![]() ![]() The job of the Phono stage is to apply the RIAA curve to decompress the signal, as well as to amplify the low voltage from the cartridge to the line level. Records are compressed a lot to keep the stylus from jumping around in the groove from what would be bass frequencies. IFI carefully chose the capacitors and placed them in parallels. Dynamic recordings sound better, this is likely how the RIAA curve is applied. When listening to Taylor Swift’s Folklore, you can sense the cottage setting it was recorded in. Through the Zen, my sample records seemed to bring out more of the ambient sound from the recording space. The Zen was overall a little nicer to listen to than the LP-7’s built-in phono stage. For the Moving Magnet test, I used the 2M Blue from Ortofon. The differences are not major, for any of the comparisons, though they are noticeable. Let’s take a look at some of the comparisons. I chose these three for a couple of reasons, I am intimately familiar with the material, and they offer a great range of sound. ![]() I listened to a ton of different records, though for taking my notes I primarily used Taylor Swift’s Folklore, Modest Mouse’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and Moby’s Reprise. I wanted to try and balance the test as best as possible so I chose similar “level” cartridges. For the tests, I used two cartridges from Ortofon, the 2M Blue and Quintet Blue. While you can of course use the Zen Phono with any turntable, there are many other options that may more appropriately pair with the upper end of turntables and cartridges. At the price point of 200 dollars US I thought this would be a good real-world test. I compared the IFi Zen Phono to the built-in MC/MM phono stage in the Audio Technica LP-7, as well s the MM stage in my Marantz SR-7009. Obviously, there are a near-infinite amount of variables so your mileage may vary. After a few listens I just left it on for the rest of the time I listened with the Zen. Usually, when correcting one issue, it means sacrificing something else. There is not a notice cost for this to be on. The filter is designed to reduce rumble and aid with warp. I would leave this off at first and listen to something you know well and then try listening with it on to see if it offers you an improvement. You also have the option of switching on the subsonic filter. Next using the Dip Switch on the back, select the mode you need depending on your cartridge type. ![]() In case this is your first time using an external Phono Preamp, make sure you do not plug it into the phono inputs on your preamp. Plug in the wall power adapter and turn it on using the power button on the front. You just need to unplug your interconnects from your preamp, plug them into the input side, move the ground over to the Zen and then use the included or another set of interconnects to connect it to any of your analog inputs on your Preamp. Getting the Zen Phono ready to go is really easy. So did the Zen bring us analog bliss or is it a miss? Set up Many integrated Amps do not have the ability to use MC cartridges built-in. Which if for no other reason is probably the easiest use case to make for the Zen Phono. The only comparison I could not make is trying the Quintet on the Marantz as it does not have an MC phono stage. We compared the Zen to the built-in phono stage in my LP-7 and my Marantz SR7009. Does the sound line up with the Zen DAC, Amps, and so on? We tested it with both and Ortofon 2M Blue (MM) and an Ortofon Quintet Blue (MC). At $199 it fits right into the price point of the Zen lineup. ![]() IFi sent over the Zen Phono, one of the Zen line products we actually hadn’t played with yet. ![]()
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