A good phono amp, IFI Zen phono. A Schiit Mani alternative.
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- Опубліковано 2 тра 2021
- #phono #vinyl #turntables #audiophile #hifi #stereo
Non sponsored LED Task Lighting link : reliablecorporation.com/colle...
Marks system : • Video
Russ system : • Klispch Heresy III and...
Gear used in this
Silverline Sonata speakers
KLH Model 5 Speakers
Finale Tube integrated amp
Cayin CS55A tube integrated amp
Schiit Mani Phono
Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+
Project tubebox
Regar P3 Turntable with Elys 2 catridge
Non sponsored LED Task Lighting link : reliablecorporation.com/collections/lighting
Mark's system : ua-cam.com/video/20dVE-CjCP4/v-deo.html
Russ system : ua-cam.com/video/F_EGgQvHPR8/v-deo.html
I had just bought a Mani to use with my A12. Oh well, your review came just a couple weeks too late.
@@scottyo64 the Swagman lab linear PSU helps lift the Mani up a level
@hifi turtle It's high quality, you will understand the min you touch it.😁
Your detailed and honest review of this product further demonstrates why you are the gold standard of audio tech reviewers. Subbed.
One of the best and smoothest videos I’ve seen you do. Very helpful thoughts and impressions. Thanks!
I wanted to say thanks Thomas for your introducing me to the reliable corporation LED lamp. I bought one the with the round base. I got it today and I am incredibly impressed by how wonderful this light is. Not only does it light my turntable area, it will be perfect for maintaining my fishing reels this winter. The yellow LED color is so warm. What a great product. I also bought the IFI Zen preamp even though I was pretty happy with the phono stage in my Klipsch "The Fives" powered speakers. Definite improvement! The word for me on the Zen is brilliance. So bright, lively and warm, too. Good match for the Klipsch "The Fives". which I love love. You led me to two great value purchases. Thanks for the recommendation. You were so right about both of them.
Thanks for the great review Thomas :)
Love the channel!!! ♥️ keep up the good work
Cranking out the vidoes my man, happy to see. Pretty excited to hear your take on the model 5s bro.
Thanks, my friend Mr. Vintage just picked them up.Coming soon!
🤗 THANKS FOR SHARING …for all the vinyl loving audiophiles 😍😍😍
My pleasure!
Well Thomas, you've convinced me my friend!
Even though I already have a tube based phono preamp (of Hong Kong origin, no names..), that sells for 1,5 k, I got a demo from a local dealer of the IFI Zen 'toy' and, low and behold, this little thing opened up another - totally different - window in the music I was listening too!
The 'dead silent' background made slow passages in the music so detailed! I couldn't believe it!
I returned the demo unit and left the shop with a brand new one. No brainer really and at that price!.. Thanks for the review and keep your videos coming. 😃
Nice, glad you found a gem at an affordable price.
Perfect I had been looking for a turn table light!
Yeah, really high quality. I prefer the clamp one for my stand.
@@ThomasAndStereo I ordered a clamp on. Thanks!
I can be a little cheap sometimes myself !! You’ve helped me make up my mind with the IFI! It’s cheaper than the schiit for me as I live close to the uk. I think I’ll be happy with it for a long time as I’m not too much of a purist. I’ll use it with my p1/mp110 combo in my living room. Strangely I have an audio technica table now too and I prefer it to the p1 it sounds warmer punchier, more saturated, less detailed though..
I want to say that we’re quite spoilt for good cheap gear that punches above its weight too.
Hi Thomas I would like to thank you for this recommendation,my if phono zen arrived today. It has been competing with the lehmann black cube and the Vincent PHO300 .The ifi harmonizes best with my system (diplomatically expressed ) . Great Phono Pre Amp just like you described it .thank you so much. I paid 159 Euros what a great deal brand new. Keep up the good work
Great review, Thomas!
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank youThomas .
Can't wait for the klh video. Probably the most hyped and actually deserving speaker of last decade.
Well, it is hyped and good but only for the right people. I will make sure to emphasize that in my video. It is good but what does good mean in this case? I have a good story to tell.
