The iFi Zen Air Phono Review!

Рет қаралды 9,936

Күн бұрын

Can you REALLY get a good preamp for under $100? We find out today. If that's your thing, you've found your place. Welcome to the Vinyl Attack!
0:00 - Intro
1:17 - The Specifics
3:16 - The Sound
5:31 - vs iFi Zen Phono
6:06 - vs Schiit Mani
6:39 - Caveats
8:50 - My Rating
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Пікірлер: 34

@bigmacfullerton7870 20 күн бұрын

Awesome review with great detail. I just bought the zen air from Crutchfield based on this review and many others. Nobody has anything bad to say about this unit. It’s right up my alley as I’m always looking for good sound at good prices.

@thevinylattack 20 күн бұрын

Let us know how you like it.

@Porco1984 8 ай бұрын

Great review 🤘I'm actually looking for a phono preamp in the $100-150 range and the Zen Air Phono is definitely one of the contenders, but that plastic case is a bit of at letdown. Also been looking at the Rega Fono Mini A2D MK.II, seems the be decently reviewed as well.

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

For the money, it'll be hard to beat.

@markpocock183 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for this. Would be interesting to get your impression of the MC performance.

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

The sound description I gave was for both MC and MM.

@jari121 8 ай бұрын

I have both the Ifi Zen phono and the Zen air phono. I don't think there is much difference in their sound with MM cartridges. I didn't want to buy a separate good power supply for the Zen air phono, so I use an inexpensive battery bank, which is also a quieter option. I bought the Zen phono used and the Zen air phono new so they cost me the same. I also have the Schiit Mani and agree with you about its sound compared to both Ifi Zen phonos. I use the Mani with the warm Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge and the Pro-Ject Debut 3 turntable. I use the Zen phono with the more neutral and brighter Nagaoka MP-200 cartridge and the Rega P-3 turntable. The Zen air phono I use with the Goldring 1012 gx cartridge and the Rega P-2 turntable.

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

I had a feeling the sound would be very close, but couldn't confirm for the video.

@djsoulfilter 3 ай бұрын

IFI Zen Air or Mani 2? I'm town between the 2.

@AcousticWisdom 8 ай бұрын

I’m running an old Dual turntable into an old pioneer receiver which has a built in phone pre amp. Can I use this in conjunction with that or would I need to do something different? I’m pretty new this stuff. Thanks 🙏

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

You can use this, yes. You would just take the RCA out of this preamp and run it into a regular input in your amp NOT the phono input.

@AcousticWisdom 8 ай бұрын

@@thevinylattack perfect 👍 thank you! There is always a really low hum from the turntable. Hopefully this would get off that.

@bearded_wolverine3503 2 ай бұрын

Have you done any reviews on the pro-ject box ds2?

@thevinylattack 2 ай бұрын

Not as of yet. Perhaps down the line.

@1mctous 8 ай бұрын

The Mani 2 is notably improved from the Mani, getting closer to neutral and sounding less constricted.

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

I'd really like to get one in at some point.

@1mctous 8 ай бұрын

@@thevinylattack I kept the Mani 2 for my 2nd system. The Yamaha A-S301's phono stage and DAC are pretty mediocre but the amp itself is quite good for the money.

@matereo 7 ай бұрын

The mani is a riaa thet sounds exeptional to some with the extremely unbalanced poor measuring Nagaoka mp110, and that should put out a warning to those who care about faithful reproduction of recordings.

@1mctous 7 ай бұрын

@@matereo If we only cared about measurements, we wouldn't play LP's at all! I have done direct LP-CD comparisons and am well aware of how the MP-110 departs from neutrality. However flat frequency response doesn't tell the whole story. I'd be hard pressed to find a $130 cartridge with better transient response and tracking.

@LS-ti6jo 8 ай бұрын

The regular Zen phono pre is great phono preamp, punching well above its weight class, though unlike you, I disliked its wall wart AC adaptor. Wall warts are a pain when used in a power strip or even a normal wall outlet. Other then that, the Zen is a smokin bargain. So I'd be interested in how it compared to this USB version

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

Wall warts are a bit of a pain, but they are also more stable than a USB connection for noise reduction.

@whiskey3057 4 ай бұрын

What would you recommend as the ideal setup: A turntable, stereo receiver and speakers or A turntable, pre-amp, amplifier and speakers?

@thevinylattack 4 ай бұрын

There's no one right answer. Everyone's needs and preferences will differ.

@gregthomas2852 8 ай бұрын

Hey Chris. On your recommendation a few years ago, I bought the original Zen Phono, and its still kicking it - this sounds exactly the same

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

I'm glad to hear it's working out for you.

@bauertime 6 ай бұрын

Would it be good to power the ifi with a usb power pack battery?

@thevinylattack 6 ай бұрын

I personally wouldn't, but I don't need another thing in my life that needs charging.

@bauertime 6 ай бұрын

@@thevinylattack Actually that's what I have found to be true. After dealing with it for a while, I've gone back to the plug. I'm not sure that I could hear a difference anyway.

@hifipi3.14 8 ай бұрын

I highly doubt anyone into MC carts would ever consider a $100 preamp. Even if it can do it, that buyer is generally looking for something better.

@thevinylattack 8 ай бұрын

You'd be surprised. There are lots of nice MC carts around the $500 range which would put this right in line.

@hifipi3.14 8 ай бұрын

@@thevinylattack maybe it’s just me, but if I’m going into that world $100 preamps aren’t on the consideration list. I did get a project phono box S3B with MC considerations down the line and feel like that’s on the budget end yet at $500. Instead of MC another gain option for MM seems like the better move, you did kind of touch on that. Always enjoy your videos though, would love to see more content 👍

@metaljoe9088 3 ай бұрын

@@hifipi3.14a hundred dollars without snake oil

@hifipi3.14 3 ай бұрын

@@metaljoe9088don't watch his video on cables, you might get triggered