Pro-Ject Tube Box S2, High End Valve Phono Preamplifier (Black)

Product Information

But if you are willing to invest a bit of money in better tubes down the line and trust that Nobesound has got their quality control up to speed, the Little Bear T11 might be worth serious consideration. I have not tested the Little Bear T11 myself, but from research it seems to be a much better product than its little brother (Little Bear T7) and its predecessor (Little Bear T10).

The Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 phono preamplifier is a tube-based preamplifier designed to enhance the sound quality of vinyl records. Here’s what I can tell you about what vinyl setup should be used with the Tube Box S2 and what can be gained from it: But I could immediately hear that the Tube Box S2 provided a richness and smoothness to the sound that the Rega could never offer. Without sacrificing speed or precision. I have owned very few home audio products that have impressed me more. It is simply awesome. I love it. If we look at instrumented measurements on the Ortofon 2M range that can be found all over the internet, we see that there is a boost in signal level from about 5 kHZ to about 15 kHZ peaking at about 10kHz.

When I plugged it into my vinyl setup and put it on sound, I immediately noticed an annoying clipping of the sound. While others (you will find many on Steve Hoffman’s music forum) think it sounds muddy and isn’t a real and authentic sounding tube phono preamp.

Cantaloupe Island: An ARP Odyssey synth without any reverb or effects was the first instrument through the speakers. Cleaner, more defined—and dare I say with deeper bass—and texture that somehow seemed to make my subwoofer better get along with my speakers and room. Input capacitance/impedance: 47pF, 147pF, 267pF, 367 pF, 487 pF and 587 pF* / 47 kΩ, together with other input impedance settings without any influence! When I was doing all my research to find a high-quality tube phono preamp that doesn’t cost a fortune, I ended up buying the Pro-Ject Tube Box S2. The new S2 casing is a big additional asset to the design, as not only does it deliver the highest visual appeal, but it is also sturdy enough to protect the internal circuitry against unwanted interferences and vibrations, which can cause unpleasant listening experiences.The cheap Fosi Audio Box X2 and the affordable Little Bear T11 seem to be very good budget options.More on those later. Honesty, I am not sure if this product is good value or not, but my research didn’t make me confident that it is.