Rather as with the car industry, it's increasingly common for audio manufacturers to operate two brands under the same umbrella. In both cases, one is for higher end products and one for more affordable offerings. Just as Lexus is to Toyota and Infiniti to Nissan, we have the likes of Esoteric and Teac, Bang & Olufsen and B&O Play, plus TAD and Pioneer. One of the more recent additions to this market is iFi Audio: junior partner to high-end UK company, Abbingdon Music Research. iFi Audio has carved itself a very solid niche in the marketplace. This is thanks to a range of implausibly small, high quality and eminently affordable products, the latest of which is the £435 iPhono2. It would be a perfect candidate for HFN's 'Budget Esoterica' if that slot were not already occupied this month by Marantz's new CD/ amp combo [see p68]. Of course, 'iPhono' isn't all that far removed from 'iPhone', so iPhone users might experience a spot of deja-vu as iFi's packaging is remarkably similar to that of Apple's bestseller!
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