-12.56%

iFi Audio Zen Phono Preamp

✓ 1 Year Warranty included
✓ Authorised UK Dealer
✓ FREE 2 - 3 Working Day Delivery

The ZEN Phono is a wonderful enhancement to your vinyl setup. It will max out every MM/MC cartridge.

Regular Price £199.00
On Sale Price £174.00
YOU SAVE 12.56%

LPs + ZEN = Magical combo

You’ve spent years building your dream LP collection. We know because we have done the same!

The ZEN Phono is a wonderful enhancement to your vinyl setup. It will max out every MM/MC cartridge.

Choc full of AMR/iFi trickle-down vinyl technology, it will have you poring over your LPs into the wee, small hours.

Spec’d to make you smile

Unlike any other entry-level phono stage. The ZEN Phono has:

 - MM/MC from 36dB >72dB gain. Super-silent noise floor -151dBV
 - Precise RIAA with Balanced output, performance comparable to +$1k phono stages 
 - AI sub-sonic filter. Addresses warp without eliminating bass or causing phase issues

Hissless whisper

Flagship phono amplifiers create their own power supply off the mains, like a mains regenerator. This is fundamental to a well-designed phono stage. Without this, it will struggle to amplify the signal without added noise. This is why phono stages ‘hiss’ so annoyingly.

Unusually, the ZEN Phono has its own high-tech clean power supply. It creates a 1.2MHz power supply (20,000x mains frequency of 60Hz). In this circuit, a 10uF filtering capacitor = 200,000uF at lower, audible frequencies. With serious levels of noise filtration, it performs at the level of well-designed LC filtering circuits as found in classic tube amplifiers. Further, located on its own ‘island’ PCB, it is isolated so there is no noise pollution of the analogue stage.

Mil-spec RIAA

The EQ circuit uses multiple TDK C0G capacitors in parallel. This is for best stability and the least distortion. They beat polystyrene capacitors and are close to Teflon. Read more here.

Already using the lowest tolerance capacitors combined with multiples in parallel, tolerance is exponentially improved by the square root of the number of capacitors. This is quite a natty circuit design.

The RIAA EQ tolerance level (+/- 0.15dB) is impressive as it is en par with hand-selected capacitors!

With great circuit comes great components

The ZEN Phono has some seriously good audio components backing up the fab circuit design which has trickled-down from its ultra-fidelity AMR PH-77 and iFi iPhono siblings.

Super sub-sonic

The intelligent sub-sonic filter is from the iPhono range and is quite special.

Normal sub-sonic filters remove ‘rumble’ AND bass and cause phase issues.

Our unique AI phono sub-sonic filter removes ‘rumble’ only.

More Information
Features

Gain settings

MC (v lo)@            72dB (+/- 1dB)
MC (lo)                   60dB (+/- 1dB)
MC (hi)                   48dB (+/- 1dB)
MM                         36dB (+/- 1dB)


AI Sub-sonic filter       

Remedies only the 'warp' in LPs               

No negative impact to bass response

 

Max Output Voltage                         

(RMS) 20v RMS bal output into 100k (< 1% THD & N)
13.5V RMS bal output into 600R (< 1% THD & N)

 

Output Impedance:

BAL                  200 Ohm resistive
SE                    100 Ohm resistive


Input impedance

MM: 47K Ohms
MC High: 47K Ohms
MC Low: 1.4K Ohms
MC V Low: 110 Ohms

 

Signal/Noise Ratio:

94dB(A) MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
80dB(unweighted 80kHz BW) MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
84dB(A) MC Hi re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
71dB(unweighted 80kHz BW) MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
90dB(A) MC lo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
79dB(unweighted 80kHz BW) MC lo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
79dB(A) MC vlo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL
69dB(unweighted 80kHz BW) MC vlo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL

 

EIN (equivalent input noise):

0.6nV|/Hz (unweighted) MC lo/vlo

6.5nV|/Hz (unweighted) MM/MC hi -151dBV (A weighted)


-141dBV (unweighted)
-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


Dimensions

158 x117 x35 mm
6.2" x 4.6" x 1.4"


Power Supply:

DC 5V / 500mA


Net weight:

515g (1.14 Ibs)


Warranty:

12 months


How will you send my item?

We ship to addresses within the UK using Royal Mail and DPD couriers.

How much does delivery cost?

