Pro-ject Pre Box DS2 DAC & Pre-amp Review

[phoenixdogfan]

Yes some do - those don't even need this sub out rca though, some subs also offer high level inputs which are essentially doing the same thing as this. It just makes it seemed a bit half baked as a feature. In my mind you should do things properly or not bother

On the other hand, some manufacturers do release 2.5 ways, which is essentially what you have if you just low pass the sub and don't high pass the satellites.

 

[noel_fs]

considering how much garbage is out there thats pretty solid without any of its features flawed

 

[Toku]

I was more surprised by the case design of the product than the electrical characteristics.
The wooden panels on both sides are reminiscent of 1980s products. Will it be accepted in the present age?

 

[pjug]

I was more surprised by the case design of the product than the electrical characteristics.
The wooden panels on both sides are reminiscent of 1980s products. Will it be accepted in the present age?

It is available without the wood sides. Those cost extra!

 

[Doodski]

The wooden panels on both sides are reminiscent of 1980s products. Will it be accepted in the present age?

There are many buyers that insist on wood grain finishes on their gear. Some want everything to match the wood grain in the room that the gear will go into.

 

[Vini darko]

I was just looking this up to check uk prices. Seems there's loads of variants of it.
Anyway its good looking feature rich and delivers good enough preformance. Its around £600 here. A bit pricey but not obscene.

 

[Tatteredmidnight]

Have you ever seen a powered subwoofer that doesn't have an inbuilt (usually variable) low pass filter?

I happen to have on, I needed a subwoofer that would fit under a bed.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/speaker_systems/yst-fsw050/index.html

It’s quite a strange little sub, but the form factor was quite unique and fit my need.

 

[pogballistics]

I've owned several of Pro-Ject's DAC's over the years and thought they sounded pretty good. Awesome to see the measurements of a unit that is so versatile.

Have you owned the project pre box s2 digital? Do you think it is a better buy than Schiit modi multibit, Denafrips Ares 2 and E30?

 

[Francis Vaughan]

The front panel options seem, well, just a bit gratuitous. Filter and mode are just bringing out the options presented by the AKM re-sampling chip. Making these prominent panel setting just seems to be presenting near useless options to a tiny minority of users who want to fiddle about and somehow imagine they are deriving the best possible performance via some dubious ideas about the signal processing occurring. The options make some sense in the chip, since they provide the designer with mechanisms to address specific needs in a given design, but as user level options they seem just plain stupid.
The front panel MC/MM button is similarly idiotic. The last thing I want is a button that if accidentally bumped increases the gain substantially. I would be far more impressed with a set of back-panel switches that provides a range of gain and loading options. Given the idiotic range of useless DAC processing options, the lack of any actually useful loading options for a cartridge suggests simple laziness on the part of the designer. Cheap digital filtering options implemented by just setting a device register and a few buttons cluttering the front versus actually sonically useful options that require additional hardware and design effort. This doesn't suggest a designer who really cares.
This is a shame as the product could be something extraordinarily good and fit the needs of many users. But IMHO it misses.

 

[restorer-john]

The front panel options seem, well, just a bit gratuitous. Filter and mode are just bringing out the options presented by the AKM re-sampling chip. Making these prominent panel setting just seems to be presenting near useless options to a tiny minority of users who want to fiddle about and somehow imagine they are deriving the best possible performance via some dubious ideas about the signal processing occurring. The options make some sense in the chip, since they provide the designer with mechanisms to address specific needs in a given design, but as user level options they seem just plain stupid.
The front panel MC/MM button is similarly idiotic. The last thing I want is a button that if accidentally bumped increases the gain substantially. I would be far more impressed with a set of back-panel switches that provides a range of gain and loading options. Given the idiotic range of useless DAC processing options, the lack of any actually useful loading options for a cartridge suggests simple laziness on the part of the designer. Cheap digital filtering options implemented by just setting a device register and a few buttons cluttering the front versus actually sonically useful options that require additional hardware and design effort. This doesn't suggest a designer who really cares.
This is a shame as the product could be something extraordinarily good and fit the needs of many users. But IMHO it misses.

That commentary is uncharacteristically harsh. Gratuitous, stupid, idiotic, useless? Come on, not even me on a bad day would be that mean.

Absolutely no problem whatsoever with having the MM/MC switch on the front panel. Even if you inadvertently switch the incorrect one, you should know that nothing untoward happens. A MM playing a record and accidentally switched to the MC input merely becomes dull and distorted, and decidedly quieter than you would expect (due to the front end parallel loading, pulling the MM cart right down) and if you happened to go the other way, the level would again, be just terribly low. Try it with any preamp with switchable MM/MC and report back.

The unit is attractive in a retro way and also has some "sound modes". Perhaps clear/bright/vivid like TVs? The D/A filters- who cares? They are there for the audiophools. Let's face it, Pro-ject have forged a following in the little metal box category, cheap-ass turntables and are doing quite well, thank you very much. I wish them the best.

