Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 Black - Phono Preamp

This little phono preamp from Pro-Ject sounds good! I had been using an Art DJ Pre II phono preamp, which is IMO a great deal and practically a steal for how cheap it sells. But I had Amazon gift certificates burning a whole in my pocket. I read a lot before buying the Tube Box S2, as I was not really dissatisfied with the Art DJ Pre II. My biggest concerns around purchasing the Tube Box S2 was that it supposedly isn’t an “all-tube” phono preamp and the cost, which is high but not that high for “quality” audio gear. What eventually sold me on the Tube Box S2 was even if it isn’t all tubes producing the gain and RIAA equalization, it is supposedly using high-quality capacitors and FETs (transistors) in place of less expensive op amps or chips. As a consumer of audio appliances, I don’t really have anything against solid-state electronics, so I appreciate that Pro-Ject designed and built the Tube Box S2 with quality in mind. Even if it’s not all tubes, it’s built with circuits and parts that are as high of a quality as you can get at this price point, and yes, the tubes certainly are being used in the output and supposedly in some of the gain. The build quality, the fit and finish, on the exterior of this little box is top notch, too. It’s a nice, solid-feeling piece of metal, presumably aluminum, and the silver version is a nice, silky, matte finish. Usually a phono preamp is at best a box you can place unobtrusively, but the Tube Box S2 actually looks kind of nice, too. The most important thing though is the sound — WOW! It puts my Art DJ Pre II to shame. The gain, which is adjustable, is amazing and it’s across the whole of my audible spectrum. The bass, midrange and treble are all well present and accounted for with the pleasant RIAA roll-off beloved by us vinyl enthusiasts. The sound is quite clear. The Tube Box S2 also has 2 features I’ve yet to use, which are also very good at this price point. 1.) It has phono cartridge-loading flexibility, so you can use MM or MC cartridges across a wide variety of impedance and capacitance settings. This phono preamp gives you the ability to try a whole lot of cartridges if you feel so inclined. 2.) Last, and I’m sure I’ll be trying this someday, you can roll tubes! You can use the 12ax7-compatible tubes of your choice with this little box. To sum up, yes, it seems a bit expensive for a phono preamp, but compared to other “boutique audio” products: it’s relatively cheap; it seems thoughtfully designed and built well; it has a really good set of features; and it sounds great!

A month in, and I'm sure this is my preamp forever. Give it time, I distinctly noticed an improvement after 30-40 hours of playing. Either a break-in of the tubes, or an adjustment of my ears...I think it's both. Incidentally, the stock tubes in mine are JJ branded (Slovakia), which is probably what the Pro-Ject branded stock tubes are. The separation and clarity here is exceptional, each tube serves its own channel, left and right. Despite some of the chatter, there are no chips connected to the tubes. The gain settings are extremely useful, 43db or 50db is my sweet spot depending on what I'm listening to. I needed a good preamp more than I knew. Spend on your preamp like you spent on your turntable and stylus. I'm running a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB with a Marantz 1060 to some Mitsubishi DS-40 speakers (late 70s "Diatone Series"), with a Sumiko Moonstone.

Im picky about my home audio setup and didn't have any intentions to upgrade until I realized my old phono preamp did not survive our recent move. This led me to decide on an upgrade and find something new. Coming from mostly solid state in the past I decided I wanted to give tubes a try but also did not want to break the bank. Boy was I impressed. This Tube Box S2 was a huge upgrade to my system. My vinyl's felt warmer, and I was picking up details in the music I hadn't before. Setup is simple if you follow the provided instructions. It looks modest and isnt a big obnoxious bright amp by any means which I like as my entertainment center is already crowded with other audio and gaming equipment. Everything pro-ject builds that I have used has had great quality and I fully expect this to last me a long long time.

I bought the Pro-Ject EVO2 and needed an amp for it. I initially picked the Schiitt but determined they're a company that doesn't want my business. They charge shipping and would be difficult to deal with if returning was needed (shipping and restocking fees), they're not Prime friendly. This was $50 more but I caught it on sale for the same $50. Maybe it was a targeted sale because it was sitting in my cart for a few days. It only gets 4 Stars because the amp has no volume control. When I'm running it through my EQ the volume doesn't match what's coming out of my Mac. So if I'm playing record while also on social media the Mac is way too quiet or the records are way too loud. Not a huge deal, I just have to reach over and adjust as needed. It would be nice to have them level though. The EQ controls both the Mac's music volume and the turntables volume. The 2 are not of equal levels and it's frustrating. The quality is fabulous, crystal clear sound coming out of my KRKs. Setting it up didn't go as expected, but a quick call to Pro-Jects help line got them to dial in the amp in minutes. There are switches beneath the amp that dials it in to the exact stylus on the turntable to create the perfect match. I used AI Grok to suggest what setting to use, WRONG! But a quick call to Pro-Ject and they picked up, got me over to Tech Support and I was supplied the numbers. This was another reason for the 4 stars as it's not plug and play. Overall it's off highest quality and visually cool. It just might take an extra step to fully get the perfection out of it. The value is also worth it.

