Jason was kind enough to offer me an opportunity to listen to the ifi iPhono2 and asked me to post my impressions. I know I have kept it too long (sorry Jason) as the Christmas holidays and business travel kept me from blocking out time to listen to this little gem and then to post this little review. I have listened to it in my system for two extended listening sessions over several days for about 50 hours and it is a high performing piece of kit. It is amazing to me that a phono stage this small can deliver the goods like it does.
The iPHono2 will accommodate MC and MM cartridges. It is powered by a 15 volt wall wart. On the bottom are micro switches for adjusting the gain and the load for MC and MM cartridges. Gain options are 36, 48, 60 and 72 db. MC load options are 22, 33, 75, 100, 250, 500, 1k and 47k ohms and MM load options are 100-500 pF in increments of 100. Factory default is 60 db gain and a MC load of 1000 ohms. I recommend you go to the ifi website and download the owner’s manual and micro switch settings. I needed a magnifying glass to read the settings on the cards supplied with the unit. Note the size of the iPhono2 compared to my ModWright PH-150.
You are probably interested in how it performed in my system. I listen to vinyl about 95% of the time and if the music doesn’t have some connection to rock n roll, you aren’t going to find it in my collection. As indicated below, I listened to a wide range of rock from folk and acoustic Americana to progressive and psychedelic rock. I set the gain to 60 db (same as my ModWright) and the load to 1k ohms (ModWright is set at 750 ohms).
With the iPhono2 in my system, I listened to The Avett Brothers; Chicago; Neil Young; The Decemberists; Yes; Bob Dylan; Leonard Cohen; John Cougar Mellencamp;
Moody Blues; The Beatles; Paul McCartney; Carole King; Cowboy Junkies; Procol Harum; Santana; Mumford & Sons; Pink Floyd and Todd Rundgren. I found the iPhono2 to be musical with good detail and great dynamics. The music had good rhythm and lively punch too. The soundstage is believable. Bass is good and the unit is very quiet. I cannot find anything it does not do well. If I didn’t own the incredible ModWright Ph-150, I could be very happy with this phono stage in my system.
When I put my ModWright PH-150 back in the system I noticed that there was more of just about everything you want. The music was fuller, the soundstage deeper and wider, the music was richer and warmer with more detail and tonal accuracy. The one area where the iPhono2 held its own was dynamics. I’m not being critical of the iPhono2. It did do everything you want a phono stage to do and it did well. However, it only costs $500 and the ModWright was $7900 when I bought it, so it better sound better, right? At $500, the iPhono2 punches way above its weight class. I think you would have to spend several thousand dollars to find a phono stage that out performs this one. I’m going to try to talk Jason into letting me buy the review sample for use in a second system.
Jason, thanks for the opportunity to listen to the iPhono2. I'm happy to try to answer any questions.
Laura
