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Big Al
2025-07-26 17:56:41
This is a tiny but solid phono preamp, tubes are a bit generic for the hefty cost of this unit however it does sounds great. The phono preamp on my Marantz 2325 works just fine with my Technics SL1200 MK3D but wanted to enhance it further. I will also be upgrading the tubes to Telefunken which will be costly however spending this much already on a preamp, I want to get the most out of this setup. The instructions are not that great but still understandable. Tip for anyone using Ortofon blue cartridge, the example dip setting on bottom switches for the red described in instructions are the same, It’s only #3 on. I did increase the gain slightly from 43 to the 50 as 47 is best setting and sounds amazing.
Rolo
2025-07-24 14:56:25
Very gladly suprised.This was a step up from the phono amp included in my integrated amplifier, a Rotel 1592MKII which already sounded pretty good. I was ready for let down, as in "there is no difference here". WRONG. There is a very clear difference.Everything sounds better: bass, mids, treble. Low noise floor. Good clean gain.No strange noises, they all dissapeared!Very easy setup.Looks: well built, feels solid, definitely not a "looker". A black box with 2 tubes. WYSIWYG. Can't be comared to a 1,000 dollars and up preamp. Not fair.Sounds good with the stock tubes, but: just an idea, throw away the OK but walmartish stock tubes. No need to spend big bucks. A good pair of current production 12ax7 will do great in this preamp (I am running a pair of Electro-Harmonix 7025 and also tried a pair of Tung-Sol 12ax7): the tone improved again significantly, let's say 20% better tone than the stock tubes, better "body" to the stringed instruments, and way more clarity in the upper registers.A good buy!!!
Reid Douglas
2025-06-30 11:39:35
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.
Thomas J Evans
2025-06-29 14:33:51
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.
Greigh VonGottreich
2025-05-26 17:32:38
The phono pre-amp itself is amazing and quite a wonderful addition to the sound system. However, the only drawback I've noticed is that the stock tubes it comes with struggle with handling higher frequencies (excessive shrilling) even after the initial burn-in. One seemed to run hotter (glow brighter) than the other which (I might be wrong on this one) made me assume that the stock tubes aren't a matching pair.With reference to other postings of suggested vacuum tube replacements, I went with the Genalex Gold Lion series (12ax7/ECC83). This upgrade has essentially opened the pre-amp more and sound tons better on all levels of the audio spectrum. Following the trend of comments I've seen about this combination of pre-amp and tubes, this is definitely the best next step up above the stock vacuum tubes.
Paige Davian
2025-05-22 12:06:44
Spent two days with the adjustments with this pre-amp and nothing I did would help the muffled sound. The music sounded ok but, when the singing came on it sounded like there was a bag covering my speakers. Went with the less expensive digital pre amp and sounded much better to my ears.
jimmy eaddy
2025-05-04 17:40:59
First of all the reason I bought this unit, was due to dual moving coils cartridge, they produce very low signals and this unit brought my signals up very nicely and warm, makes my turntable sound 100%. Clean and clear, you will notice a difference, there are other phono preamps that are cheaper, due your homework and you will see why this item and others like it are very expensive
Martin Brault
2025-01-14 11:24:15
I was looking forward to upgrading from the built-in preamp in my Audio-Technica turntable. Wow what a difference! I can’t say enough about the improvement in sound quality. This is being used with a Nagaoka MP-110. This such a great combo. I highly recommend this tube preamp. Very well built. Feels very solid. And sounds amazing. For me well worth the price.
Mr. Melvyn Chircop
2025-01-10 18:59:28
This question is always asked which is better CD or vinyl ? well I can tell you if you get one of these there’s no competition. This will bring the best out of your vinyl records. The detail is so clear and precise and bringsI out things you haven’t heard before on your records Even though I have a very good system and it sounds fantastic. This has improved it even more. So I would highly recommending this to anyone looking to rediscover vinyl for the first time or even if you’re thinking of bring it out all your old records again to play. And it’s true vinyl does sound better than CDs
Thijs
2024-12-14 17:20:24
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.
Igor
2024-12-03 13:51:28
Por fin he logrado obtener un sonido potente del plato sin tener que subir mucho el volumen del ampli; me ha sorprendido cómo un aparato tan pequeño puede dar ese nivel alto de señal además de dar un tono “cálidoâ€; el único “pero†que le encuentro son los switches inferiores de configuración de impedancia y capacitancia: es complicado encontrar los valores recomendados para cada cápsula, deberÃa venir una lista o enlace web de las marcas más comunes y sus modelos.
Aldo
2024-11-30 15:23:31
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.
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