iFi Zen Phono 3 Preamplifier Review

[somebodyelse]

If you're sticking to MM and trying to keep cost down the Mani 2 might be worth a look.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Thanks much for a couple suggestions. I’m disabled and on a fixed income so the price of the Spartan 15 at $ 670.00 plus shipping which most likely makes it around $ 700.00 is pushing it for me. Both the Alvo Duo and the IFi are on the order of hundreds of dollar less and have been reviewed by Amir. The Ifi has a subsonic filter as well. I don’t see the Sparton being reviewed by him as well. I might be wrong though.
It’s sort of between those two but if there’s something comparable? Around $450.00 or even $ 500.00 I’d be interested. In the meantime I’m going to closely look those two over again.
Has anyone purchased either of these two? Thoughts? Comments?
Thanks for responding in Advance!

I have the original iFi Zen and the Parks Waxwing. The Zen will work well with most cartridges and has a noise floor free of 60 HZ hum. The Waxwing is infinitely more flexible and is just as hum free as the Zen. Zen cost me $200 and is my backup in case the Waxwing ever fails. Waxwing cost me $500 and is my primary phono preamp.

 

[Genpattonj]

Bob, thanks so much for your response. That definitely leans me towards the Zen. Especially since I have a balanced input on my preamp. Thanks to everyone who has responded. Much appreciated and this has given me some valuable info.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Bob, thanks so much for your response. That definitely leans me towards the Zen. Especially since I have a balanced input on my preamp. Thanks to everyone who has responded. Much appreciated and this has given me some valuable info.

I use the Waxwing's digital optical output into my Schit Modius DAC - which has balanced outputs....

 

[Genpattonj]

I use the Waxwing's digital optical output into my Schit Modius DAC - which has balanced outputs....

That sounds like an incredible system. I recently got back into albums. I had a pair of Sonus Faber loudspeakers “can’t remember the model, their floor standing”, a Rega Planner 3 with a Sony MC Cartridge that I had in storage, a Sony ES Preamp and amp. “I used to work for Sony”. I sold my place and moved into an apartment so gave it all to my Daughter. Now I’m slowly rebuilding my system with an eye to being in a smaller space. I’m going through my records and starting to enjoy them. I just purchased a Korg DS-DAC 10R second hand and am digitizing my cassettes and might do the albums after I purchase a preamp. I’ve purchased the ELAC Debut DBR-62 speakers with a sub and am amazed at the sound. These little speakers sound very nice. i looked at your Waxwing. What an amazing product! thanks again for your suggestion Bob.
One thing that really surprised me…the amount of albums on sale now!

 

[mike70]

One thing that really surprised me…the amount of albums on sale now!

Vinyl is the king of the physical format ... again.
To listen to digital formats people are preferring streaming platforms (to choose convenience, choose the more convenient ) ... vinyl is what really brings a totally different experience (if you want it).

 

[Xavier_Breizh]

Hi,
I'm having a bit of trouble setting with the Ifi zen phono 3.
I have a technics sl-100c with the Oc9xml, so I set the ifi to MC LOW, 100ohms.
With this setting, I have background noise and the gain is too high.
With the MC High setting, I don't have this background noise, but it's not the most appropriate setting.
I made a rip with the Motu m2 with the gain at minimum.
I can provide the audio if it's authorized.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Hi,
I'm having a bit of trouble setting with the Ifi zen phono 3.
I have a technics sl-100c with the Oc9xml, so I set the ifi to MC LOW, 100ohms.
With this setting, I have background noise and the gain is too high.
With the MC High setting, I don't have this background noise, but it's not the most appropriate setting.
I made a rip with the Motu m2 with the gain at minimum.
I can provide the audio if it's authorized.

MC low at 60 db gain is correct for a 0.4 mv cartridges. I have the original Zen Phono and never noticed a noise issue with MC cartridges on that setting. Possibly something wrong with your unit or some kind of switching noise loop in your setup.

