iFi IFI-ZEN-PHONOv3 – Pre-amplifier

Turn on, Tranquillity.
In a world full of noise, welcome to ZEN.

Futuristic Features. Nostalgic Feeling.
In a world where modern technology is ever-evolving, simplicity and connection are what we crave most. Nothing demonstrates this quite like the familiar act of picking your favourite LP, hearing the soft crackle before it starts, and sharing a story or two with friends as you listen together.

If this is the type of connection you crave, then a well-designed phono stage is integral for your vinyl setup. It takes the subtle whispers of your cartridge and amplifies them hundreds of times, making your vinyl’s magic compatible with headphones, amps, receivers and speakers. The ZEN Phono 3 opens the door to that analogue world with style and substance. With an intelligent warp filter and versatile loading options, you will be able to hear your over-loved LPs as new and fully experiment with your system setup.

Packed with trickle-down technology from our prestigious history with sister company AMR, the ZEN Phono 3 is a noise-free upgrade that will allow you to slip seamlessly back into the blissful world of vinyl.

Superior Specification.
Zen Phono 3 boasts futuristic features unlike any other entry-level stage:

• MM/MC with 36-72dB gain range
• Independent loading adjustment
• Super-silent -151dBV noise floor
• Precise RIAA with balanced output
• Intelligent subsonic filter
• High-tech 1.2MHz clean power supply

Super Smart. Super Subsonic.
Standard subsonic filters aren’t intelligent and are typically loathed by audiophiles. They filter not only the bass rumble from warped records but also the bass of the song.

Our intelligent subsonic filter knows the difference between the two and only filters the warp, leaving the song completely intact, and without adding group delay.

Your Cartridge. Your Rules.
The ZEN Phono 3 supports four MM/MC gain selections from 36 to 72dB and four input impedance settings.

Mix and match gain and loading settings independently of each other with the all-new loading button, ensuring optimum compatibility with a wide range of cartridges and allowing you to get the sound ‘just right’.

Exacting Equalisation.
At the vinyl mastering stage, records are pressed with an inverse RIAA equalisation curve applied. This needs to be undone on playback by the phono stage to reveal the magic of the music.

ZEN Phono 3’s RIAA EQ circuitry uses multiple TDK C0G capacitors in parallel. This is for best stability and the least distortion.

This allows for ZEN Phono 3’s RIAA playback equalisation curve to be within +/- 0.15dB tolerance from 20-20kHz, allowing you to hear your records more accurately than ever before.

Its RIAA accuracy is on-par with more costly phono stages that use hand-selected capacitors.

Shockingly Silent.
ZEN Phono 3 has a high-tech clean power supply built directly into it, isolated on its own “island” and away from the rest of the board.

The power supply’s isolation mitigates noise pollution of the analogue stage – ensuring that only the audio is amplified and allowing for the noise-floor to remain whisper quiet.

ZEN Phono 3’s Equivalent Input Noise measures at -151dBV, which is 20dBV quieter than some Stereophile Class A+ phonos. *

For optimal noise performance, ensure that you are providing the cleanest power to your Phono 3.

The iFi iPower2 is an ultra-quiet, ultra-clean audiophile-grade power supply, featuring Active Noise Cancellation II technology to cancel out all incoming EMI and RFI noise. You’ll never feel powerless against noise and graininess again.

• Since the very first iPhono launched in 2012, we have used our own in-house Subsonic Filter. As there is only minimal vertical modulation remaining at very low frequencies with an actual cut LP that is playable, we know that “vertical modulation” at low frequencies must be warp.

  By understanding fully how LP’s are cut and replayed, it is possible to filter record warp strongly without at the same time attenuating low bass or adding group delay.

• As with many other iFi audio products, we’ve incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier. This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%) and wide bandwidth.
• TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications.

  Getting ever closer to the theoretical ideal of pure, frequency-constant capacitance, these capacitors reduce capacitor-induced distortion to vanishingly low levels.

• Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, high output drive capability, Common-mode and Power Supply Rejection Ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths and high slew rates.
• With MM/MC, high/low and very low, the ZEN Phono is able to handle just about any cartridge. From 36dB all the way up to 72dB. So as your vinyl system grows over time, the ZEN Phono will always keep up.
• Balanced circuit design. Just not seen at this price point it is a superior method to the traditional single-ended circuit approach. Balanced circuits reduce noise and crosstalk. Less Interference – clearer sound.
• muRata control-type, low-ESR high-Q multi-layer capacitors. The ‘ESR control’ aspect of the Murata is something special. Their noise suppression abilities are impressive.