lithium1085

Ultimately a true scientific test is when all the products are compared using the same conditions together. Larry's tests probably need to be validated by a third party because of the obvious conflict of interest. I think JA @ stereophile is the right person to do this and I am sure that when stereophile reviews the Geek the truth will be clear

Yes Chris, do tell....

I totally agree with kickstarter as a purely marketing move. It will make people talk about the project for a whole month and people who invest in it would be a great starting user base for the ponomusic website. Someone in Pono's marketing paid attention to the Lh labs campaign and it is definitely reaping benefits with around 5000 backers at present

I think we should all show some patience and wait for the actual products. They might be the worst products ever or the best ones, but all judgments are premature at best and lets wait and watch. Hopefully, Chris can give us early reviews as well. I for one am appreciative of the effort put in by Neil Young and the Pono team. I am quietly optimistic that this can help to change some fundamental problems with the current high resolution music environment.

It is simply a case of manufacturer decided retail price. Music companies are deciding the prices and they want to retain the Status quo. Until a company comes along with the power of itunes, they are not going to change anything.

Regardless of our personal feelings, the general public has voted with their wallets and the kickstarter campaign is already at almost 50% pledged. I went through their FAQs and their website and I felt that my concerns about a proprietary file format have been cleared. It is was even good to see a specific question for audiophiles on their FAQ page. Hopefully, this player will help in making more higher resolution music available in the future. Also, all the artists in their video would also hopefully insist on recording at higher quality. This could turn out to be the one of the biggest boosts to our hobby in years. P.S- I am not even buying one so hopefully I will not be branded a "fanboy"...LOL

I disagree I think Chris is really professional in his work and I absolutely don't read the current discourse as anything more than impartial from Chis's side. You are entitled to your opinion, so lets just get back to the issue at hand.

Hi Scot, thumbs up for that comment. As a young cash strapped audio lover, I would like to point out that we are effectively getting a cheaper Ayre designed DAC + headphone amp. Last time I checked, Ayre does not do budget equipment and their equipment is one of the best around (according to people here at CA). They seem to be paying genuine attention to engineering (prior involvement with meridian and now with Ayre). They have a low output impedance, a audiophile grade chip and a rational price. I for one would love to have one right away. Hopefully, Pono will also help in convincing the music industry of HD downloads with a clear provenance.

Did any of the early backers manage to get their hands on the Geek Out? I am on the first 100 and I am still waiting for mine... Would love to hear some impressions if any of you have already received it.

It has a digital volume control in 32 bit mode though

Have you considered the Yulong audio DA-8 at $1199? People over at head-fi are big fans. Its DAC has got a lot of favorable reviews and its headphone amp can be switched out of the circuit to maximize pure DAC performance. Yulong has had quite a few exceptional products in the last few years and they have a NA online dealer in Grant fidelity.

This review was a really great read! Thank you from all of us. It has been quite a while since I enjoyed a review so much

I believe their reported power is into a load of 16 ohms.....they have mentioned it somewhere in there. Also the details of the 3D feature are a little unclear, apparently they are still tweaking it and it will be different from just a crossfeed( it was mentioned that it will be part analogue and part digital).

Larry might have been talking about the possibility of balanced headphone outs on the front panel....

Hi everyone, Does anyone have any experience with the Stealth DC-1? It is currently available at a great price of $499, but there is not much of real reviews or comparisons.