@@ThomasAndStereo That you always have ofc everything in universe is relative and only perfect and BEST for some people. Just a thing for your electronics reviews thomas pls always mention the 4-5x price items that you/your friends compare the cheaper reviewed product to. Still can't wait for it.
So far the model 5's have been getting fairly glowing reviews. Considering the brand and its legacy, your comment there may be right on point!
Looking forward to seing you review more vinyl gear :)
I do have access to Phonostage that are like $2k+, I wonder if anyone cares.
@@ThomasAndStereo I do :)
keep up the good work
When it comes to vinyl, I enjoy the old tube sound.
I got a Rega P3 on release and the Zen Phono a few months ago. Yosi Horikawa's Spaces album sounds fantastic on this great combination. And Slayer sounds clear and angry.
Ah, so exactly like my setup.
I had a similar experience with a new Sumiko blue point special about 20 years ago, I was cleaning off the platter and the cloth caught the stylus, I never bought that type of stylus profile again. Nice Video thanks Thomas
Thanks for sharing!
Same here, but I bought another Sumiko BPS. Not using it though, on my Rega P5, I use Exact instead.
Sound in Sumiko BPS is very good, but this unprotected needle is for people that can afford to break it…
great video, I have a IFI Zen DAC/headphone amp and I really like it, have it paired with Paradigm Monitor Atom books, SMSL AD18, and a Def Teck sub on my desktop PC. Its wonderful. Big change for the better with the addition of the IFI Zen! and it drives my Highfiman HE 4xx headphones no problem and fully decodes MQA. IFI for the $ is awesome.
Yeah cheap but good.
Man, no one explain sound like you.
i got the iphono 3 black and it sounds absolutely insane on my system
KLH looks amazing...like a real speaker ...all hi fi equipment should looks like the 70's gear!
Haha, but don't forget about the wife approval factor!
Not into vinyl, but I definitely want to see your detailed review of the KLH Model 5!
Yeah, I might buy it myself and I have a good story to tell about the KLH.
@@ThomasAndStereo Can't wait to hear it.
Thomas I'm glad to see vinyl make an entrance on your channel. I stream and spin and really feel streaming is strongly connected to the tec culture where vinyl is heavily connected to the arts culture. My experience is that guys who are super concerned about DACs and sample rates tend to also be into phones, computers, TVs, engineering ect. Guys who listen to a lot of vinyl seem to often be very interested in literature, painting, psychology ect. It's nice to see you striking a balance!
Wow, very interesting observation.
@@ThomasAndStereo I wonder if that holds true for your group of buddies.
@@billbones1000 No, they chose Digital simply for convenience.
@@ThomasAndStereo my theory proved wrong once again lol. I'm telling ya Thomas, convenience will be the downfall of humanity (I sound like an old man). Have a great day my friend.
Well, until we interview 100 audiophiles, we don't know yet :)
It's about bloody time you mention vinyl, I was seriously getting ready to rumble! (see what I did there...)
Hello Thomas, I owned the Schiit Mani for some time then it puked on me two months before the warranty expired. They replaced the entire PCB. I did not want this to happen again, so I sold it earlier this year. Looking to always get the greatest bang for my buck, I ordered a Darlington Labs MM-6 a couple of weeks ago. I did not have to know the secret handshake to purchase one, the owner of the company Kieth has been very pleasant to deal with. Very nice to have LED color and placement options as well as the chassis color. Being the cheap guy that I am I did not pay for RCA outlet upgrade or feel there was a need for Mono switch option. Darlington Labs are not really on the radar. There are no UA-cam reviews on Darlington Labs phono preamps! After reading through a couple of threads on two different online forums I decided to make the purchase. Very interesting high voltage J-FET design that uses no op amps. Will be much different than any other phono stage I have owned.
What the??? That's a phono stage!! I thought it was just a DAC! I didn't bother to pay attention, YOU REVIEWED A PHONO STAGE!!! that's amazing!!
Yeah, it looks like their DAC and bluetooth receiver.
@@ThomasAndStereo to be honest I was into record collecting BEFORE I became an audiophile. I got a good record player and a good system to better serve my thousands of records.
