iFI Micro iPhono 2 Phono Preamp in the house! FINAL UPDATE

I think it was a combination of overheating, and the locking collars on mt Interconnects touching which meant the grounds were combined. I have since insulated the two collars. No doubt this is a Direct Coupled Class A finicky pre-amp, but the sonics are fabulous. I also plugged the iPower WW into a isolated A/C Bank, rather than shared with a LED lamp I use to illuminate my turntable.
Regards,
Jim

One amazon reviewer stated that replacing the iPower solved his problems. Glad to hear that it still sounds good. I may wait for a "3" whenever they get around to making one.
 
Yes, would think that with all the buzz yet all the issues with the 2 a 3 might be the way to unveil improvements and give the public a clean point for purchasing this product.
 
Last night the unit dropped output, and my ARC LS16MkII Preamp reacted weird again as the volume control which is electronic would not operate, just emitting mild thumps. this happened with the first unit. Then tonight I switched the EQ switch and the output lowered in volume and distorted!

I love the sonics of this unit, but enough is enough, and I have contacted Amazon to return it as defective, and will continue my search for a phono preamp that makes a sonic step up from my Musical Surroundings Phonomena II which is a fine unit that has never given me a moments concern.

I have done everything I can think of to make this work, and I am Done!!

FWIW The Customer Support from iFI is not consumer friendly as you cannot talk to someone on the phone, but must use their online system with a 24-48 window for them to respond to you. Having owned part of a auto dealership, I am very reticent to badmouth a business, but this has not been a great customer experience. This is the second unit that has had problems, and I asked them to replace this one with a tested unit that I could feel confidence in and they totally ignored my request.

I wish them all the best and hope they get the bugs out of this fabulous sounding unit,
Jim
 
Last night the unit dropped output, and my ARC LS16MkII Preamp reacted weird again as the volume control which is electronic would not operate, just emitting mild thumps. this happened with the first unit. Then tonight I switched the EQ switch and the output lowered in volume and distorted!

I love the sonics of this unit, but enough is enough, and I have contacted Amazon to return it as defective, and will continue my search for a phono preamp that makes a sonic step up from my Musical Surroundings Phonomena II which is a fine unit that has never given me a moments concern.

I have done everything I can think of to make this work, and I am Done!!

FWIW The Customer Support from iFI is not consumer friendly as you cannot talk to someone on the phone, but must use their online system with a 24-48 window for them to respond to you. Having owned part of a auto dealership, I am very reticent to badmouth a business, but this has not been a great customer experience. This is the second unit that has had problems, and I asked them to replace this one with a tested unit that I could feel confidence in and they totally ignored my request.

I wish them all the best and hope they get the bugs out of this fabulous sounding unit,
Jim

I'd say you have every right to leave a respectful yet brutally honest review on Amazon and not feel bad about it. You obviously gave it every chance and tried to work with their customer service but they dropped the ball and other buyers need to know this. Hopefully iFi will learn something from this and realize they could have seized the opportunity to build a serious fan base with strong customer care for those that regularly upgrade. There's obviously a serious internal defect within their company.
 
Been going on for a long time now. I don't think one more bad review will change them. If finances take a dive, maybe so.
 
Last night the unit dropped output, and my ARC LS16MkII Preamp reacted weird again as the volume control which is electronic would not operate, just emitting mild thumps. this happened with the first unit. Then tonight I switched the EQ switch and the output lowered in volume and distorted!

I love the sonics of this unit, but enough is enough, and I have contacted Amazon to return it as defective, and will continue my search for a phono preamp that makes a sonic step up from my Musical Surroundings Phonomena II which is a fine unit that has never given me a moments concern.

I have done everything I can think of to make this work, and I am Done!!

FWIW The Customer Support from iFI is not consumer friendly as you cannot talk to someone on the phone, but must use their online system with a 24-48 window for them to respond to you. Having owned part of a auto dealership, I am very reticent to badmouth a business, but this has not been a great customer experience. This is the second unit that has had problems, and I asked them to replace this one with a tested unit that I could feel confidence in and they totally ignored my request.

