Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 Black - Phono Tube Preamp for MM and MC Cells

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!

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 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.

Yes this is expensive, but worth every penny. I had gone through 2 phono pre-amps before this. The typical budget pre-amps from Fosi and Douk. However, they are China builds and both units had some issues. They were both returned to Amazon without any problems. Just about all product reviews put the Pro-Ject products in first place. So I pulled the trigger and purchased the Tube Box S2. It arrived in a factory box that was professional looking and well packaged. It is made in Europe and you can feel and see the quality. I set it up and turned it on for 12 hours to allow the tubes to begin burn in. Then I tested some albums. I am using a U-turn Orbit custom, Polk speakers, and a Yamaha amplifier on Pure Direct. How can I say this - it was like you are standing in front of the live band. I love this pre-amp, and hopefully as the tubes settle in it will continue to impress.

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.

I also have the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO turntable, so I wanted my phono preamp to match the technology. The sound is rich, full, and brings out subtleties in my vinyl I haven’t previously heard. The analog technology brings out the natural warmth as well. Their customer service is fast and competent and concerned. I originally purchased an open box unit. However, when I hooked it up it did not function. I called customer service after following written and online instruction. It was determined during my phone call the unit was defective. I shipped it to the provided address and within a few short days a replacement unit was FedEx’d back to me. I highly recommend this unit as well as Pro-Ject and Finesounds as well.

I have to start with...I'm certainly no audiophile. This is my very first turntable since I was a kid (U-Turn Orbit Plus) - and definitely my first tube preamp. I'm running U-Turn Orbit Plus ->Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 -> AudioEngine A5+ speakers. Now, I was/am very happy with the built-in Pluto preamp. The system sounded great to begin with. But I just had to try a tube preamp. (I'm a guitar player...I like tubes...sue me). I only compared the Pluto to the Pro-Ject once - very early on. And frankly, it didn't sound much, if any, better than the Pluto to me. For that very reason...it's simply not worth $400 to me. However, all that being said, the Pro-Ject, now, sounds just fantastic to me. Perhaps it was tube burn-in. Perhaps it's all psychological. But it sounds great! I did change the tubes to new production Mullards immediately. Didn't even try it with the supplied tubes. Regarding sound: You'll see this in many reviews - the bass is fantastic. Deep, rich, room-filling. But not overdone. I can't say, "I'm hearing things I never heard before!" That's not the case at all. But it just sounds good. I'm running it at 40db (was originally at 43db, but backed it down). Also have the Subsonic filter on. With my Ortofon OM20 stylus, I've got it at 220 pf and that seems to sound best to my ears. (You'll have to read up on the pF settings based on your particular set-up/slylus, etc. Very cool that you can customize to your preferences). I have very short cable runs. (Mogami cables - one 2549 and one 2534 - I think). Bottom line, I really don't know that it's worth $400 to me. But I have to give it a great review. The system sounds great! If you've got an extra $400 burning a hole in your pocket - and you're not 100% sold on your current preamp - I'd say go for it.

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.

Nella sua fascia di prezzo è un riferimento. Il pre è a stato solido, jfet selezionati. Il buffer di uscita è con valvole Electro-Harmonix rimarchiate Project. Il pre è silenzioso ma sensibile ai rumori indotti: metterlo sotto l'ampli valvolare era stata una idea malsana, spostarlo sul fianco lo ha zittito. Cambiato cavo, messo da 50cm di buona qualità e l'analisi fatta a 50db di gain (ascolto con una AT120e) con la scheda audio porta il rumore a -82db. Metto in conto che non sia una rilevazione precisa, un po abbondante direi, ma rispecchia i dati di targa. Nel mio impianto con Audio-Technica AT120e, Yaqin mc-13s con Indiana Line Tesi 661, il nano della Project rende l'ascolto del vinile davvero pimpante e con un ottima scena sonora. Rispetto ai pre che ho ( un t-phonum mk2, un Ifi Zen Phono e un Rega phono mm) è quello che preferisco sotto ogni punto di vista. Più che cambiare le valvole consiglio upgrade dell'alimentatore esterno: migliorano tutti i parametri di dinamica, dettaglio e rumore sensibilmente. Lo consiglio se avete in mente un budget del genere per il pre phono del vostro impianto.

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.

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 😉

Arrived in a timely manner and in excellent condition. Faultless product and great value