ifi ZEN Phono, Manual

Page 1: ... SFBS 08 JOQVU 5IJT JT B 08 JOQVU TVJUBCMF GPS DBSUSJEHFT XJUI UIF PVUQVU WPMUBHF MFTT UIBO PS FRVBM UP N7 1MFBTF TFMFDU BJO BU UIF SFBS 7 08 JOQVU 5IJT JT B 7 08 JOQVU TVJUBCMF GPS DBSUSJEHFT XJUI UIF PVUQVU WPMUBHF MFTT UIBO PS FRVBM UP N7 1MFBTF TFMFDU BJO BU UIF SFBS 46 40 JMUFS 0 0 5IJT JT UIF 46 40 GJMUFS TXJUDI 5IF J J EFTJHOFE TVCTPOJD GJMUFS XJMM JOUFMMJHFOUMZ EFUFDU XIFUIFS B TVCTPOJD GS...

Page 2: ...TVQQMZ 5IF 1IPOP NVTU 0 CF QPXFSFE CZ WPMUT PS CFTU QFSGPSNBODF VQHSBEF UIF FODMPTFE QPXFS TVQQMZ UP B TVQFS TJMFOU J1PXFS 7 PS UIF VMUSB MPX OPJTF J1PXFS 9 7 QPXFS TVQQMZ 7FS JGJ BVEJP DPN 4QFDJGJDBUJPO OQVU WPMUBHF 7 7 XJUI UIF FODMPTFE QPXFS TVQQMZ SFRVFODZ 3FTQPOTF BMBODFE L E 4 L E IBOOFM 4FQBSBUJPO E L BMM NPEFT BY 0VUQVU 7PMUBHF 3 4 BMBODFE 7 3 4 3 5 4 7 3 4 3 5 0VUQVU NQFEBODF BMBODFE 0IN ...

Page 3: ...ZEN Phono Lowdown ...

Page 4: ...INDEX INTRODUCTION BOX CONTENT CONNECTIONS TECHNOLOGIES COMPONENTS OUR VINYL DNA FAQs LIFESTYLE DESKTOP SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS 3 4 5 6 12 13 14 19 20 ...

Page 5: ...irst and foremost the noise floor is a whisper quiet 90 96dB 36 60dB BAL 2V SE 1V A weighted on MM MC respectively It is also able to handle MM MC cartridges from 0 25mV to 2mV to bring true high end performance and flexibility to the entry sector Finally the ZEN Phono has the performance and the features not found in many other phono stages MM MC 36dB 72dB gain Noise floor of 90 96 dB Balanced ci...

Page 6: ...le for MC cartridges with the output voltage less than or equal to 0 5mV Please select Gain 3 at the rear 5 MC V LOW input LED This is a MC V LOW input suitable for MC cartridges with the output voltage less than or equal to 0 25mV Please select Gain 4 at the rear 6 SUBSONIC Filter ON OFF This is the SUBSONIC filter switch The iFi designed subsonic filter will intelligently detect whether a subson...

Page 7: ...CONNECTIONS Power input DC 5V Balanced Output 4 4mm Grounding Terminal RCA Output RCA Input 5 ...

Page 8: ...ut this it will struggle to amplify the signal and not add noise The super quiet ZEN Phono is dedicated to this cause It creates a 1 2MHz power supply 20 000x mains frequency of 60Hz Here a 10uF filtering capacitor equals 200 000uF at lower frequency The result VERY large filtering as per classic LC filtering in tube amplifiers Located on its own island so no surrounding noise pollution It outputs...

Page 9: ...ity and least distortion possible even when compared to polystyrene capacitors They are nearly as good as Teflon Despite already using the lowest tolerance capacitors and multiples in parallel tolerance is exponentially improved by the square root of the number of capacitors The ZEN Phono achieves RIAA EQ tolerance level 0 15dB which is en par with hand selected capacitors 7 ...

Page 10: ...sues Solution The iFi AI Subsonic filter removes rumble ONLY and so has only a positive impact on sound Our own unique AI Subsonic filter has been used since our first iPhono in 2012 Thereafter in the iPhono2 and the iPhono3 Black Label and now the ZEN Phono There is no other 200 phono stage that has this 8 ...

Page 11: ...e album into the wee small hours Works with any cartridge 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 keep easily keep up Balanced circuit design Balanced circuits are just not seen at this price point It is a superior method to the traditional single ended circ...

Page 12: ...ow noise density and low distortion 0 0001 This is an amplifier that performs on a much higher level sonically than the product price suggests Panasonic ECPU capacitors Each ECPU capacitor is constructed from some 3 500 layers of ultra thin dielectrics less than 0 5μm thick It offers class leading Equivalent Series Resistance ESR low impedance and frequency stability and vanishingly low distortion...

Page 13: ...tortion and high slew rate Class 1 ceramic TDK C0G TDK C0G capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications They are pricey but are a perfect addition to our products Multi layer capacitors The ZEN Phono uses 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 impre...

Page 14: ...COMPONENTS 12 ...