Would be really glad to see you do reviews of turntables and related accessories, there is no one doing detailed reviews such as you do.
Thanks, I thought tjere are a lot of dedicated vinyl channels already talking about all those. I might be wrong.
@@ThomasAndStereo if there is a good review channel, please let me know. I know of only one good one, HiFiVynl but he tests mainly cartridges and only a few turtables. Others are plenty of people that talk turntables, but not a detailed review. I saw your review where you ask about speakers you have bought, do they do the job or not? I like that proposition and that's what I would like to get to on a turntable. Does the rega P3 do the job or no? Maybe I need to jump up to the P6. Or maybe I need to jump up to a Dr Deickert Volare with Kouzma arm? Hypothetically speaking of course.
@@ThomasAndStereo That may be, but they aren't YOU! : )
Excellent review Thomas...I loved my Mani. If you have a DAC that you love, give the Parks Audio Puffin a try. It has Coax out. I have it connected to a Gustard A22. It’s my end phono pre. I had a $3k phono pre. I sold it and kept my Gustard...
Nice, thanks for the tip.
I really enjoy your channel. Your reviews are really entertaining and helpful. I appreciate your taste, intellect and gentle manner. I'm writing to let you know that ifi is out of stock in this item less that a year after they had so many reviewers post reviews of their equipment. Kindly please be careful about reviewing for manufactures that have difficulty keeping these items in stock. (two years later, ok but some of these ifi phono zen reviews are three months old!) This makes reviewers look bad. If you review it and we can't even think about purchasing it, what's the point? If reviewers declined reviews for manufactures that have a track record of running out of stock (as Amazon states: "currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock" tell the companies like ifi "no" please! (I just checked tonight and there was "one left in stock" suddenly! LOL!+)
Recently I got an ifi Zen phono and compared to the MM phone stage in my integrated I was flabbergasted by the amount of detail a modest Rega P1 can deliver. But yeah, something more relaxed would be welcome as well, so I'll probably get a Schiit Mani too.
Yeah, good thing it is not expensive.
It’s about time you did something tt related.
I find that when I play lps on my TT through the IFI and Klipsch speakers, the contrast is precisely what helps to soften the Klipsch presentation to a rounded but detailed sound that is not entirely blunted. I usually experience what is called "warm" as too muddy. I think blunted is a better word to describe my experience. My problem is that I like detailed and bright sound, and I don't want to get fatigued. I get the matching and marrying idea, but sometimes contrast can help something becoming balanced or rolled off just a bit. I have used both the mani and the IFI, and if I can only have one, it would be the IFI. Thanks-
Thonas, You are funny. I seem to remember losing several styli because of wine drinking while playing records.
Ah, you know the pain.
Ok, Rega P3. You’ve redeemed yourself! And red! Extra credit, that’s my turntable. But I’m running an Ortofon 2M Bronze going into a Schiit Mani. I ordered a Mani 2 this week because it’s supposedly so much better.
Also, I had a chance to talk to a guy from Rega this past weekend at the Audio Advice Live show here in Raleigh. He explained the differences between the Planar 3 and the Planar 6. I told him I would’ve bought the P6 if it came in red. Sue me, but the design and look of a device is important to me and I love the red P3.
But the gist of the conversation was around the external power supply for the P6 and P3. That was the main reason I wanted to keep the P6. It’s not about the push button speed control, though that’s a plus. We’ll see. I’ll ask my local Audio Advice guys for one.
Thanks for this great video!
Would love to see you test the Rothwell Rialto phono stage! Not many reviews out there
Steve Guttenberg reviewed a phono pre from Bellari a while ago, and seemed to love it.
Thanks Thomas one thing i have learned aboug ifi audio is they build quality products even with their budget gear !
Ohh lsim sounding great with the AT7 I dont wanna leave for work !!! Ehaaaa!
Haha, man your Doge 10 review will be the first video outside my circle that will show the world what the Doge 10 can really do.
