With Pro-Ject’s new boxes, there’s truly something for everyone in their range. There’s a wide variety of small Pro-Ject boxes, including many phono stages. And here are three more.
The well-playing Pro-Ject X2 is the turntable to choose in this price range.
That is, two of them are so-called step-up transformers. The MC Step Up Box S3 and MC Step Up Box DS3 amplify the signal from MC pickups, so you can use a turntable with a moving coil in an amplifier with only MM (Moving Magnet) input.
The simplest is the S3, which is adapted to most MC pickups and has a gain of 21 dB between 10 and 40 Ohms, and 24 dB between 40 and 150 Ohms.
The S3 is a dual mono construction, available in black or silver grey. The price is expected to be around €550.
Next on the list is a version of the S3 with a balanced connection and two Lundahl LL1678 transformers on the inside for even better sound. The DS3 has 24 dB and 30 dB gain, selectable from the front, and the price is expected to land just over €1000.
Tube Box DS3 B
The most expensive of the three is a phono stage for MC and MM called Tube Box DS3 B. As the name suggests, it has balanced connections and radio valves.
The Tube Box DS3 B also offers more options. Here you can adjust the load impedance steplessly from the front, from 10 to 1000 ohms. There is also a 47 kOhm setting here and the capacitance can be set in four steps from 50 to 400 pF. Gain can be adjusted in six steps from 40 to 65 DB.
The price of the valve box is expected to be around €1250.
If you need a new CD player, the Pro-Jects CD Box may be all you need.