Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 Phono Preamplifier (Silver)

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!

I have a late 70’s McIntosh System. The phono pre-amp on my 40 year old C28 Pre-amp started failing. A friend of mine brought over his Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 to try on my system. I really liked the way the tubes took the edge off the output on my solid state system. I decided to buy a S2 instead of spending that money trying to troubleshoot and fix my C28 phono out.The S2 was easy to set up. However, one of the tubes quit working within a few weeks of purchase. My friend had updated his stock Pro-Ject tubes to Tung-sol brand tubes. I ordered a matched pair of Tung-Sol 12AX7 Tubes and replaced the Pro-Ject tubes. I haven’t had any problems with the unit since replacing the burnt out tube. So hopefully it was just a bad tube.Now I’m sitting in the sweet spot. I have a Pro-Ject DC Turntable with an Ortofon 2M Bronze MM Phono Cartridge. Playing records through the S2 sounds better than it ever did through my old McIntosh phono pre-amp. And, changing to the Tung-sol brand tubes made a noticeable difference in sound quality as well. With the signal passing through the S2 my vinyl records just sound better. With the tubes, I feel the output has more clarity, tone, and richness, especially in the mid to upper ranges.At this price point, I am really pleased with the sound quality of this little S2. But I would recommend upgrading the stock Pro-Ject brand tubes. You will get more out of your S2. You will also need to find the specifications of your current cartridge so you can properly set the S2 to your cartridge’s output. You can usually find cartridge info pretty easy through an online search. The included instructions with the S2 will help explain how to dial your S2 into your cartridge’s output.

My old 80's style turntable does not have a built-in pre-amplifier, but my system does have a phono input. What I was noticing is that the volume level coming from my turntable was significantly lower than the various other devices that I have plugged into my system. So I thought I'd try this out to see if I could increase the phone volume a bit. It didn't work. The amount of increase was just too high and I couldn't lower it enough to get the unit to behave as I had hoped. I set my stars to 3 though because to be honest, I really have no idea if this unit behaves nicely when used as intended. Bottom line, if your system has a phone input, you don't need this. I was able to put it back into its original packaging and return it for a full refund, so all is good.

If you are building a mid-fi system this is a sound phono stage solution. My Fluance RT85 and Ortophon M2 Blue suffered from both rumble and feedback at mid-volumes when using an entry level phono pre-amp. The Pro-ject Tube S2 corrected all of the problems and provided an excellent sound stage to boot. Not audiophile but knocking on the door.

This unit had a big pair of boots to fill.The phono stage in my Cyrus One has been hard to beat. In connection with my modified P3, it’s a dynamic force.I tried a Project Ultra 500 and Rega Fono MK5 with no luck.This unit has done it, along with its external battery PSU. Warmer, rounder and overall much better.

I have been an avid music listening and stereo system builder for over 45 years. One of my current systems consists of a vintage Marantz 2270, a Marantz 6170 turntable and an Ortofon Blue cartridge & stylus. I had been reading articles pertaining to this Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 for some time and all I kept reading is how good this little Vacuum Tube Phone Pre-Amp is. I finally decided to get one. I incorporated it into my system and to be honest, IT blew me away. The first album I played on it was Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms. I heard music I never dreamed was on this record. I now have developed a problem with all this though....ALL I WANT TO DO IS SPIN RECORDS ! I have a collection of roughly 800 LP records so I don't expect my problem to go away anytime soon.

Es una gran inversión realmente a un buen precio para tener un excelente sonido. Si te gusta la buena música en LP de vinilo con un sonido de calidad este es el Pre-Amp, realmente el color plateado no se ve mal y es más económico que el negro mate, no vale la pena pagar más por el negro pues lo que importa es la calidad y calidez del sonido y no es aspecto exterior.