@@ThomasAndStereo 😃
I need a new camera and mic maybe i can do so hopefully before video 😃
Vocals have me dam emotional at times and that my friend is powerful shi$
love that finale amp had one in just before covid, lovely space and transparency almost touch air..., 24w or 34w i forget now but on bw 802s surprisingly ok but went with a 18w set from coincident that drove with much better presence and authority
Yeah coincident is pretty good too.
@@ThomasAndStereo coincident wins on the transformer cores and capacitance with the kind of drive(balls) i didn't think I could get from tubes. But finale has the holography down and then some it was hard to give up. But holography traded on solidity. Let's put it this way when I turned off the finale the amp ran signal for 2 or 3 seconds. My coincident ran for close to 8. Not even the allnic t2000 I had could do that
Wow, I did try the Allnic before and for you to like the coincident must mean it is really good. I only heard the preamp.
@@ThomasAndStereo allnic t2000 was fine and maybe able drove louder spl over all with is 75w in Pentode and 50 in triode and but was to sterile by comparison. And some how didn't match the magic of the SET 300b in a perallel 18w from coincident. Yes I was exceptionally lucky to have all 3 in for review at once . All nic was to costly to keep at 10k plus but did nothing in particular wrong just didn't over match the coincedent which was a 5th the price and almost half the finale.( coincident value proposition is unreal) (go talk to Isreal hell have something kicking around for review id like to think). I really though it would and should have and in the end considering my speakers it was between these 2. Im likely not even going to keep the coincident or any tube amp in the future as most dacs far exceed the noise floor and I HATE leaving perfomance on the floor from a dave or sonnet morpheus. Even my average solid state amps have made it apparent with these dacs mico detail is left out and there around under 105 and the best tube designs are low 90 if your lucky. So im looking at coda cs 16 and realistically a 15.5 plus used or used early 2000s big box markleveinson monos leaning more to Coda in particular as they out shine pass. To get to 125 snr or maybe better there really on Boulder and 1 or 2 others that play in that snr range competently( hardly anyone can break 120). Iv had 6 more sold state amps through and 802s ability to waste power kind shows how most amps are toys for boys.
What i like about the mani is you can fine tune the gains. Not that i can hear much a difference. , but hey. Its there if you need it.
One day I’ll upgrade to the Reliable Corp Led light but for now I’m happy using my Dollar Tree Sunbeam LED light.
I found the zen phono to be better than the one in my Macintosh ma252. Love the sound of it. And at a $250 dollars it's hard to beat.
Wow, that is saying a lot!
Reading the specs in detail I think the Zen has one BIG advantage over the Mani, the MC settings covers the most part of the cartridges on the market while the Mani is almost unusable
I would not go as far as saying “unusable” but yes, I guess it could be better; I have the schiit mani paired with a MC Ortofon Quintet Black S and it sounds very well but not excellent. Noise floor is high.
My personal kink is to pair an analog preamp with a turntable - tube analog even better.
Thomas, the Audio Six Acoustic “ York “ is a ball buster under $500 Canadian shipped direct made in Ajax
Oh wow, only a few hours away from my place.
Same thing happened to me with my Marantz TT. Had a cover made after that expensive mistake.
You see you see! They should make whoever at Marantz who made that decision eat grass for a week.
Great review! Would you consider the iFi to be a real step up, if you’re coming from the Pro-Ject Tube Box II? I would pair it with a low output MC cartridge and a class A tube amp.
Ooo, What's that I see behind you Thomas,. it looks like a set of Model 5's. Please could you track down a set of 40cm Stands to check them out on a stand, if possible. Many thanks
"I don't need it but I have to buy it cause it's a good deal".🤣🤣 I'm sorry to laph but now you know how I feel when I watch some of your videos. I'm not into vinyl but both my mom and sister had "record players" that died. I bought them each a Fluance RT82 and Schiit mani preamp cause I got a good deal. Now its your turn to laph.
Is it just me or am i hearing some sort of reberv in the video? anyway i am not into vynil but is always nice to see you review some audio gear.
Keep it up!
I wish I could get more excited about phono. We use the turntables so seldom!as the streamers have taken over, I have difficult justifying the extra piece of hardware. Most of our records are scratched anyway :-)
Now...let’s hear about those model 5s in the back!