Dit is toch echt onwaarschijnlijk goed voor het geld. Enorm vol en zuiver geluid, muzikaal en vol emotie. Ca 15 uur er op zitten bij deze review. Dit is alles wat ik er van hoopte dat het zou doen.

Avendo la necessità di un pre phono da accoppiare al mio Thorents TD166 MK2 ho cercato in rete un prodotto di livello alto ma senza dover vendere un rene, diciamo che per un neofita 350€ possono sembrare molte, ma non lo sono considerato la resa, ho provato un Cambridge 551c è già ascoltanti dalle prime battute mi sono accorto della totale o quasi assenza di respiro e ariosita, cosa che prima con l’amplificatore avente pre incorporato aveva, quindi ho provato uno zen phono tanto elogiato, ho già un prodotto del marchio per la conversione MQA che trovo eccellente, ma anche questo non ha colpito il mio interesse dopo l’ascolto, un ragazzo mi ha consigliato di provare i pre del marchio projet e amando le valvole sono andato diretto su questo prodotto, nonostante le valvole che monta che a breve saranno sostituite con una coppia di Philips miniwatt, il risultato sono è eccellente, la possibilità di gestire il livello in ingresso e il filtro subsonico sono un valore aggiunto non da poco, lo consiglio caldamente

Great warm sound! This phono amplifier improves the sound greatly, in addition to producing a warmer, more ”natural” sound it also improves detail and soundstage. Recommended!

Acheté en promo très bonne affaire. Ses différents réglages le rendent compatible avec la plus part des cellules du marché. Comparé a un préampli Rega fono mm mk3 le changement est radical. Le côté chaud des vinyles est mis en avant, testé avec cellules Ortofon blue et black sur bras SME 3009 c'est parfait, espace sonore, stéréo, clarté dynamique, détails, basses, chaleur écoute pas stressante pour les oreilles... Les tubes d'origine sont des JJ 12AX7 ECC83s rebadgées pro ject sont déjà très bien, ils n'ont pas la dureté des tubes chinois. Cependant, les JJ d'origine sont bien mais on peut mieux faire, c'est assez gras dans le bas medium mais niveau clarté, définition, ouverture stéréo etc on peut améliorer ça facilement, même si la première écoute est déjà géniale. J'ai la chance d'avoir pas mal de tubes NOS ou modernes appairés en stock, j'ai testé dans l'ordre, les JJ, sovtek 12ax7lps, tung sol ecc83, philips JAN nos 5751, RCA black plates 1958, RCA gray plates 1962, tung Sol ECC803S Gold pins, toutes sonnaient un peu différemment, les NOS RCA superbes, mais les plus simples à se procurer et les gagnantes sur les tubes modernes sont les Tung Sol Gold pins ECC803S, superbes en touts points, gain élevé, basses profondes équilibre et dynamique, détails clarté chaleur, aigus présents mais pas agressifs etc, je ne recommande pas les tun Sol ecc83s qui sont un poil plus nettes que les JJ, mais au final assez plates, et elles n'arrivent pas à la cheville des ECC803S Gold pins, attention ce sont deux tubes différents, choisissez les broches or. Pour aller plus loin j'ai remplacé l'alimentation d'origine bien médiocre par une alimentation lineaire chinoise de bonne qualité à 110euros (sur une plate-forme chinoise) et un bon cable secteur audioquest NRG-Z3, le Real Cable Kapton est moins cher et donne aussi un très bon résultat mais un peu moins chaleureux. Gain en spacialisation, profondeur, basses details douceur etc, ça dégraisse le son dans le bas médium qui devient plus net. OK, ça double le prix du tube S2, mais le résultat est là, même si a la base c'est tout a fait correct. Au prix du tube S2 on ne peut pas avoir des tubes plus chers et une super alim, même si c'est bien dommage pour l'alimentation, la seule option selon pro-ject d'améliorer l'écoute est d'acheter en option son alimentation sur batterie qui coûte aussi assez chère. Ajoutez à tout ça au moins 20 ou 30 heures de rodage et le régal sera tout proche ! Bonne écoute 😉

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