Page 15: ...hono stages even further Michael Fremer s advice If you own an iPhono2 and love it sell it and buy an iPhono3 It s that much better The improvement isn t incremental It s a major step forward One customer said of the new iPhono3 Black Label My wife and I agree on the term sweet which is not an adjective I ve ever heard to describe an audio component But it is quite involving and we don t want to s...

Page 16: ...using ultra modern manufacturing methods the ZEN Phono s fundamental design is based on classic ultra fidelity products These were in their time considered as market defining Vendetta Labs SCP 2 AMR PH 77 The ZEN Phono offers true high end performance objectively and subjectively Who should use it It is an extremely high performance phono stage which is compatible with all kinds of vinyl pickups a...

Page 17: ...lifier is balanced as well we suggest you use the ZEN Phono s 4 4mm Pentaconn output with a suitable cable For equipment with XLR balanced inputs a 4 4mm 2 XLR cable is required For equipment with jack inputs a 4 4mm 2 1 4 jack cable is required What types of cartridges can the ZEN Phono handle The ZEN Phono works with all electro dynamic stereo cartridges currently and historically manufactured e...

Page 18: ...se repeat until playback levels are normal If you find the playback is too loud and or distorted despite the volume being set very low please move the cartridge selector one step towards the MM position turning the ZEN Phono OFF before changing the switch position Please repeat until playback levels are normal You may not be able to use the same volume setting as you do with modern CDs or download...

Page 19: ...r cartridge is engaged Can I use a DC power supply more powerful than suggested 5V As long as the voltage is 5V 10 and with the correct polarity any power supply including USB using a suitable adapter cable can be employed Can I power ZEN Phono from my USB port If it provides 5V as requested and you have a suitable cable then yes Is ZEN Phono s DC input with a center pin positive or negative ZEN P...

Page 20: ...encies resulting from warped records records that are not perfectly flat Such signals can cause the so called woofer pumping effect excessive distortion and possibly damage to speakers if the volume is set too high The way the filter is implemented in the ZEN Phono only removes the unwanted vertical extreme low frequencies however actual bass signals present on the LP are allowed to pass unaltered...

Page 21: ...LIFESTYLE DESKTOP SYSTEM When combined with ZEN CAN Creates a lifestyle vinyl system Compact desktop headphone system Future expansion with active speakers ...

Page 22: ... Gain Settings MC vlo 72dB 1dB MC lo 60dB 1dB MC hi 48dB 1dB MM 36dB 1dB Output Impedance MC vlo 72dB 1dB MM 36dB 1dB AI Sub sonic filter 20v RMS BAL output into 100k 1 THD N 13 5V RMS BAL output into 600R 1 THD N 20 ...

Page 23: ... MM re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 84dB A weighted MC Hi re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 71dB unweighted 80kHz BW MM re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 90dB A weighted MC lo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 79dB unweighted 80kHz BW MC lo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 79dB A weighted MC vlo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 69dB unweighted 80kHz BW MC vlo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 21 ...

Page 24: ...4 Ibs EIN equivalent input noise 0 6nV Hz unweighted MC lo vlo 151dBV A weighted 141dBV unweighted 6 5nV Hz unweighted MM MC hi 130dBV A weighted 119dBV unweighted Harmonic Distortion 110dB 0 0003 MM re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 80dB 0 01 MC lo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 86dB 0 005 MC vlo re 2V BAL 1V UNBAL 22 ...

Page 25: ......

Page 26: ...Type A Connect where appl icable This iFi device with a USB type A male port f Type A was designed for direct connection to mobile devices to extract the digital signal ...

Page 27: ...e For connection via Apple iOS use Apple USB to USB C Lightning Android use On The Go USB C USB micro For further support FAQs and SupportTicket Systen1 https support ifi audio com 11 Please ensureyour Androidis USB host modecompatible ...

Page 28: ...h USB power 3 5 times then the LED should be BLUE It should stay like this for a few hours depending upon how flat the battery is If not please re insert the USB cable with USB power 3 5 times again and once the LED is BLUE leave for at least 6 hours 3 After a long period on inactivity say 3 6 months please fully charge the machine again Ideally repeat this process once every 3 months 4 If you enc...

Page 29: ...Dual Lock Fasteners where applicable CD ifi audio com Ver1 0 ...

Page 30: ...warranty In order to activate the warranty for this iFi product you must register with the iFi we bsite Component Serial no ...

Page 31: ...s Step 2 Complete name system details Dear iFi customer Thank you for purchasing this iFi product Step 3 Provide as much system information as possible Please do not hesitate to contact us ifyou have any questions surrounding our products support http support ifi audio com ...

Page 32: ...e or type ifi audio intoYou m search You will find two setup videos MQA Decoder eg Pro iDSD MQA Renderer eg nano iDSD BL Just sel ct the correct video setup for your device Any queries please search the FAQs or open a support ticket here 1 https support ifi audio corn TIDAL ...

Page 33: ...not have been stored in a humid environment nor subjected to weather water or saltwater pray iFi shall not under any circumstances be liable for any incidental or consequential damages drising from the loss of property or other damage or losses due to the failure of an iFi product iF11s not liable for loss of use or inconvenience caused by the failure of an IFi product Fi is not liable for damage ...