Standard 2-3 working day delivery is FREE on all orders to mainland UK. Next working day courier service is available on all orders for a small fee of £4.99. On some items this is provided for FREE. 

For orders to UK Non-mainland and International destinations, there will be an additional charge at checkout. Please see below for more information.

How long does delivery take?

Depending on the delivery service you choose, delivery usually takes between 1-3 working days to mainland UK from the moment we despatch your order. Orders to UK non-mainland and international destinations can take longer.

When will you despatch my order?

Orders placed before 3pm are processed and despatched the same day (excluding bank holidays and weekends). Orders placed on weekends will be processed and despatched the following working day.

*Please note that international orders may require extra checks before we are able to despatch your order so timescales may vary.

Can I track my delivery?

Yes - Order tracking is offered as standard on all items, whether they are shipped via DPD or Royal Mail. You will receive your tracking information via email once we have despatched your order. 

UK Non-mainland and International destinations.

Due to the UK leaving the EU, some of our delivery partners have changed the way we ship to international and offshore destinations. This means that for the time being we are unable to ship items to these locations.

We are still accepting orders to these destinations however delivery times and prices are not final. We will confirm via email once we know more from our delivery partner.

Shipping for all items to UK Non-Mainland and International destinations will incur a charge at checkout. This charge is not final and we may need to charge for additional postage if required.

Shipping to international destinations may require further security checks and I.D. may need to be provided by the cardholder. We reserve the right to cancel any orders where you are do not pass our security checks or do not pay for appropriate postage.

Please note that we are unable to ship some items outside the UK. To avoid any disapointment please contact us before making your order.

What do you class as UK Non-mainland?

Rep. Ireland, N. Ireland, Channel Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and Scottish Highlands. If you are unsure whether your address is classed as UK Non-mainland please feel free to contact us and an advisor will be happy to help.

For any further enquiries with regards to your delivery please contact us on 020 8813 7666 and one of our adviser's will be happy to help.


If you're not happy with your item or you've changed your mind.

Even though we're sure you'll be happy with your purchase, it's important that you are aware of how we deal with returns in the event that you need to send something back.

We understand how inconvenient it can be when you buy a product and aren't 100% satisfied with it. For this reason we have designed our returns policy to prevent any further inconvenience to you in these instances.

Under 30 days

  • You can return your goods for a full refund or exchange as long as you inform us of your intention to return the goods within 30 days of receipt, starting from the day after you receive your goods (Exclusions apply, see below.)

  • All return costs are down to the buyer and it is recommended that you return your items using a trackable method with appropriate insurance (if required).

  • Once we have confirmed your return, please ensure that you return the item within 14 days.

  • If a returns number is provided then please ensure that the parcel has this clearly marked.

  • Items need to be returned in "as new" condition in their original packaging. We don't mind if you open the product to check it, however any used or damaged products will be subject to a 25% handling fee so please take care when opening your items. 

After 30 days

  • We will not offer a refund after 30 days of you receiving your delivery unless your product is faulty. 

Exclusions from our returns policy

As we're sure you'll understand, there are some products that we can't offer returns on due to their nature. These include:

  • Special order items and cables cut from a reel (priced per metre). These items will be clearly identifiable.

  • In-Ear headphones due to health and hygiene reasons.

  • Products that include software which require activation.

 Please note that these exclusions do not apply to items that become faulty.

If your product becomes faulty

We endeavour to get your items to you in fully working order, however in the event that your items do become faulty, please read below on what you should do next.

In a lot of cases with some products, faults can be fixed by performing some basic troubleshooting, so to prevent any further inconvenience to you we advise that you contact our Customer Service team who can guide you through some basic troubleshooting before sending items back.

Under 30 days

  • If your items become faulty within 30 days of delivery you are entitled to a full refund or exchange. Please contact our customer service centre who will provide necessary returns details.

  • Please send the items back with a cover note including a description of the fault and your original order number.

  • Once we have fully tested the item and confirmed the fault, we will process the refund or exchange including cost of carriage back to us (within reason).

  • If during our testing we cannot find a fault, no refund will be given and you will be charged for delivery of the item back to you.

After 30 days

  • After 30 days you will still be able to get your faulty items repaired or replaced within the manufacturers warranty and we will be happy to assist you with this. Please contact our customer service team to find out the best way to get your items repaired or replaced. Please be aware that after 30 days we will not cover you for any carriage costs.