I wish them all the best and hope they get the bugs out of this fabulous sounding unit,
Jim

I have had my unit working for 7 months it failed as well. It will go back for repair .It is a great sounding phono pre but I just don't trust its reliability and in good faith can not sell it . I have ordered a Valab LCR-1 from EBAY . I feel the IFI is a good circuit in the wrong case I hope AMR goes back to the drawing board and fixes this product
 
No way should it run so warm to the touch. Not for what it does producing a line level signal.

If they were smart they would pick your brain to find root cause.

I’m taking this unit off my list.

Vista Audio phono 2 is an option for you. Not sure it sounds as good but the quality is high. The owner will talk to you direct too.
 
Just got the Ifi Phono 2. Worked last night just fine. Sounded good. Today, no signal. All lights are on. Cable tested, all works great with another unit. Damn, it sounded good while it lasted.
 
Just got the Ifi Phono 2. Worked last night just fine. Sounded good. Today, no signal. All lights are on. Cable tested, all works great with another unit. Damn, it sounded good while it lasted.

They will suggest unplugging it and plugging it back in to restore, their idea of a reset button?
Regards,
Jim
 
Sad to hear of all of the problems. I was looking to buy a new pre and considered this one for about 3 seconds. So that's one sale lost. Bought a Sutherland instead.
 
They will suggest unplugging it and plugging it back in to restore, their idea of a reset button?
Regards,
Jim
I did that several times. I guess they spend the $ on referrals as the hype is incredible. Wasn't until after mine failed I found this and other forums discussing multiple failures. I contacted Ifi. Lets see what they have to say. I will post here.
 
Too bad, when it works, the reviews generally seem highly positive, whether by magazines or actual users. But even amazon.de had like 2 out of 5 reviews complain the unit was either defective from the get go or started acting weird really soon. And Amazon is the place where you usually find all 4-5 star reviews no matter what crap they are selling you :) Small sample size yeah, but combining with other things floating around the net it certainly does seem like they have a big reliability issue on their hands.
 
24 hours later no response. I wouldn't want to be a dealer. No way to contact these guys. Must result in many returns.
 
24 hours later no response. I wouldn't want to be a dealer. No way to contact these guys. Must result in many returns.

They will tell you it will take 24 to 48 hours for response when you question response time. Did you open a service ticket on the website? It is the most user unfriendly process I have encountered. I followed up with them last week to find out what they found wrong with second one I sent back, and they said they had no gotten to it yet, so they have a serious return problem. If you got it on Amazon like I did, just ask for a return and they will sent you a return shipping label and refund your money. They give you 30 days.
Regards,
Jim
 
iFi really mishandling this one. A great potential income stream that they're blowing, plus their reputation. I'd say their management has failed miserably in responding to this ongoing issue.
 
They will tell you it will take 24 to 48 hours for response when you question response time. Did you open a service ticket on the website? It is the most user unfriendly process I have encountered. I followed up with them last week to find out what they found wrong with second one I sent back, and they said they had no gotten to it yet, so they have a serious return problem. If you got it on Amazon like I did, just ask for a return and they will sent you a return shipping label and refund your money. They give you 30 days.
Regards,
Jim
Yes I opened a ticket online being the only option to contact them. Unfortunately in Canada the sellers on Amazon are real people not Amazon themselves. Trying to avoid a problem and losses for sellers but Ifi isn't making it easy. After 72 hours if no answer ....

As I write this the first response came in. Asking me how long I owned it for and if my system has changed. Good grief, I was very specific with my initial inquiry. Which obviously wasn't read. This annoys me. I outlined to them that it worked night one, dead by night two. I unplugged, replugged, tested all components separate, all verified, reset all dips, re powered many times and the unit lights up but no sound. Pretty specific, a known issue and we have to dance?
 
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