Ah, the Model 5, interesting but in a good way.
@@ThomasAndStereo looking forward to the review. Hope you can pair them with your bc acoustics and Engage the loudness button
I have the Billie amp which has a decent phono stage. But I wanted to see if a separate one made a difference so I got the Mani, and it was solid, definitely made an audible difference for me. The biggest thing I noticed is that it had a lower noise floor and dark background, so it brought out the details. But then on a stream Sean said the Vista phonos are incredible (comparable to multi-thousand dollar phonos - his words) so I ordered the Vista Phono 2. Still hasn't arrived but I'm excited to see if it's another level up.
Don't think so mate you can't trust that website! who's this Sean you talk about, go for Ray Samuels f 117 or Graham slee
If it ever arrives let me know how you get on with it
Been rocking the Vista phono 1 on my Technics 1700 MK2 for a month or so and I can say you won't be disappointed in your purchase.
@@johnsweda2999 zero Fidelity, I trust him
@@jamesdwright nice, ppl on forums go nuts about them too so I’m pretty confident I’ll be happy
@@jamesdwright which rca do you use?
hardly anyone talks about vinyl anymore. I fear we analog audiophiles are a dying breed!
LP sales jumped by more than 50 percent in 2021, surpassing both digital and CD album sales. According to MRC Data, 41.7 million LPs were sold in the U.S. last year, up more than 45-fold compared to 2006 when the vinyl comeback began.Jan 12, 2022
I just restored 2 Empire turntables in the past month a 398 and a 498 and purchased a new Project carbon evo to screw around with in my living room and a pro-ject 6 perspex sb for my moderen hi-fi piece in my listening room. I think Vinyl is really Back for good .when i go the the record store its always packed and its from ages 18 to 70+ and according to the shop owner he said they been busy as can be past 10 years and its getting rediculous past 2 years especially .
I like the “mil spec RIAA” feature in the ad. I’m sure NATO demands no less.
Great review as usual. I do have the Marantz TT15 and bought the after market cover :) and with your recommendation and audition, I bought the Q Acoustics 500 and drive them with the Naim Unitii Atom. I do have the schiit mani as a phono - in this set up would you recommend to get the IFI to get the "edge" up and not to have a too smooth sound? thanks a lot and take care
Nice, well here is the thing. IFI has a great return policy and so cheap. You might as well order one to try.
Thomas & Stereo thanks for reply. Need to check return policy for Romania :) thanks again and be safe
I love stuf... that people just make.
On a different subject the new Node 3 is out. It looks fairly incremental but they make big claims for new DAC section. DAC chip is an upgraded BB chip, nothing that dramatic. Used in pi Hats and daps. So I'm curious, how good can the upgrade be realistically
Hi Thomas, how did the Zen compare to the phono stage of the CS55-A?
If you compare the power supplies DC 5V/0.5A for the iFi ZEN Phono and 16VAC 0.8A for the Mani 1. Mani 2 has 16VAC 1A. In my opinion any amplifier you compare you need to start from the power. Upgraded power supplies always have more Amps for example Swagman Labs makes 16VAC 2A for the Mani. And how quiet the pre amp is is mostly about the power supply.
iFi ZEN Phono up to 110pf vs Mani 2 up to 200pf loading. Mani 2 covers more cartridges.
Mani 2 has a low filter also. All these are adjustable from the toggle switches on Mani 2 to compliment your cartridge.
iFi ZEN Phono has balanced out.
Summery in my opinion is that both have lot of positive. In my opinion iFi ZEN Phono is more suited for the MC cartridge. Mani 2 can do MC but in my opinion is better suited for MM cartridge and does that very well. Starting from the power supply and added options and quality of the Mani 2 for MM I would choose Mani 2. With upgraded power supply it opens up fair bit too that is very noticeable upgrade. Not just placebo. iFi ZEN Phono the adjustment are limited. It does the MC very well and have the balanced option that keeps the iFi very competitive depending what cartridge you have or if you want to use the balanced out. But if you have spend lot of coin for MC I think you are not going to go with the cheapest option.
