Neil Young is going to change the way you listen to music. We don’t mean that in the sense that After The Gold Rush changed our lives after we heard it for the first time (though it did); we’re talking about PonoMusic, Neil’s new digital music platform, which sees its world premiere at South By Southwest this week.

Young’s project consists of a digital streaming service as well as a portable device, the PonoPlayer. A statement issued from PonoMusic CEO John Hamm describes the player as an easy-to-use device with a playback that surpasses the typical smart phone or MP3 player. Pre-orders for the device will be taken on a Kickstarter page starting on March 15th. The retail price for the PonoPlayer is $399.

An avid audiophile, Young launched PonoMusic to “move digital music in the 21st century.” A statement on the Pono website promises the highest audio quality possible from the service, saying that it fulfills on the broken “Perfect Sound Forever” promise of the CD era.

For more information, visit the PonoMusic website.