Faithful to its promise of making products available to sound enthusiasts with capital letters musical, versatile and affordable that are capable of satisfying the most varied needs, Pro-Ject Audio Systems has just launched the Phono Tube Box DS3 B, a very complete phono preamplifier for moving coil (MC) and moving magnet (MM) cartridges, which stands out for combine vacuum valves (a pair of the popular and ultra-reliable ECC83/12AX7) with a circuit topology completely double monophonic and balanced (hence the “B” in its name). The second fundamental feature of this compact and refined electronics intended for vinyl record enthusiasts is the use of discrete components (that is, individual, not integrated into “chips”) of audiophile grade and very low noise in order to obtain a sound that is as natural and dynamic as possible.
The third key element of the Phono Tube Box DS3 B has to do with the very careful conception of its RIAA stageresponsible for processing the signal coming from the gain stage and also executed at the 100% with discrete components. As a consequence of its internal architecture, the Pro-Ject includes tickets (both XLR connectors and a stereo mini-XLR connector are available for easy connection to a turntable) and balanced outputswhich are entrusted to a dedicated stage, allowing you to benefit once again from the symmetrical connection, in this case to the associated line preamplifier or integrated amplifier. As for the unbalanced outputs (via RCA connectors), they are also treated by their own circuitry, which is powered directly by the RIAA equalization circuitry. The “practical” part of the Phono Tube Box DS3 B would have to be described as spectacular, as a result of the generosity of the adjustment options that it puts in the hands of the user.
Specifically, there are no less than 6 profit options (40/45/50/55/60/65 dB; +6 dB with balanced outputs) and 4 for capacitance input impedance (50, 150, 300 and 400 pF) and an absolutely unusual, in a product of this price, continuous adjustment of the input impedance between 10 and 1,000 ohms dedicated to moving coil cartridges. Thanks to this, this new Pro-Ject phono preamplifier is compatible with the vast majority of pickup capsules available on the market, to which it adds the inherent advantages of its balanced architecture. The Tube Box DS3 B, which is Entirely designed and manufactured in Europeis completed with an entirely metal construction (aluminum) and a switching power supply external that can be optionally improved with a linear type, such as the Power Box DS2 Sources from Pro-Ject itself.