Quick question : would this beat the internal preamp of my technics sl1500c ? Looking for my 1st external.
Cheap? lol! I guess it is relative. I bought a Schiit for my daughter. And , WOW, sounds great for almost nothing. Very clean, very clean!
Yeah, I think phonostage is more high performing than DAC at the same price.
Hi Thomas, is that a Townshend Seismic Sink you have under your Rega P3? Really helps elevate the performance of many a turntable. Have you ever had air leakage issues with your unit? (Did with mine some years back) Best regards.
No air leak issue with mine so far, I never AB test it with and without so I don't know! No time! I only AB test stuff I make video on, and even then.
Well, Ifi is widely available in Europe through authorised dealers. Schiit is hardly available, from one or two hobby sellers. I already own the mani for my turntable, but if needed the Ifi is the logical choice. Also like my Ifi zen can, it looks like Ifi is here to stay. Nice review again!
Thanks, it is too bad for Schiit they don't sell worldwide.
I just want to hear a decent sample of those KLH speakers! All of these reviewers say its coming then nothing. And now a another tease!
For me it will be around end of June my review. That is when they have stock here in Canada.
@@ThomasAndStereo appreciate that
I just saw the great Floyd Toole appeared on Erin's channel and he said something very enlightening. Mr. Toole said for people who thought that the speakers they had sounded better after listening for a few weeks was actually THEM adapting to the speakers and NOT the speakers improving.
Yes, that is one of the arguement against break in. My only issue is the logic behind it. Does it apply to every single speakers out there or just some? Afterall, how many speakers have Mr Toole tested in a double blind test to draw that conclusion.
@@ThomasAndStereo I believe he's tested quite a lot when he used to work at Harman. He said on his recent interview that Harman has an equipment that costs 100K+ that can change the speakers in 3 seconds. If you have the time you should try and see the video. It would greatly help you in knowing his credentials. ua-cam.com/video/TcTydBUd8Wc/v-deo.html
Yeah, that is true, I should check it out before concluding anything. Thanks.
@@ThomasAndStereo Yeah Thomas I hope you will...would be nice if you could make a video and address some of what he said coz I for one would like to have your opinion with regards to his findings. One thing he advices is that its better to compare 3 speakers rather than only 2 since there's always a chance that the 2 speakers might have the same problems and one could easily miss that.
as always stay safe and keep well Thomas
Will I hear a difference in sound if I connect ifi zen phono to the integrated amplifier via balanced xlr ?
I have a Sony STRDH190 receiver. It has a built-in phono preamp.
I’m interested in the Schiit Mani, but I’m unsure if it will pair with my receiver.
My hope, is that by plugging the Mani into a line level input, I will effectively bypass the built in phono stage of the receiver? Or am I negating any sort of performance gain from the Mani by the end result still being produced by the Sony? (I’m too ignorant to precisely ask my question lol).
Any help appreciated
For sure It will bypass the built-in phono stage if you plug the mani in other inputs of the av receiver.
Excellent video as always, synergy is extremely important and it must match your own liking. I have the Schiit Mani paired with an Ortofon Quintet Black S, a Prima Luna EVO 400 and Klipsch speakers; it sounds beautiful but the Mani’s floor noise is a bit too high with MC cartridges
You need to upgrade the power supply with the Upgrade Audiophile Power Supply for Schiit Audio MANI Phono Stage 16V AC L16-11 from ebay
It would be great if you could review the vista audio phono 2.
Yeah, it seems highly recommended.
I went through all 4 iFi ZEN stack pieces: DAC, CAN, BLUE and PHONO - cheap, quite nice for the price but nothing special. Both DAC and CAN have issues with the potentiometer at the first 15% from minimum volume: the channels are not synchronised so music becomes mono-ish. BLUE was really nice though. PHONO - just in the middle. Each of them is cheap but when you buy them all you are at 600 already and million cables needed. CAN has only 2 inputs (RCA and balanced) meaning: where to connect PHONO if you have them all? I liked the 2 extra buttons on DAC but in CAN they are even on higher level. Overall: quite nice products.
