Schiit Audio Schiit Mani 2 vs iFi Audio iFi ZEN Phono 3

The Mani 2 gives you moving magnet, moving iron and moving coil support with four gain settings and, unusually, adjustable load capacitance, at a price where rivals hand you one fixed option. Step up to the ZEN Phono 3 only if a low-output moving coil cartridge is in your present or your plans, because that is where its much higher gain ceiling earns the difference.

Schiit Audio Schiit Mani 2

Buy it

Four gain settings, four resistive loads and four capacitance settings, at a price where rivals give you a single fixed option.

• Handles moving magnet, moving iron and moving coil, with gain spanning roughly 35dB to 60dB
• Adjustable load capacitance for MM cartridges, a genuinely rare feature at this price and one that changes treble balance audibly
• Four resistive loading options down to the low values low-output moving coil cartridges want
• Two-slope low-frequency filter for warped records and turntable rumble

• Settings are on rear switches rather than front-panel controls, so changing loading means reaching behind the unit
• Unbalanced RCA output only
• Top gain setting is generous but not limitless, so the very quietest exotic moving coil cartridges will push it

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iFi Audio iFi ZEN Phono 3

Buy it

The one to buy if moving coil is in your plans, thanks to a much higher gain ceiling and independently selectable loading.

• Four gain settings from roughly 36dB up to 72dB, enough headroom for genuinely low-output moving coil cartridges
• Gain and loading are chosen independently rather than locked into fixed MM and MC modes
• MC loading at 100, 400 and 1000 ohms covers most published cartridge recommendations; MM gets 47k ohms with a capacitance choice
• Subsonic filter targets warp-rate energy rather than blanket-rolling the bass, and adds no group delay

• Costs meaningfully more than the Mani 2 for an advantage that only shows up at the moving coil end
• Balanced output uses a connector many integrated amplifiers do not have
• Curved chassis does not stack with rectangular components and divides opinion

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Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the Schiit Audio Schiit Mani 2 - Four gain settings, four resistive loads and four capacitance settings, at a price where rivals give you a single fixed option. Choose the iFi Audio iFi ZEN Phono 3 instead if owners of low-output moving coil cartridges, and anyone building toward one who does not want to buy a phono stage twice.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Phono Preamps: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).