So, unsurprisingly, the product doesn't appeal to you or me, but I think it does hit a sweet spot for a compact, reasonable performing remote controlled front end for a power amp. And it doesn't cost the earth.

 

[Doodski]

That commentary is uncharacteristically harsh. Gratuitous, stupid, idiotic, useless? Come on, not even me on a bad day would be that mean.

Absolutely no problem whatsoever with having the MM/MC switch on the front panel. Even if you inadvertently switch the incorrect one, you should know that nothing untoward happens. A MM playing a record and accidentally switched to the MC input merely becomes dull and distorted, and decidedly quieter than you would expect (due to the front end parallel loading, pulling the MM cart right down) and if you happened to go the other way, the level would again, be just terribly low. Try it with any preamp with switchable MM/MC and report back.

The unit is attractive in a retro way and also has some "sound modes". Perhaps clear/bright/vivid like TVs? The D/A filters- who cares? They are there for the audiophools. Let's face it, Pro-ject have forged a following in the little metal box category, cheap-ass turntables and are doing quite well, thank you very much. I wish them the best.

So, unsurprisingly, the product doesn't appeal to you or me, but I think it does hit a sweet spot for a compact, reasonable performing remote controlled front end for a power amp. And it doesn't cost the earth.

We are on a similar page although I disagree on the price. US $899 is a tonne of dough in Canada. The competition is pretty stiff at the ASR charts.

 

[Doodski]

https://www.project-audio.ca/product/pre-box-ds2-digital-silver-walnut/

 

[restorer-john]

We are on a similar page although I disagree on the price. US $899 is a tonne of dough in Canada. The competition is pretty stiff at the ASR charts.

Look, I don't think it's cheap, but to it's credit it has a lot of inputs and outputs (for a modern mini-box preamp). Most of the well reviewed ASR "preamplifiers" need an additional external multi input selector before they become partially useful as a system control preamp.

What other ones at $899 have this complement of in/outs?

5 digital inputs (USB/BlueTooth/Coax RCA/Optical)
a few more analog inputs (RCA)
Two sets of outputs, fixed and variable
And a mono (sub/centre/etc)
And a TosLink output.
Proper 1/4" headphone jack too.

 

[Doodski]

Look, I don't think it's cheap, but to it's credit it has a lot of inputs and outputs (for a modern mini-box preamp).

5 digital inputs (USB/BT/Coax RCA/Optical)
a few more analog inputs (RCA)
Two sets of outputs, fixed and variable
And a mono (sub/centre/etc)
And a TosLink output.
Proper 1/4" headphone jack too.

Aren't those inputs available on the input IC or the DSP? It's mostly peripheral hardware on the cabinet?

 

[amirm]

Aren't those inputs available on the input IC or the DSP? It's mostly peripheral hardware on the cabinet?

No. Everything needs a transceiver, connectors, signal processing, etc.

 

[miero]

and there is also 12V trigger input & output which comes handy with a compatible power amplifier

 

[Vasr]

Look, I don't think it's cheap, but to it's credit it has a lot of inputs and outputs (for a modern mini-box preamp). Most of the well reviewed ASR "preamplifiers" need an additional external multi input selector before they become partially useful as a system control preamp.

What other ones at $899 have this complement of in/outs?

5 digital inputs (USB/BlueTooth/Coax RCA/Optical)
a few more analog inputs (RCA)
Two sets of outputs, fixed and variable
And a mono (sub/centre/etc)
And a TosLink output.
Proper 1/4" headphone jack too.

https://parasound.com/200_Pre.php

$895

with some feature trade-offs, not exact. It has never been measured, don't think it would be this clean but I doubt anyone would notice audible differences between the two.

The Parasound is a mainstream boutique audio product so the price of this unit is not all that competitive for DIY look product.

I do admit these Parasounds have ugly face-plates to me.

 

[Carnajo]

I am a little disappointed in the phono stage given that I've alsways thought of Pro-Ject as a turntable company manufacturer. Kinda ironic that the DAC would outperform the phono.
(edit: i mean relatively outperform... in that the DAC is upper percentile compared to competitors and the phono is worse than most budget phonos).

I am now curious to see how their stereo amps or integrated amps would perform.

 

[Doodski]

https://parasound.com/200_Pre.php

$895

with some feature trade-offs, not exact. It has never been measured, don't think it would be this clean but I doubt anyone would notice audible differences between the two.

The Parasound is a mainstream boutique audio product so the price of this unit is not all that competitive for DIY look product.

I do admit these Parasounds have ugly face-plates to me.

It got me a @ bass and treble via remote control. Looks like a kickaZZ pre-DAC.

 

[Veri]

Kinda ironic that the DAC would outperform the phono.

I would assume most DACs outperform phono