ZEN Phono Lowdown
INDEX 3. INTRODUCTION 4. BOX CONTENT 5. CONNECTIONS 6. TECHNOLOGIES 12. COMPONENTS 13. OUR VINYL DNA 14. FAQs 19. LIFESTYLE DESKTOP SYSTEM 20.
INTRODUCTION 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. Pedigree. Performance. Peerless. The ZEN Phono is an entry level phono stage with a difference. Normally, sub £200 phono stages add excessive noise that hinders musical enjoyment.
BOX CONTENT 1 Guide: 1. Power ON/OFF This is the power switch. 2. MM input LED This is a MM input suitable for MM cartridges with the output voltage higher than 2mV. Please select Gain 1 at the rear. 3. MC HIGH input LED This is a MC HIGH input suitable for MC cartridges with the output voltage less than or equal to 2mV. Please select Gain 2 at the rear. 2 3 4 5 6 4. MC LOW input LED 6.
CONNECTIONS Power input DC 5V* Balanced Output 4.
TECHNOLOGIES Regenerated power supply 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 super clean +/- 12V DC. Top of the range audiophile phono amplifiers create their own power supplies off the mains, like a mains regenerator.
TECHNOLOGIES RIAA EQ at military specification level 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! Famous 2-stage circuitry with the latest op-amps.
TECHNOLOGIES No ordinary sub-sonic filter 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. Issue: Normal subsonic filters remove ‘rumble’ AND bass AND phase issues. Solution: The iFi AI Subsonic filter removes ‘rumble’ ONLY and so has only a positive impact on sound.
TECHNOLOGIES With a great circuit comes great components With some serious boutique audio components behind a circuit design that uses trickle down tech from its ultra-fidelity AMR PH-77 and iFi iPhono siblings, from the moment you lower the needle, you will be immersed, playing ‘just one more 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.
TECHNOLOGIES iFi/AMR ‘OV’ ICs This OV series operational amplifier is another example of a top-notch component used to get the best sound quality out of our products. The OVA2637 op-amp is used as it has low 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.
TECHNOLOGIES Texas Instruments ICs TI low-noise ICs offer great Unity-Gain Bandwidth, very low-noise, high output-drive capability, Common-Mode Rejection Ratio: 100 dB and maximum-output-swing bandwidths, low distortion 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.
COMPONENTS 12
OUR VINYL DNA A short history of our vinyl DNA 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 stop listening." AMR made the PH-77 which was a £12,000 ‘Stereophile Class A’ rated phono stage. It is a dual-mono, 35 kilo beast. It just sounds amazing.
FAQs • What is it? • Who should use it? It is an extremely high performance phono stage, which is compatible with all kinds of vinyl pickups and can be used either to connect a turntable to an amplifier without a suitable input, or as substantial upgrade over in-built phono circuitry. It is a phono preamplifier that amplifies the low level signal from a turntable’s pickup to a line level signal that can be applied to amplifiers, preamplifiers, mixers, A/D converters etc.
FAQs • How do I connect the ZEN Phono to my turntable? • You need to connect your turntable’s RCA outputs with the RCA inputs on the ZEN Phono’s rear, and also connect your turntable’s ground with ZEN Phono’s grounding pin. This is located just next to its inputs.
FAQs • How do I know which cartridge setting is for me? 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. Please see your cartridge’s instruction manual, and select its type and gain setting via the gain switch located just next to the DC input on ZEN Phono’s rear.
FAQs • How will I know that the ZEN Phono engaged the right setting for my cartridge? • If it provides 5V as requested and you have a suitable cable, then yes. One of four LEDs on the ZEN Phono’s front will indicate the setting selected via the gain switch on its rear. Please see if a LED corresponding with your cartridge is engaged. • Can I power ZEN Phono from my USB port? • Is ZEN Phono’s DC input with a center pin positive or negative? ZEN Phono’s center DC pin is positive.
FAQs • How is the ZEN Phono’s 4.4mm balanced output wired? • It’s wired accordingly to the Sony standard. • What does the ‘subsonic filter’ button do? And should I have it engaged? The subsonic filter removes extreme low frequencies 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.
LIFESTYLE DESKTOP SYSTEM When combined with ZEN CAN • Creates a lifestyle vinyl system • Compact desktop headphone system • Future expansion with active speakers
SPECIFICATIONS Gain Settings AI Sub-sonic filter Output Impedance MC (vlo) 72dB (+/- 1dB) MC (lo) 60dB (+/- 1dB) MC (hi) 48dB (+/- 1dB) MM 36dB (+/- 1dB) 20v RMS BAL output into 100k (< 1% THD & N) 13.
SPECIFICATIONS 94dB (A weighted) MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL 80dB (unweighted 80kHz BW) MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL 84dB (A weighted) MC Hi re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL Signal / Noise Ratio 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
SPECIFICATIONS EIN (equivalent input noise) 151dBV (A weighted) 0.6nV|/Hz (unweighted) MC lo/vlo 141dBV (unweighted) 130dBV (A weighted) 6.5nV|/Hz (unweighted) MM/MC hi 119dBV (unweighted < -110dB / 0.0003% MM re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL Harmonic Distortion < -80dB / 0.01% MC lo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL < -86dB / 0.005% MC vlo re 2V BAL/1V UNBAL Net weight 515g / 1.14 Ibs Power Supply DC 5V / 500mA 22 Dimensions 158 x117 x35mm / 6.
