Heads up!........ifi Phono 2

Great sales pitch on the site, I'll give them that.

1000 quid this side of the pond, however...was interested until I saw the RRP. Might demo nevertheless.

 

The spec’s seem to have improved.
From 82 to 85 dB signal to noise
From 102 to 106 dB dynamic range.
From 70 to 71 dB x talk
From 0.008 to 0.005% total harmonic distortion
Weight also slightly increased from 0.44 to 0.58 lbs
iPower X supply.

 

Even if it cost 1/3 of that, you're still taking quite the risk in terms of its potential reliability, or lack thereof.

 

Gain setting for MM of 36db or 48db, are they having a laugh ?

 

Yes, that is a concern, however I wonder how many owners of the phono2 did have a problem?
I am running my phono2 already for 2 years continuously and never had an issue.

 

That's one person. Read through the thread for other experiences.

 

Earlier reported problems are attributed to a faulty batch of power supplies. They replaced the faulty ones with the iPower AC/DC converter. I bought my iPhono2 just after this event. I had returned my first trial iPhono2 with the old PS, because of a hum, and when I was told that iFi had just upgraded the PS I bought the upgraded unit. This hopefully explains why my iPhono2 has been running faultlessly since then.

For the new iPhono3 I think I will give them the benefit of doubt and demo one. If it sounds even better than my iPhono2 for MC it will be very, very interesting. And, if they are the company they want to appear to be, it would be foolish to let such a QC error to happen twice. Also, their numerous other products seem to be of good quality.

 

I returned two faulty Iphono 2’s before deciding on a NVA, but the above makes sense.

 

36 seems a bit low but wouldn't 48 be good for a lot of homc's?

 

Of course, but what about most MM's ?! These would require a 40db setting most of the time.

 

Sorry to hear that you were unlucky. The iFi sounds great, if set up carefully (and when it is working) but there are of course good alternatives in this price range.

 

I did get to listen to it for a short period before it stopped working and it does indeed sound very good. It appears that here in Denmark the 3 will be priced at around 1000£ (ca twice the amount I payed for the 2 through Amazon) so it should be a different beast altogether.

 

Here is a first review/impression of the iPhono3 BL. ifi iPhono 3 Black Label Phono Review – First Look
In some aspects it seems a match with $4k phono amps (micro dynamics, soundstage), but in the mid range it is still a bit unpolished. It still needs a longer break-in to fully judge it.

 

It's about the same price as the Chord phono stage. This might be a good comparison. Also stages in the £1500 range such as MF M6 Vinyl and Goldnote PH10. Both these provide more convenient adjustment than dip switches and the MF will accommodate 3 arms/cartridges simultaneously. Goldnote also does historic curves as well if you have 1950s records. At the new price it's close to some stiff competition.

 

Gain setting for MM only between 36 and 48db ?! !

 

I certainly hope it’s more reliable than the iPhono 2 was. The price jump is pretty hefty too.

 

Has anyone purchased the IPhono 3 yet? Curious as to quality, especially after this rave Fremer review:

iFi's iPhono 3 MM/MC Phono Preamplifier Takes A Giant Sonic Leap Forward

 

The iPhono2 I had was really good until it died. Then I had it fixed and sold it. It died again on the new owner.

I wouldn’t touch an iPhono3 with a ten foot pole.

 

I had two dying on me. If they haven’t fixed that PSU problem by now they are beyond stupid.

 

And yet more bought it in spite of all these warnings.

 

Brand new PSU with the 3. I'd heard the 2 had a revised PSU towards the end of its run.

Curious pricing given the relatively poor reputation here - no doubt this thread pops up for the prospective consumer. I'm sure it's a good stage but there will be cold feet.

 

Some people will probably buy it anyway - they always do. Especially when the stealth marketers on social media start up the hypefest.

A real review of this thing should involve a 2 year field test. IIRC the last model usually crapped out 1-2 years in.

 

Mine made it 9 months the first time, and under 6 the second time. The first time, they changed the board to an updated version.

 

Not sure if is mentioned earlier on this thread or not, but Michael Fremer posted his review of the ifi Phono 3 on his Analog Planet website. It is a very interesting read and quite thorough. Mike really likes it.

 

He always likes whatever. Guy is a pure blowhard. How some look up to him is a mystery to me. The Howard Stern of vinyl.