to do with minidisc or atrac too but iam a newbie to the site and bottled it I still thought as a techy type article it was a good read even if not many people will buy into it, I certainly wont. its mp3 through sonicstage for me every time but each to their own.

neil young just needs something new to harp on about, I seem remember hearing him in an article somewhere saying people should still be buying vinyl, i love vinyl too but its not as if there is going to be a massive vinyl comeback either, there is a small increase in sales however. if it wasn't him I stand corrected, he harps on about daft stuff all the time, another fancy portable media player for the audiophile market, it wont catch on with the apple generation or the average joe even.

[MDietrich]

I wanted to say that ref. nothing to do with minidisc or atrac too but iam a newbie to the site and bottled it I still thought as a techy type article it was a good read even if not many people will buy into it, I certainly wont. its mp3 through sonicstage for me every time but each to their own.

neil young just needs something new to harp on about, I seem remember hearing him in an article somewhere saying people should still be buying vinyl, i love vinyl too but its not as if there is going to be a massive vinyl comeback either, there is a small increase in sales however. if it wasn't him I stand corrected, he harps on about daft stuff all the time, another fancy portable media player for the audiophile market, it wont catch on with the apple generation or the average joe even.

Did I come along as condescending? I´m sorry, this happens on occasion. I swear, I´ve become that horrible old woman I used to run away from at college.

As for Neil Young... it´s sad that he thinks he might make people aware through means like these. Another reason could be of course that he wants to make a few more bucks but I can´t help it that I have a hard time believing it. He seemed too passionate about this. Well, it´ll be released no sooner than 2014, that leaves enough time to look at the things Sony might do and to find out if they´re worthwhile.