Stunning, Super Low Noise Floor Phono Stage
A stunning, super-low 85dB noise floor makes the iFi iPhono3 Black Label one of the quietest phono stages on the market. Like any good phono stage, it amplifies the signal, not the noise.
The Phono3 Black Label uses the all-new hand-matched Burr-Brown Soundplus® J-FET type operational amplifier. The Burr Brown is complemented by Panasonic Japan-made ECPU Film Capacitors designed for audiophile applications with vanishingly low distortion of <0.005%, infusing the iPhono3 Black Label with dynamic range performance that is second-to-none.
It also features audiophile-grade Nichicon capacitors, providing lower ESR, faster speed, and deeper bass. A computer-matched pair of planar high gain bi-polar input transistors lowers noise and distortion even further.
"It was like I was listening to a different pressing," reports Positive Feedback "It wasn't just the bass, the iPhono3 was getting more of everything off that LP. It was like comparing a standard issue LP vs a super audiophile quality 180-gram edition."
Exacting Equalization
Descending from the AMR PH-77, the iPhono3 Black Label has impressive DNA. One of the key aspects is the ability to precisely 'correct' the recording with the intended equalization curve. Trickle-down tech used in the iPhono3 Black Label means it features the six most popular stereo EQ curves. The results are so amazing, the iPhono3 Black Label will have you trying "just one more LP" into the wee, small hours.
Listen to vinyl recordings in the original and correct way. When so much is invested in an audio system, to leave out the final few percent of correctly matching the equalization to the LP is almost a sacrilege!
Well-Designed Subsonic Filter
The iPhono3 Black Label's subsonic filter is well designed and implemented. A warped track or record will cause a large signal output in the subsonic region, typically well below 20Hz. For example. A 33-1/3 RPM album with a single warped section can create a signal that will cause significant cone movement, and this is very undesirable. By correcting this issue at the root -cause stage, the subsonic filter ensures that the rest of your system will sonically benefit.
Class A TubeState® Technology
Wouldn't it be great if we could get 'tube sound' from solid-state gear? Most people would tell you that's impossible. But it is possible, and it really is worth it.
Many inexperienced audiophiles believe that the 'tube sound from solid-state' focuses on emulating the characteristic distortion of tube circuits, but iFi has long stressed that there is much more to just replicating the harmonic distortion of the tube sound. The key is not to add distortion, but to avoid certain types of distortion that are undesirable with respect to subjective sound quality. Class A TubeState® Technology eliminates these from solid-state circuitry, without adding on tube-like distortion and noise.
To enhance the audiophile experience, the iPhono3 Black Label employs a simple Class A buffer circuit. The Class A buffer minimizes the loading of the amplifier circuit and at the same time reliably biases the output stage of the integrated circuit amplifier into single-ended Class A (it normally operates in Class AB). Incidentally, all other stages in integrated circuit amplifiers operate in Class A. This is why biasing the output stage into single-ended Class A and adding the Class A Buffer is so effective to improving sound quality.
Direct Drive Servo-less
Direct Drive Servoless® is an important element of the audiophile experience, which is not visible in measurements but is quite audible. Unlike a standard phono stage design, the iPhono3 Black Label continues the special design tradition of being direct coupled (i.e. no coupling capacitor) from cartridge to output and it does so without requiring a conventional DC servo.
DC-Infinity Circuitry
In the iPhono3 Black Label the unique DC-Infinity circuit boosts the circuits DC gain to approach infinity. Once the feedback loop is closed, this near-infinite DC gain cancels all offset voltages to deliver a direct-coupled output with 0V DC offset. The key to the DC-Infinity circuit is that it only changes the gain below approx. 0.01Hz, while leaving the AC behavior of the circuit at higher frequencies unchanged, injecting neither noise nor distortion into the audio signal.
Any noise and distortion of the DC-Infinity circuit happens at the same signal level as the output signal and is by design around 100 times less than the noise and distortion of the actual amplifier circuit. So compared to the actual phono stage noise and distortion, it effectively disappears.
Set-and-Forget Precise Load/Gain Configuration
Your phono cartridge has been lovingly crafted. Whether it's MM or MC, no two cartridges are identical in performance. The iPhono3 Black Label, like the AMR PH-77 from which it descends, enables you to set the precise load/gain for the cartridge you have. Set it and forget it to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your precious pickup.
X-Powered
The iPhono3 Black Label demands the ultimate power supply. That means the newly launched iPower X. which has an exceptional noise floor of <0.1uF.
