How many are still using their PonoPlayer?

I'm using mine. I have a problem however.

Sometimes it drops out of balanced mode.the music stops.the players stops recognising the right input(I think)

I have 3 balanced set ups so it's not cable issues 

It must be the 3.5 internal (loose perhaps)

I don't know anything about electronics. Recon it's an easy fix for an electrician/hifi person?

Hi I just joined this forum because I am still using my PonoPlayer.  Actually I was about to get a different DAP but googling "Pono player upgrade" brought me here.   I had tried to install a 256Gb card and am having all sorts of problems with the UI.  I've deleted some songs from the internal memory and that helps but the other issue is that it won't boot unless I eject the SD card first.  I can re-insert it after the player has booted and it will load the songs.  I don't really want to upgrade it but I need more space and not having it boot normally is undesirable.  Anyone have any ideas why it is having issues?  Especially since some of you seem to be using 512GB cards without problems.

Hello @pinecone, welcome to the group. The booting problem is interesting. A few things to consider:

1. Don't put any files on the built in memory. If something glitches, there may not be a way to remove the problem. Cards are so big now, 64gb is meaningless. 

2. Be careful of the card brand and quality. SanDisk was a design partner with Pono. I have no boot problems running a 400gb SanDisk. There are other good brands including Sony, Toshiba, Transcend, and others. Make sure it is a fast card. Also be very careful where you buy the card - there are lots of counterfeits. I'd try another card.

Gooduck

@Séamus MC Donnell wow, just got the notification of your post. Talk about time lag...yikes.

I've never been inside a PonoPlayer, but suspect you are correct about the cause of the problem. Guessing the connectors are soldered directly to the circuit board. That shouldn't be too difficult for a repair tech. Many people could probably handle it DIY. Good luck.

Thanks,

Doug A

@pinecone, it is very important to pick a quality card.  Here is a link to the 512GB card I use in all of my PONO Players, the SanDisk 512GB Ultra Micro SDXC UHS-I, now about $65 on Amazon.  Hope this helps.   https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GXXKY6P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 

@LDF@Doug A

Thank you for the suggestions.  I ordered a new card and will erase the songs in the system memory and then report back.  

Decided to ditch Pono. Gave it to a young relative who loves playing guitar.

Moved onto the se200

Massive difference.

For that price, I would hope so. :)

3 hours ago, pinecone said:

For that price, I would hope so. :)

Agreed. Got it for over 700sterling off retail on eBay from a very solid seller. 

4 hours ago, pinecone said:

 It's not super speedy when it reboots ~30 seconds but at least it boots and this is acceptable.

 

I have a 200 GB SanDisk in my Pono. My wife’s Pono has, I think, 100GB. Both take about that long to boot as the OS scans the library. Not ideal but worth the upgrade over the 60GB internal memory.

@Séamus MC Donnell What is an se200? Is it from Astell & Kern? That is the only one I could find after Googling....  list price $ 1800. Holy shit.  I still love my 4 PONO players, each $400. 

7 hours ago, pinecone said:

@LDF @Doug A

Guys, this effort has been highly successful.  With the card that LDF recommended and removing the data from the internal memory that Doug recommended, my Pono is functioning like new.   It's not super speedy when it reboots ~30 seconds but at least it boots and this is acceptable.

 

I'm really glad because I still love this device, it sounds fantastic, and I have invested significantly in it by buying the balanced cables etc for my HD600s.  With 512GB I should be good to go for the foreseeable future.  Thanks!!!

Glad it worked out. Still a great sounding player. Listening to the Codex as I post this. Just added a Don Sachs Model 2 preamp to the system - amazing. Eagles - Hotel California Live is stellar in 24/192. Highly recommended. Listen on.

I'm still using mine, and still love it!  (metal KickStarter unit), balanced cables (Shure SE846-K headphones). 

But my battery went out (bought a replacement from Surf Cables - popping open the metal Pono was quite difficult and required a lot of persistence using iFixIt prying tools. The case is fastened and glued shut. But the battery replacement was trivial once the case was open). It's charging now - crossing my fingers...

