ifi iPhono 3 "Black Label" Anyone?

Listening to the iPhono 3 BL tonight, I can say confidently this may be the best solid state phono stage I’ve yet to experience. I say may because I have listened to the Grail SB and REALLY liked that unit but I don’t have one for direct comparison. Fortunately my audiophile buddy does own the Grail SB and lives near me. I am taking it to his home for a direct comparison soon as the current plague situation eases. Of course the Grail costs more than 15 times as much :) 

I am finding this unit to possibly be more dynamic than the SPL Phonos. The lack of capacitors in the signal path is really eye-opening in the way it delivers information, musical flow and naturalness. Sometimes I still have a hard time believing this unit is producing the results I’m hearing.

I literally just saw and read the Analogplanet review of this unit. Check it out.

What does the iFi DC iPurifier do? Is it essentially adding more capacitance to the filter stage of the PS?  Fremer loved the iFi2, so I am guessing he will have even more love for the iFi3.

Never mind on the DC iPurifier.  I see that it is to be placed between the SMPS and the device itself, in line. A noise filter.

lewm:

yeah Fremer loved the 3 even comparing it to his $50k CH P1/X1 combo at one point. He was expecting to be let down via the juxtaposition of the two stages but that didn’t happen. His experience was similar to mine when I compared it to the ARC REF 10 Phonostage. Now that my unit is fully run-in I have no doubt I would choose it over the Ref 10, whereas with 100 hours on the unit, it held its own with the Ref 10 (while still resolving far more information as read by the stylus). Now that this unit has over 1300 play time hours on the clock what little it may have seeded to the ARC as it relates to musical flow has evaporated. Transient speed and information retrieval abilities of the 3 are far beyond the capabilities of the ARC Ref 10.