ELEVATE YOUR VINYL LISTENING EXPERIENCE WITH THE IFI AUDIO ZEN AIR PHONO

iFi Audio ZEN Air Phono is the latest addition to the company's “ZEN Air” lineup of products. The ZEN Air Phono is a phono stage that’s ideal for those who love vinyl records – perhaps returning to the format, as many have done in recent years, or discovering the joy of vinyl for the first time. That’s where the ZEN Air Phono comes in – not only does it offer excellent performance with both MM and MC cartridges, but it also delivers an ultra-low noise performance that’s measurably and audibly the cleanest and clearest at its price point – just like its big brother, the award-winning ZEN Phono. This ensures that the listener hears every drop of detail against a super-quiet background.

EMBEDDED WITH HIGH-QUALITY COMPONENTS FOR A HIGHLY IMMERSIVE SOUND

iFi Audio over the years has attained a reputation for producing high quality and high performing devices. Continuing the same path, the new ZEN Air Phono is compatible with both MM (Moving Magnet) and MC (Moving Coil) cartridges, it delivers an ultra-low noise performance and simplifies the fully balanced circuit design of its mainline ZEN equivalent but still retains an asymmetrical channel layout with high-quality surface-mounted Panasonic ECPU capacitors offering low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), high stability and low distortion. Each ECPU capacitor is constructed from some 3,500 layers of ultra-thin dielectrics less than 0.5μm thickness. It also has a precise RIAA equalisation setting to satisfy the most demanding vinyl lover. This pays dividends in terms of sound quality and the accuracy of RIAA equalisation. In common with many iFi devices, a custom OV Series op-amp is used – in this case, the OVA2637A – further contributing to the price-busting sonic performance thanks to its ultra-low distortion characteristics (THD <0.0001%). ZEN Air Phono also embeds TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors to offer high stability and lower losses for resonant circuit applications.

ENJOY CLEAN AND THUMPING BASS WITH ZEN AIR PHONO’S SUBSONIC FILTER

iFi Audio designed the ZEN Air Phono realising the practical limitations of a vinyl set-up and problems related to it. To tackle a common issue of subsonic signal output caused by warped records, iFi Audio ZEN Air Phono features a Subsonic filter. A feature of all iFi phono stages, this proprietary circuit ‘intelligently’ filters out the unwanted subsonic output without affecting any deep bass on the recording. This feature is a rarity in the devices found in this segment and gets rid of an undesirable side effect of some warp filters. The inclusion of this feature is highly thought out and you will never have to deal with muddy low end again.

BUNDLED WITH A PREMIUM QUALITY POWER SUPPLY THAT ELIMINATES NOISE

The finest high-end phono stages have their high-quality power supplies, effectively ‘regenerating’ electricity drawn from the mains to amplify the delicate audio signal from the cartridge without adding noise. The ZEN Air Phono achieves this aim but not in a conventional way; its power supply has an oscillation frequency of 1.2MHz, at least 20,000 times that of mains electricity. In this circuit, a filtering capacitor with a 10uF rating is equivalent to 200,000uF at lower, audible frequencies, delivering superb filtering power. The power supply circuitry is located on its own ‘island’ on the circuit board to ensure there is no contamination of the audio signal – just super-clean +/-15V DC power.

THOUGHTFUL CONNECTIVITY WITH DUAL GAIN SWITCH FOR DISTORTION-FREE AUDIO

Like every element on the iFi Audio ZEN Air Phono, the connectivity aspect has been well thought out and executed to deliver a hassle-free experience. Connectivity has been kept simple with gold-plated stereo RCA sockets in and out, without the 4.4mm balanced output option of the mainline ZEN Phono. A grounding terminal is also provided; attach a turntable’s grounding wire to this to eliminate audible hum. Aside from the simple connectivity ZEN Air Phono offers straightforward MM/MC switches (40dB/64dB gain) on the rear panel to change the gain setting as required. The ZEN Air Phono’s high-gain MC circuit delivers a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio of -82dB – no other phono stage in this segment comes close.

SHOWCASING A STURDY AND ROBUST BUILD AND MADE WITH QUALITY MATERIALS

The ZEN Air Phono look similar to its brethren in the ‘main’ ZEN line, featuring the same desktop-friendly size and distinctive shape. In place of the extruded aluminium enclosure used throughout the ZEN Series, the ZEN Air devices sport a synthetic polymer case with a textured finish, each in a different shade of grey. This isn’t just generic ABS plastic; it’s a high-grade thermoplastic polymer with additives to reduce brittleness and improve shock absorbance. This material provides adequate protection to the ZEN Air Phono and has a minimal aesthetic that exudes elegance.

The iFi Audio Story

From live experience for your home to on-the-go music for your ears, iFi Audio has a wide range of audio products for every music enthusiast. Ever since the beginning of iFi Audio in the year 2012, it is the love of music lovers that have been encouraging iFi audio to develop audio products that make a difference in how music is heard. The products are designed, developed and manufactured in iFi Audio headquarters in Southport, UK. The materials are sourced from across the globe including from countries like Germany, USA and Japan. iFi Audio has its distribution centre in the USA and is working hard on increasing its global network of distributors.

The High-Octane Audio

iFi Audio is an award-winning company focussed to deliver audio products to enrich music listening experience. iFi Audio understands how important music is to people and therefore all of their products are centred towards delivering amazing sound that is free of noise, distortion and other kinds of hiss. A studio-quality sound which is close to how the artist intended the music to sound. The materials that are used in most of the iFi products are used to enhance the sound performance of the product by eliminating echo and disturbing jitter.

A Proud Eco-Friendly Company

iFi takes the environment safety sincerely and recognizes their role to contribute to the cause. Therefore all the iFi products including their packaging are made of eco-friendly materials like aluminium paper and recycled plastics which can be recycled and reused in the future. iFi Audio makes sure that no hazardous toxins or materials are used in the products and that they meet the standards of environmental safety