MeloManiac Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 (This is a re-post from the Lounge section, but I think it deserves a place here too). "Find your inner calm with the iFi ZEN phono" That's what is referred to on the box of what I got in the mail today. I'd been sitting on the fence for this budget audiophile grade phono stage, and last week I found one in the open box section of a European shop, grade A, so I bought it. These are my first impressions. I'm comparing with built in phono stages of my vintage Onkyo amp, a H/K 430 and a brandless, China made phono stage of 44 euro. That last one I used with my Leben CS300, which must have been insulted by it - if it were a person - and it also had a hiss in left hand channel, which annoyed me, and was the reason for having it replaced. For those who are less familiar with iFi: they are a British company, producing high end audio gear (mostly DACs and in-betweens). They also sell small but pricy high end phono preamps. iFi's ZEN series is their budget tier, which offers a lot of value for money because some of the high-end technology has trickled down to the ZEN level... So... my first reactions. Well, I had prepared a stack of my favourite vinyl albums, and while listening to those, I thought, okay, well perhaps the reviewers are right: the staging is nice and wide, even 3d, and there is 'total darkness' when no music is playing, and the lows and highs are well ballanced. But my cheap China phono stage does that too, mostly, for a quarter of the price, if you forget about the hiss in the left channel for a moment. So did I make a mistake buying this? It was only when I listened to my second stack of albums I had prepared, that the iFi started shining and making a difference. This stack contains 'difficult' albums, some iconic, but for some reason, they never really sounded good on my system. Just to name one, Bruce Springsteen's Burn to Run. I've had this album for a very long time, and love all the songs on it, but somehow, it never sounded 'right' on my Leben CS300 + Heresy combination. Now it does. The same with vintage vinyl classical music albums (from the pre-barcode era): gone is the grainy sound, now they sound just right, and clean. At the moment I'm grading exams (!), so there's still many hours of music I will be listening too while doing that. Listening to vinyl records is great when grading, because it forces you out of your chair every 25 minutes or so (better for my back...) 😉 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Nice review and pics, Professor. That deserves an A. 👍 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 I don't give anyone an A but in this case it's warranted. Skool of hard knocks grading scale. I was wondering about getting one of those when I was shopping for a pre. Wound up with a Schiit Mani, which cooks. Also thought about a Puffin but who knows. A Mani is hard to beat imo for $150. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 @Shiva He only got an A because he used quotation marks to highlight his topic. Guess that's why teachers make the big bucks. 😂 😂 😂 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 3 hours ago, Dave1291 said: A Mani is hard to beat imo for $150. The Mani does not support Mc cartridges, I read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 I just wanted to add two pictures. First, this is my old preamp's last appearance. Who came up with the idea of calling it 'IAMNOBODY? Second, the best song to play on the ifi Zen Phono... Must be Radiohead's Karma Police! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1291 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 I never saw a non-support post for MC. My Dynavector 20x sounds great with it! https://www.schiit.com/products/mani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeloManiac Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 6 hours ago, Dave1291 said: I never saw a non-support post for MC. My Dynavector 20x sounds great with it! https://www.schiit.com/products/mani You are right. I stand corrected. Must have confused it with sth else I read. In fact, the Mani and Zen are very similar in specs and price: 189 euro. They both increased their prices with 20 per cent, here in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Nice review. I might be in the market for a new phono stage to replace my 20+ yr old K&K. But my sights will be set well above this price point. But good job nonetheless. Shakey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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