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iFi Zen Phono 3 Preamplifier Review

Rate this phono stage:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 5 4.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 32 26.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 80 65.0%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 6 4.9%

  • Total voters
    123
excuse me, but i didn't understand what you said, english is not muy mother language, maybe is something with me.
do you suggest that i confused wow & flutter with vibration control or that i don't know about 80s DD (my first Technics was a mk2 in 1982) ?
I wasn't addressing you but rank.. and was just warning against a risk of confusion... pitch / w&f adjustment... the numbers being close...
I was just extending your point.
 
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So here is a list of my turntables/tonearms/cartridges, Goldmund studio/ Delaleu/AKG P10ES, Goldmund studio 2/Magnepan Unitrac 1/Goldring 1006, Thorens 318/SME 3009/DL 103, Thorens 145/Shure N91ED, Thorens 184 for 78 rpm, Thomson Linear Motor (made by Sanyo)/ Sumiko Blue Point Special with Lyle kit, Vieta/ADC/Shure M 44.
I think you don't know ANY of them.
So I know what I'm talking about for 50 years and what wow and flutter are, I was a hifi salesman and not the low-end first price ones like Walmart!
 
and so a wf of 0.2% would not bother you... it's good to know for the future....
(for a slightly educated person, with piano..it's unlistenable... )
 
Ohh ... It's proved since decades ago my friend ... wow and flutter and resonances / vibration control are key factors.

Something "easy" to check for? If I do little finger beats in the plinth of my Technics I hear nothing/nada in the speakers. If I do the same on the lp120 of a friend you hear a "thump" sound. So, believe in what you want, some folks believes in a flat earth and they're happy anyway.

But, with bad shape records and a wasted conical stylus, surely everything sounds the same.
No argument of course except insults of such subtlety that one is astonished. Music does not soften manners on this forum.
i repeat, you can think whatever you like ... i'm a vinyl listener for more than 40 years who owned many turntables and cartridges.
i only try to say to other people that maybe is reading the thread that turntable quality is important, more on a totally mechanical device, and who wants to search for more documentation about it, is pretty publicly available.
That's all, closed discussion for me.
Too bad not to have this great idea before.
 
and so a wf of 0.2% would not bother you... it's good to know for the future....
(for a slightly educated person, with piano..it's unlistenable... )
Even the most ardent vinyl defenders don't listen to solo pianos on vinyl, because of the wood fire sound in the back. Unless you're completely deaf.
The Pierre Clément H4L7 turntable from 1960 has 0.3% and certainly those who buy one and restore it with the period cartridge are a....s. Of course they avoid putting a Chopin on it.
Yes of course the others are not educated like you. Fortunately. They may have even been to school. And do not have such an avatar (quite well representative it must be said).
 
Even the most ardent vinyl defenders don't listen to solo pianos on vinyl, because of the wood fire sound in the back. Unless you're completely deaf.
The Pierre Clément H4L7 turntable from 1960 has 0.3% and certainly those who buy one and restore it with the period cartridge are a....s. Of course they avoid putting a Chopin on it.
Yes of course the others are not educated like you. Fortunately. They may have even been to school. And do not have such an avatar (quite well representative it must be said).
c est bien pour vous si vous n ete pas gené par de tels pleurages 0.2 0.3%.. ;-)
(This is a problem because it is combined with the w&f throughout the process of making a vinyl... recorder if reel to reel, "engraver", etc.)
(a large part of the success of the dd came from the significant drop in wow even on "modest" machines... see the figures for the old denon from... 1972 etc ....below the 0.05% rms mark)
 
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No argument of course except insults of such subtlety that one is astonished. Music does not soften manners on this forum.

Too bad not to have this great idea before.

About the topic, I already said it was closed for me, so no more comments about it.

But ... Insults? Wow!
Take a walk in the park, I think you're stressed, a little worried about you really.

Forget this, is only a hobby :)
 
Even the most ardent vinyl defenders don't listen to solo pianos on vinyl, because of the wood fire sound in the back. Unless you're completely deaf.
What did solo piano fans do in 1978?
 
About the topic, I already said it was closed for me, so no more comments about it.

But ... Insults? Wow!
Take a walk in the park, I think you're stressed, a little worried about you really.

Forget this, is only a hobby :)
You said you were done venting your nonsense but no way. Comparing people with different opinions than you, therefore normal, with flat-earthers considered morons by those whose minds are fed by TV is probably a compliment. You have to reread yourself when you no longer know what you are writing.
 
What did solo piano fans do in 1978?

the crackle noise in vinyl only happens if you don´t take care of the records ... and never before have been such sophisticated cleaning tools at such a low price, never.
you can find with aspiration, ultrasonic, etc .. at really budget prices compared with the hi-fi madness.

as an example, this video shows other stuff (AT cartridges comparative), but you can have an idea of proper care records, and you sure will listen with headphones ... on your listening position (5-6' or more) you woudn't hear any noise.

 
We are far from Phono 3. Like any subject on vinyl (like the long 'can anyone etc - where I can no longer post- where we learn strictly NOTHING of course), it becomes a place where some come to tell anything.
 
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How would you guys compare this with Rega MM Mk5 soundwise? which one may be a better choice?
 
How would you guys compare this with Rega MM Mk5 soundwise? which one may be a better choice?

simple answer ... get the Rega measurements and compare it.
then you'll have a data based decision and not on what Joe listened ( Joe ears, Joe acoustics, Joe cartridges, Joe settings ... and Joe mental bias).
we're talking about electronic devices with electrical properties, not magic druids potions
 
simple answer ... get the Rega measurements and compare it.
then you'll have a data based decision and not on what Joe listened ( Joe ears, Joe acoustics, Joe cartridges, Joe settings ... and Joe mental bias).
we're talking about electronic devices with electrical properties, not magic druids potions
The measurement technique used needs to be understood as well. The thread below highlights this very well. Worth reading and understanding - regardless of agreement with which measurements are most correct.

 
The measurement technique used needs to be understood as well. The thread below highlights this very well. Worth reading and understanding - regardless of agreement with which measurements are most correct.


oh yes, you need to know about it, nobody said it was free :)
that's an informed decision ... or ... play the roulette with subjective opinions, that's the price of total ignorance.

but, to choose a phono preamp does't need an engineer degree, i normally use the objective data to not pay thousands for something equivalent at 10x lesser price tag.
flat RIIA eq, decent SINAD for a phono preamp (70 - 75 dB or higher, of course), decent overload, low capacitance, ... and ... not many more stuff. Then you can choose with price / features.

It's not too complex, right?
 
Thanks, its the first preamp I get, and I don´t know anything about measurements, I will start to learn. I ordered both and I am listening to both at home, I can´t decide which one sounds better. They are different for sure, with Rega in the brighter side
 
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