While I have the unit popped open, I have a question for the group: I have 2 white lines across my screen. Obviously I have my Pono for sound quality, so 2 lines on the screen aren't a huge problem. But I'm a high-tech guy and would like to fix it. Does anyone know how to get a screen replaced? Or where to buy a replacement screen so I can do it myself?

I found you again. Still using my kickstarter Norah Jones which has a new battery and some quirks like can only start up with no external sd card and then put it in.  Skips some and was hoping battery replacement would help (not) and a signed Willie Nelson that I purchased a few years ago on eBay that looked like it had not been used. 

@Karrma good to hear from you and glad you've found us. Don't recall hearing of a PonoPlayer that had to be booted without mSD card. When it is started this way does it read the library a second after adding mSD card? At least this method still allows the player to work. 

My Pono still work. I recently took steps to prolong the micro USB connector on the Pono. Now use an external battery tank with very short USB cable. Never unhook the cable from the Pono. When it is time to charge the big battery, I unhook the cable from it, leaving the short USB plugged into the Pono. No wear and tear on the Pono USB connector. We can replace Pono batteries, but a circuit board mounted USB receptacle is probably beyond our abilities.

Welcome back,

Doug A

Started using my Yellow Kickstarter Pono again. Works great still. I cannot find a way to create playlists on it. I have gone through two computers since I last did anything with the Pono so lost the software that I could "manage" it with. I can drag and drop songs fine, but really am used to playlists. Any help or referral will be appreciated. Thanks to whomever posted the link to the batteries, I will use. Glad to find some still using these and know what's up with keeping them going. Appreciate Ya'!!

@KevinC I believe they are just m3u files.   Off the top of my head I can’t tell you how to format them but you can figure it out by using the Pono “add to playlist” feature which should be a menu option on songs.  From that you can also manually edit the files that are generated by the Pono if you want.  You can find them and open them as text files on your Pono storage when connected to your computer.  I’ve done it before but it was a long time ago.  I still use my Pono all the time but mostly I listen to entire albums.  

@pinecone Thanks I have found the m3u files of the existing playlists that I made using the Pono software that is now gone. I haven't been able to figure out another way to build playlists that could then be added to the pono. I will go back in and, using your suggestion, try again. Thank You very much.

@KevinC I've never made a computer playlist and transfered it to the Pono. I rarely do playlists, so I just make them using the PonoPlayer. You may already know this. 1. Load all the songs you want the the memory card. 2. Press and hold song, menu pops up. 3. Select Add to Playlist. 4. 2nd menu pops up, select Create New. Keep doing this until you have playlist completed. 

To add songs to an existing playlist, at step 4 (Add to Playlist) select desired playlist. Song order can also be moved up, down, and removed. The one thing you can't do is name playlists. The player automatically numbers them.

Enjoy,

Doug A

@Doug A @pinecone Yessss! Problem solved thank you so much. You have provided the answers I needed. The PONO lIves!! Since you did such a great job with that I have this hip that really hurts when I....

Thanks Bunches!

I still use my black Pono. I like this device. Simple and working :-) I don't know what I will do when it stops working...

All 4 of mine are still working. I try to rotate their use to keep batteries and everything up to snuff.

Thanks,

Doug A

Hi Doug!  Good to see you again.  My 4 PONOs are still in great shape too.  I have had the yellow one plugged into power continuously in the living room and hooked into my Denon.  It has a 1TB Sandisk card so lots of music!  I need to load another 1TB card and put it into my black PONO so I can give the yellow a break.  I keep the chrome one with Neil's signature and the clear one in my closet, checking their charge periodically but not using them. Email me sometime so we can "catch up"....

I hadn't thought of rotating my PONO players for the sake of battery health. Like LDF, the player I regularly use is plugged into continuous power, with my other 2 kept in reserve for if my primary player ever fails (knock on wood!).  I'm not that knowledgeable re battery technology; am I risking any harm to the batteries in my 2 reserve players by not occassionally using and charging them?