Prodigious, as always at Pro-Ject, in relation to quality/price, the Phono Box DS3 B it’s a phono preamplifier which stands out for being equipped with a gain stage completely balanced (hence the “B” in its name). Balanced transmissions are characterized by including two signals, + and -, that carry exactly the same musical information. In the specific case of a gain stage This means that the final musical information is extracted by adding said + and – signals, while the potential noise present throughout the transmission is eliminated by canceling each other after inverting their phase. On the other hand, since there are two separate signal chains, it is necessary to have two individual amplification sections and therefore the number of components required is doubled.
This leads to the second key feature of Pro-Ject’s new phono preamplifier: a Exclusively Executed Circuitry with discrete components, that is, individual and therefore not integrated into “chips”, in order to obtain a most natural and dynamic sound possible. The third key design element of the Phono Box DS3 B is the RIAA stage, responsible for processing the signal coming from the gain stage, passive type and also executed 100% with discrete components. The use of separate passive equalization for each of the signals coming from the gain stage allows for superior adaptation of impedances and a lower deviation with respect to the ideal RIAA curve. As a consequence of its internal architecture, the new Pro-Ject includes balanced outputs (via XLR connectors) which are generated by a dedicated stage, allowing you to benefit once again from the symmetrical connection, in this case to the associated line preamplifier or amplifier.
In regards to the unbalanced outputs (via RCA connectors), are handled by their own dedicated stage, which is fed directly by the RIAA equalization circuitry. Thanks to this configuration, the user can connect simultaneously two turntables to the Phono Box DS3 B with the relevant settings memorized. Specifically, these settings are 6 for the gain (40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 dB), 4 for the load capacitance (50, 150, 300 and 400 pF) and continuously variable type (between 10R and 47,000 ohms) for the load impedance, a provision absolutely exceptional which guarantees the perfect adaptation of practically any pickup cartridge available on the market. Pro-Ject’s new phono preamp comes complete with an all-metal construction (stainless steel with aluminum hardware) and a switching power supply external that can be optionally upgraded by adding one of Pro-Ject’s refined DS2 linear power supplies.