Thomas would you please request the Vista Audio Phono-2. Maybe you and Loic can split it.
Let me ask Sean to hook me up with Vista.
@@ThomasAndStereo yep, Boris is such a great guy and you’ll love his gear.
I have the Schiit Mani 1, Schitt Mani 2, IFI Zen Phono, Parasound Zphono USB and a Parasound Zphono XRM. The Parasound USB is superior to all of them , as it has a better sound stage, detail and it's much quiter due to a robust powersupply (2 power transformers) it's very heavy for a Phono preaamp at 7.2 lbs. The rest of the phono preamps are toys at slightly over 1 lbs.
Thomas, you mention the Pro-ject Tube Box. Can you describe the iFi Phono vs. the Pro-ject?
The project tube box with tubes is closer to the Mani than the IFI. It is not as clean but for some people, they might prefer that because they spin vinyl not to have that ultra clear sound. The difference is subtle but according to Russ who did more serious testing than me, the other phonostages are better than this older project. Strangely everyone I know who got a chance to try this project thought it was just ok, no one ever said wow, this is amazing.
@@ThomasAndStereo Thanks. This review was super timely for me as I've been looking at more budget oriented phono stages for my second system.
Shannon Parks..PUFFIN !! Very good guy many years he has been active in the audio diy communities. one time I found an TAL 1775 and he provided info badly needed to get fixed. Good video thanks!
Loved the review! What would be a nice tube pre amp to pair with it?
Depends on your budget, only tube preamps I have tried recently are the Schiit Freya and Doge 8.
@@ThomasAndStereo budget, i consider anything under $600 is budget these days
Not many tube pre amps under $600 I know Of though :-/
Yeah, maybe the musical paradise but it is slightly over $600.
Hi Thomas.....I like watching your channel...just wondering if you are in Toronto ?
Thks,
Jeffrey
Thanks, Montreal.
what is the setting of your Mani to compare it with the iFi Zen for your Elys 2? have you tried this mode Gain 1= H, Gain 2 = L (Low Output MM/High Output MC Mode)
No I have not. Thanks for the tip, I will give it a try.
I recently purchased this preamp connected to my Schiit Freya + with balanced and RCA. At after about 1 o'clock on the volume a hum/buzz starts to come in both inputs with or without the turntable connected, gets louder as I increase. I do not get this on my other inputs. Is this normal or defective? I have time to send it back. I use the RCA to feed through a tube buffer and I have done all the isolation possible.
I don't know, email and ask them.
Would you consider a discussion about what is the best room size and configuration first. Then consider speakers and other electronics. Thanks.
I don't think it is a topic I can cover as I am not a specialist in room accoustics. Also, the best room is the room that a person can afford. If i say 15x 18 ft but if someone does not have a room that big, then my suggestion is not useful.
Not really looking for anything definite more as a discussion in the theoretical hypothetical dialogue with other audio enthusiastic people you know about the subject, but thanks.
How can I become a patreon on your channel?And I’d like to get some audio advice about purchasing my first high end system. Do you offer that service?
I don't have a Patreon account. Perhaps I should make a video on 'Giving advice on building high end systems'
I did watch your video about purchasing a system as a beginner, I’m not actually a beginner but in a way I am , you should offer a paid service to coach subscribers on system purchasing , you have a lot of experience with a lot of gear , that I will never hear and could save me from a lot of bad purchases, money spent with you would be money well spent and would I be ahead in the end , it’s a service the audio community is in dire need of , consultation service , system synergy and matching . Hold make you crazy , then again you may find it rewarding if the guidelines are set up appropriately , let me know what you think .the biggest thing for me is actually finding out what I actually like , I took a big step in that direction yesterday while listening to the sonus faber sonata 5, ever heard real imaging and soundstage. Things floating around in there own space , with tons of information, frigging amazing first time for that, still in my mind today , thanks
I am using the Cayin CS55-A with my Music Hall MMF 7.3 turntable and there's intermittent humming. I was wondering whether is the phono stage in my Cayin good enough and contemplating buying either the ifi Zen Phono or ifi iphono 3. May I have your comments on the phono stage of the Cayin and also whether should I buy the cheaper Zen phono or bite the bullet and go for the more expensive phono 3?
