I have just bought the ifi phono 3 black label, and have just plugged it in. Its not much to look at, a cheap looking black plastic box and a plastic super wall wart power supply (the ipower-x supply). It costs a rather incredible £1k, but I was lucky to get it new for far less on ebay. It has fiddly little switches for lots of arcane settings. I had to sort of guess all of that.
Anyway it sounds absolutely wonderful, incredibly musical and super detailed. This is a comparison to the RSL boards in my 32.5 that up to now I have been more than happy with. Maybe it will improve a bit with use but it doesn't really need to.
I was interested in the phono 3 black because it has got very good reviews online, but nothing on this forum as far as I could see. Apparently it is just about the best £1k MC stage out there. Needless to say this is a difficult item to audition, so I dived in head first and this time I seem to be lucky. Rest of (relevant) system is Xerxes 20+/SME4/Lyra Delos.
One of the advantages is you can hide it away, and don't need to answer any questions about why you need it and how much it cost. That is unless its delivery is noticed... (I am still alive just)
Anyway it sounds absolutely wonderful, incredibly musical and super detailed. This is a comparison to the RSL boards in my 32.5 that up to now I have been more than happy with. Maybe it will improve a bit with use but it doesn't really need to.
I was interested in the phono 3 black because it has got very good reviews online, but nothing on this forum as far as I could see. Apparently it is just about the best £1k MC stage out there. Needless to say this is a difficult item to audition, so I dived in head first and this time I seem to be lucky. Rest of (relevant) system is Xerxes 20+/SME4/Lyra Delos.
One of the advantages is you can hide it away, and don't need to answer any questions about why you need it and how much it cost. That is unless its delivery is noticed... (I am still alive just)