CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 11:18:40 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 [2]

Author Topic: Pono vs Geek Out review.  (Read 4263 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AZ

  • real, live music expert
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +29/-289
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
    • Audio Zenith
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2015, 07:42:32 PM »
Quote from: LarryHo on March 12, 2015, 07:12:15 AM
Thanks for your in-depth feedback of Geek Out.

Since this design is around 18 month old, I'm working on the new one. When beta is done, I would like to invite you to review that new beta unit. It should be fun.

Larry


   It was my pleasure. I actually just bought my own GO-450 on massdrop because the Geek Wave I backed a while ago still hasn't arrived :-).
  I sure am up for fun and will be happy to preview your beta whenever it's ready.
  Glad to see you on this forum and hope you benefit from this membership.
 
Logged

Gilly87

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +9/-4
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 45
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2015, 11:29:25 PM »
Heard Pono at CES. Not impressed at all. Won't name names, but one person from the Audeze booth expressed a great deal of disappointment to me that the Pono player was the only source they were displaying for the show; he/she said it undercut their phones' true abilities.

In my listening to it with SM3s and LCD-2Fs, I found it lacked extension on both ends and had a rather lifeless midrange. In a word, it was boring.

Disclaimer - my company makes a somewhat competing product. However this is my honest opinion based on careful listening in the isolated booth at Audeze's CES display.
Logged

burnspbesq

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +50/-23
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 640
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2015, 05:45:56 PM »
Quote from: Gilly87 on March 18, 2015, 11:29:25 PM
Heard Pono at CES. Not impressed at all. Won't name names, but one person from the Audeze booth expressed a great deal of disappointment to me that the Pono player was the only source they were displaying for the show; he/she said it undercut their phones' true abilities.

In my listening to it with SM3s and LCD-2Fs, I found it lacked extension on both ends and had a rather lifeless midrange. In a word, it was boring.

Disclaimer - my company makes a somewhat competing product. However this is my honest opinion based on careful listening in the isolated booth at Audeze's CES display.

The reality is that people's experiences with the Pono player are heavily dependent on the headphone used.  If you tried it with my balanced Noble PR, you might very well change your mind.  Atkinson's review in the April issue of Stereophile is highly favorable; he listened mostly with HD 650.  In contrast, it doesn't pair well at all with UERM (although I don't think it's nearly as bad as Mike does).
Logged

Anaxilus

  • Phallus Belligerantus Analmorticus
  • Pirate
  • **
  • Brownie Points: +65535/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3493
  • TRS jacks must die
    • The Claw
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2015, 06:35:51 PM »
Gilly's description is pretty much point for point spot on with my CES impressions. They had them hooked up to the EL8's at CES. It was pretty reactive to the impedance issues. I compared it side by side with my own rig which was fine. I even asked Sankar why they had them hooked up to the Pono it sounded so bad. I'd certainly expect the 650 to sound more linear than the EL8 with a higher output-z. Though I don't know how John got a decent volume over 40dB using a 650 unless he went balanced.

Anyway, if anyone has a non reactive and sensitive phone that listens low or is willing to go balanced for the sort of sonic improvement we described here , then it should be fine.

I suppose my main problem is I started in this 3-4 years ago in portable using a $99 Sflo2 DAP which I think probably still sounds better than $300-$400 offerings like this. For me, it's another example of the price/performance ratio moving in the wrong direction or even turn on it's head in some case (all the latest v.2 AK DAPs especially).

Logged
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

"The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go or who will stay." - The LGM Community

"You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'. Talking loud, saying nothing." - James Brown

Marvey

  • The Man For His Time And Place
  • Master
  • Pirate
  • *****
  • Brownie Points: +555/-33
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6698
  • Captain Plankton and MOT: Eddie Current
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2015, 07:18:05 PM »
Quote from: Gilly87 on March 18, 2015, 11:29:25 PM
Heard Pono at CES. Not impressed at all. Won't name names, but one person from the Audeze booth expressed a great deal of disappointment to me that the Pono player was the only source they were displaying for the show; he/she said it undercut their phones' true abilities.

That's horrible. Was Audeze forced to do it because of industry incestuous connections?
Logged

Hammy

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +14/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 59
Re: Pono vs Geek Out review.
« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2015, 11:02:27 PM »
That's unfortunate if Audeze had to demo the headphones exclusively with the PonoPlayer.  That would be like having to demo them exclusively with an OTL amp.  The PonoPlayer has its style of sound.  It's set-back and somewhat softer sounding.  It's nice for some music.  Not ideal if you want to be able to demonstrate that the headphones can be energetic and rock out with authority.  Ideally you'd demo the headphones with two amps.  One like the PonoPlayer and one like the Auralic Taurus MKII.  That combo would cover two sides of the sonic spectrum and show how the Audeze headphones sound with each.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2]
« previous next »