I think the Cayin phono is more analog sounding than the Ifi Zen. You should not have any humming, I never had it once. Perhaps check with the manufacturer? Everyone whom I know who has tried the Phono stage in the Cayin thinks it is great.
@@ThomasAndStereo thanks for your reply. When using the ifi bluetooth streamer with the Cayin, there's no noise. I've grounded the TT to the Cayin so wondering what should I do to eliminate the humming.
Have you tried to plug the turntable to another power outlet?
Thomas,
What about the sound body?
Was going to buy the ifi but I hear the MM gain is too low 36db for my Nagaoka mp110. Apparently this is a weird figure they have used and my cart need around 40db.
我只能用MC HIGH 那些小小的燈火又不能換取,如何用的?
IFi Zen compared to newer Mani 2? 😁👍
Thomas and turntable!please tell me that the sun tomorrow it comes from the same direction
Lol
why am I watching, I don't even own a record player...
lol !!!!
So you can hear about how Thomas got his heart broken.
Thomas, I think you should review the ifi iphone 3 black label
Yeah, I should give their more expensive stuff a try. So far my experience with IFI has been good.
I just purchased one. It’s incredible.
Wait so which one do you prefer overall?
Hi Thomas.....I was wondering if you could review the Yamaha RN 803. No one has reviewed it so far. I think it's the most powerful stereo receiver for the money.
I actually owned a few Yamaha amps in that series like the AS801. Its good for the money but I never felt the voicing was for me.
@@ThomasAndStereo 👍
Treat yourself to a Soundsmith AIDA cartridge as on my Revox TT and be amazed at the sound.
Sorry, gotta call Soundsmith out. I have a Carmen catridge in repair...FOR ALMOST A YEAR! They dont answer email and I've gotten through on the phone once, 5 months ago. They were terribly sorry and were going to bump it up in line. I've given up.
How does it compare to Mofi Studiophono? (At usd350)
Sorry, never heard it.
Ifi make some great affordable products. A tad more expensive; Vista phono 1 should be considered.
Cool, I did not know they had a phono.
Based on your description of its sound, it seems that the IFI Zen would have been a much raved phono stage back in the mid 1990s given its price-performance ratio. But in 2021, it faces a very tough competition from Schitt.
Yes, budget gear are so good today.
If you want to be blown away by a phono preamplifier get the trigon vanguard III and you will throw the zen away. The trigon brought my vinyl replay to a whole new level.
sure, but that is 5x the price.
@@ThomasAndStereo and if you love your vinyl and want to bring it to another level at $1500.00. In my opinion it's a deal. high-end phono preamp from brand names cost a lot more . Have you heard better I would like to know? The phono stage in my macintosh ma252 is not very good. I found the zen phono to be better. But when compared to the Trigon I couldn't believe the difference. For me it was day and night. Well worth the cost difference.
Hey Thomas, I have the ifi phono 3 as well as a Pass Labs XP17 and the differences are gonna be down to budget and preference. The ifi is highly detailed and punchy, the XP17 more organic and 3 dimensional, I don’t think the Pass Labs performs 4 times the price of the ifi though.
5:24 thanks bud lol
You ever heard the Cambridge audio duo ?
Thomas’s heartbreak story was funny but sadly many audiophile quality turntables don’t come with a dust cover. And even operating the tone arm can occasionally result in some sort of phono stylus tragedy.
Oh really! I thought most would come with a dust cover. I guess it is to save cost.
@@ThomasAndStereo Supposedly, a hinged cover when opened acts as a sound sail. Turntable guys believe it will concentrate unwanted signals for the stylus will pick up. Who knows. They could be just imagining it.
@@waynert3548 I see, I will be glad to sacrifice a bit of fidelity to have a dust cover though. As you said, who knows.
That turntable story is the funniest I’ve ever heard in the audiophile world. I do emphasize though. I’d be traumatized too.