 

[knownunknown]

sorry if this is maybe a little bit off-topic but i'm looking for a new phono stage right now which i would then integrate with a minidsp into my system (just want to correct the bass a little bit). zen phono 3 looks good and i have also read really good things about the iphono 3 black label, but now i wonder if there would be that much of a difference between the two when i dsp it anyway? hope that makes sense

 

[Xavier_Breizh]

MC low at 60 db gain is correct for a 0.4 mv cartridges. I have the original Zen Phono and never noticed a noise issue with MC cartridges on that setting. Possibly something wrong with your unit or some kind of switching noise loop in your setup.

I have the same background noise problem with the original Ifi.
I think 60db is too much, because as my screenshot shows, there are "true peak levels" at +0.14db.

 

[Bob from Florida]

I have the same background noise problem with the original Ifi.
I think 60db is too much, because as my screenshot shows, there are "true peak levels" at +0.14db.

What does +0.14 db translate to in terms of voltage peaks? Can you hear a problem when playing back music? 60 db with a 0.4 mv cartridge yields 400 mv - which should not be a problem. If you use the balanced output - you get 66db or about 800 mv. You could use MC High at 48 db and balanced out for 54 db to get something in between.
I use a Waxwing now - which is very adjustable and may give you what you may require. I keep the iFi for a backup.

 

[Xavier_Breizh]

What does +0.14 db translate to in terms of voltage peaks? Can you hear a problem when playing back music? 60 db with a 0.4 mv cartridge yields 400 mv - which should not be a problem. If you use the balanced output - you get 66db or about 800 mv. You could use MC High at 48 db and balanced out for 54 db to get something in between.
I use a Waxwing now - which is very adjustable and may give you what you may require. I keep the iFi for a backup.

Oh thanks, it's because I was using the balanced cable that my gain was slightly too high! Now I have to fix the ground noise problem.

 

[ryaneagon]

Bob, thanks so much for your response. That definitely leans me towards the Zen. Especially since I have a balanced input on my preamp. Thanks to everyone who has responded. Much appreciated and this has given me some valuable info.

I can’t speak to the Zen 3 specifically, but I do have the original Zen Phono, and it’s been serving my system extremely well. I upgraded to the iFi iPower2 power supply, though I can’t compare it to the stock version since I never used it.

I’ve considered upgrading to the Cambridge Audio Alva Duo, but every time I spin a record, I’m consistently impressed with the sound I’m getting from the Zen Phono. At this point, I’m not sure I’d gain much from switching.
For reference, my system includes:
• Anthem AVM70 Preamp
• Polk R700 Loudspeakers
• Dual 721 Turntable with an Audio-Technica VM540ML cartridge.
Happy listening.

 

[mike70]

Audio-Technica VM540ML cartridge.

great cartridge ... great performance / price ratio ... a definitive cartridge for 99% of the people

 

[FBech]

I am thinking about the Zen 3 vs Rega MK5 to use with Technics SL1500C and AT-VM95ML, wich one would you guys recommend?

 

[mike70]

I am thinking about the Zen 3 vs Rega MK5 to use with Technics SL1500C and AT-VM95ML, wich one would you guys recommend?

There's no Rega preamps measurements here in ASR (i believe), but we got the Zen 3 measurements and is very competent.
So ... short answer? Zen 3

 

[AudioSceptic]

There's no Rega preamps measurements here in ASR (i believe), but we got the Zen 3 measurements and is very competent.
So ... short answer? Zen 3

The Rega Fono MM Mk3 was measured here <https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/rega-fono-mm-mk3-phono-preamp-review.17278/>.

 

[mike70]

The Rega Fono MM Mk3 was measured here <https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/rega-fono-mm-mk3-phono-preamp-review.17278/>.

Great! ... now @FBech can compare by itself

 

[FBech]

Would the MK5 be different in measures?

 

[mike70]

The problem with Rega (in my opinion) is the price / performance ratio. I mean, the Zen is (as least) as good as the Rega, but with a much lesser price tag.

The classic western brands are having so much trouble to justify their prices when you go straight to real performance. An awful truth.