IFi Zen Air Phono

Again, unless I was going back and forth, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I do think this is a good phono preamp, and if you'v...

It may not be the best, but it's definitely a good value proposition. It's definitely a good value.

Finally got a turntable, figured I'd tell a group that might appreciate it. For a 90s techno kid there was only one choice: SL1200 Mk5.

Rounding it out are an Ortofon OM10, ifi Zen Phono, Martanz avr, Outlaw amp, Arendal 1723S Towers

I wanted to see if a newer phono preamp was better than the phono section in my 50 year old Mcintosh Preamp. I wanted to like it. It’s too bright for my taste.

Straight away the sound was like a relief, much more relaxed, sibilance controlled and still detailed with width/depth. The noise from the Mani was still an issue, i was thinking the issue may be with dirty power or cabling issues or something but wanted to test the theory. So I based on reviews I bought an Ifi Zen Phono and yeah, noise went away. I think the sound is compatible to the Mani in terms of tonality, depth etc but jeez, that lower noise floor makes a massive difference (for me anyway).

So let me start with the bad. Build quality is lacking. The housing is made of plastic, which I knew going in. An attractive preamp but no weight. I like things with a little heft. Its so lite that my rca cables make the front pop up. On/ off switch is contrary. Sometimes it can take 3 pushes for it...

Phono Box DC. Pass on the Project with the logo on top. Pass on Fluance PA10 since the Art DJ Pre II is supposedly just as good for lower cost or you can get a better iFi Zen Air Phono or U-Turn Pluto 2 or Emotiva XPS-1 for the same cost as the Fluance.

I'm currently reviewing this phono preamp along with the Fluance model and the Emotiva Xps-1. The Ifi zen air is very clean, it has a nice smooth sound with plenty of detail. It's definitely better than the Fluance model. But the winner is the Emotiva xps-1. Spend the extra few dollars to get that m...

The phono preamp in the AT-LP3 is fine to start with for the basic Edifier speakers. A $20 one may not be any better especially for the basic Edifier speakers that will be the sound quailty bottleneck for the turntable. If you later upgrade to better speakers then consider an upgrade to a $65 Art DJ Pre II or better $99 iFi Zen Air Phono.

My purchase ONLY came with a USB power supply cable that was less than 3 feet long. The short length of the cable made it unusable without an extension. Using the supplied USB power supply (with an extension), the Zen Air was noticeably noisier than my NAD PP2 (that uses a regular wall wart power su...