Pro-Ject Phono Box MM, Phono preamplifier with metal case and special low-noise ICs

Product Information

In “What a Wonderful World,” Batiste’s pedaled ostinato piano accompaniment didn’t sound as rich through the C658 as through the Pre Box RS2, and decays were less pronounced. His right-hand improvising between verses was comparably crisp and articulate, but a litter harder, through the NAD. Batiste’s sibilants and breaths were slightly more pronounced through the NAD. Once again, switching on Dirac Live room correction opened up the sound; decays were longer, providing a better sense of the reverberant recording venue. Phono preamplifiers could be compared to children as viewed by a previous generation of adults: They are expected to be small in stature, and they should stay out of the way, seen but not heard and maybe not even seen. With the simpler models typically encountered at lower price points, there's little to do except "set it and forget it." Turning to something more tender, I loved the way the Pre Box RS2 Digital reproduced Batiste’s voice in “What a Wonderful World.” His breathing, sibilants, consonants, and vowels were all clearly presented -- and all perfectly integrated. Batiste’s pedaled ostinato notes had luxurious harmonic richness, and decayed magically into the reverberant acoustic of that New Orleans church. Two new CD players come from Pro-Ject: the larger "CD Box DS3" and the more compact "CD Box S3". Both carry analog as well as digital outputs. The audio world knows of Pro-Ject Audio Systems as a major brand of turntables, but this Vienna-based company also makes an extensive line of electronics that lately have been winning all kinds of awards. For the past three years, Pro-Ject has received awards for its turntables and its electronic components from the Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA).

Provided you keep it away from other mains-powered products and power cables, this phono stage will prove suitably quiet and hum-free. Features are basic but it's clear that Moon has focused on the bit that counts – sound quality. If you have a vintage amp or receiver that was produced before 1980, then it’s likely it has a built-in preamp. Much of Andrew Bird's My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista LVR005557) was recorded live in Stevie Wonder's old studio in Los Angeles. The opening cut, "Sisyphus," has some studio ambience. Starting with the MC setup, with gain at 63dB and the recommended 400 ohm loading, the group seemed to be positioned between and behind the speakers. Imaging, scale, and depth of field were how I'm used to hearing them, which wasn't surprising: Bird's vocals and violin—indeed all the instruments—sounded rich, full, and substantial, yet studio-natural without oversaturated colors. All sounded complete, of a piece. Vertere already had a great phono stage on its hands, but this updated version manages to deliver significant performance gains, thanks to some careful housekeeping and honing of the circuit board and power supply. The tidy little box remains the same; an orange power LED is the only addition to the design. With a new rise in popularity of vinyl over the past several years, the market is exploding with a whole new generation of record players containing the latest plug-and-play technology.A standalone model comes equipped with its own chassis and power supply. They usually run quieter than a built-in preamp. So, my experience with this phono stage has been a pretty good one. Albeit subtle, it sounds fantastic and was a step up (no pun intended) from the solid state phono preamp built into my Denon receiver. Many new record players, such as the Audio Technica AT-LP120, come with a built-in preamp. But not all self-contained turntables do. You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi?here. Why do I need a phono stage? Then, for precisely 30 seconds, the on/off LED flashes during the warm-up period, the muted output preventing any nasty pops from greeting the user at switch-on. To demonstrate just how closely Pro-Ject pays attention to the tiny details, even with cost-effective models such as the Tube Box DS2, the LED that shows which output has been selected doesn't light up until the warm-up period ends.

I used 680nF (0.68µF) input and output caps, because I had run out of 1µF 63V units - 1µF/100V MKT caps are too big to fit in the space allowed. Even so, low frequency response is perfectly acceptable as indicated above. A -3dB frequency of 2.3Hz is adequate for all normal listening pursuits . If preferred, you can use a 10µF electrolytic, which can be polarised or bipolar. There's no DC voltage to speak of, and even polarised electros will have a long and happy life. Note: Because these devices not only amplify but also equalize, they are also called equalizer preamplifiers. Yes, power supply of a preamp is so so crucial for its sonic performance particularly when MC is involved. Sound quality is seriously talented and it comes bursting with texture and insight. It's a wonderfully clean and crisp sound, with more low-end weight and substance sitting alongside Cyrus’s traditional values of precision and speed.Others do not, meaning you’ll need a standalone model. Most audiophiles actually prefer to use a separate preamp, but whether or not it can actually make a difference often depends on the rest of your sound system. Stage 1 can have a gain of 0 or 6dB (voltage gain of 1 or 2, respectively). As shown, gain is 6dB, and to reduce it to 0dB replace R3 with a link, and leave out R4 in each channel. The table shows the different gains available from the entire preamp (with volume at maximum) for various values of R7 in each channel, and with Stage 1 having 0 and 6dB of gain. Generally, it will be quite rare that you need more than 10dB of gain in a preamp. The sensitivity referred to 1V means that this is the input voltage needed for 1V RMS output, with the volume at maximum. With all switches closed, the second stage has a gain of 5.36 (14.6dB), far more than anyone is likely to need. Intermediate gain can be obtained by closing more than one switch (I leave this to the constructor).