Pro-Ject Releases Two Tube Box Phono Amps – The E And S3B
All Image Credit: Pro-Ject
Pro-Ject has launched two new entry level tube based phono stages, the compact Pro-Ject Tube Box E and the slightly larger Tube Box S3 B. The more premium audiophile version of the two, the Tube Box S3 B, is a balanced and enhanced version of the phono stage. Both are available in either a silver or black finish.
Tube Box E
The Tube Box E is the more affordable of the two and uses a pair of replaceable ECC83 tubes in an aluminum chassis. It features a fully discrete circuit design without using any operational amplifiers (OpAmps), provides up to 63dB of gain and a defeatable subsonic filter. Its dual mono design uses a FET input stage, passive/active RIAA equalization, polystyrene capacitors and “multiple internal power supplies” and an outboard “well-filtrated high-voltage anode power supply”.
The design supports both MM and MC cartridges with front panel gain adjustment and underside MC/MM cartridge loading options. Signal connectivity is via two pairs of gold plated RCA connections with power supplied by an external brick.
Tube Box S3 B
The Tube Box S3 B uses the same tube complement, is fully balanced throughout, has a slightly larger chassis, increases the maximum gain to 65dB and the RIAA EQ is semi-passive.
It revises the fully symmetrical and discrete gain stage to offer both balanced mini-XLR and single-ended RCA inputs plus balanced XLR and RCA outputs, with the input settings for each stored in the S3 B’s internal memory. All cartridge loading and gain selection is adjustable via the front panel and again, the power supply is an outboard brick.
Core Features At A Glance:
- Suitable for MM and MC cartridges
- Precise RIAA equalization in two parts, passive/active
- Fully discreet circuit design without OpAmps
- 2x ECC83 tubes (replaceable)
- Front-sided Subsonic filter button
- Front-sided Gain control
- Ultra low noise circuitry with FET input stage
- Dual mono circuitry for optimized channel separation
- Polystyrene capacitors used where possible
- Gold-plated connectors
- Multiple internal power supplies
- Well-filtrated high-voltage anode power supply
- Available in silver or black
Specifications:
- Tube Box E
- Tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
- Input impedance: 10 ohms, 100 ohms, 1K ohm, 2K ohms
- Input capacitance/impedance: 47pF, 147pF, 267pF, 367 pF, 487 pF and 587 pF/47K ohms
- Input gain: 40 dB, 43 dB / 50 dB, 60 dB und 63 dB
- Noise floor: 77 dB (A weighted) at 40 dB input gain, 65dB (A weighted) at 50 dB and 63 dB input gain
- THD: <0.03% at 40 dB input gain <0.07% at 50 dB and 63 dB input gain
- RIAA-equalization curve accuracy: +/- 0.5 dB/20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Subsonic filter: 20 Hz with 18 dB/octave
- Input: 1 pair RCA/phono sockets
- Line-level output: 1 pair RCA/phono sockets
- Outboard power supply: 18 V / 1.000 mA DC, suitable for your country’s mains supply
- Power consumption: 470 mA DC, <1W in standby
- Dimensions (WxHxD) with sockets: 103 x 73 x 131 mm
- Weight: 450g without power supply
- Tube Box S3 B
- Tube assembly: 2x ECC83 (12AX7)
- Input impedance: 10, 50, 100, 1k, 47k ohms
- Input capacitance: 50, 150, 300, 400 pF
- Gain (+ 6dB using XLR Out sockets): 40, 45, 60, 65 dB
- Signal / Noise ratio MM (40dB): 97dBV, 105dBV – ‘A’ weighted
- Signal / Noise ratio MC (60dB): 83dBV, 88dBV – ‘A’ weighted
- THD at 1 kHz: <0,005% MM, < 0,01% MC
- THD (20Hz-20kHz): <0,1% MM, < 0,03% MC
- RIAA-equalization curve accuracy: <0,4dB / 20Hz – 20kHz
- Subsonic filter: at 20Hz with 18dB/octave
- Input: 1x 5-pin mini XLR / 1x pair RCA phono sockets
- Line-level output: 1x pair RCA, 1x pair XLR
- Power supply DC: 18V/1000mA
- Power consumption: 18V/800mA DC, <0.5 W in standby
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 206 x 81 x 153 (164 with sockets) mm
- Weight: 1010g without power supply
MSRP Tube Box E/S3 B:
- US: $350/$700
- UK: £240/£529
- EU: €299/ €599
For more information visit the Pro-Ject web site.
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