Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2
Phono preamplifiers could be compared to children as viewed by a previous generation of adults: They are expected to be small in stature, and they should stay out of the way, seen but not heard and maybe not even seen. With the simpler models typically encountered at lower price points, there’s little to do except “set it and forget it.”
But a phono preamplifier such as the component under review—the Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 ($1999)—could, with its many features, keep you up all night, playing. A component like the RS2 can increase your hands-on involvement with your vinyl playback, which can be a good thing: Vinyl lovers are typically hands-on; we like to be involved in our audio systems.
The RS2 is unusually full-featured, especially at its price. It’s fully balanced, dual-mono, with all-discrete circuitry: no op-amps in the signal path. Unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) inputs and outputs are provided, and you can hook up both inputs at once, switching between them with a front-panel button. The RS2 offers—um—loads of flexibility. Gain settings range from 40dB to 70dB in eight steps: four each for MM and MC. Resistive loading for MC is continuously variable from 10 to 1000 ohms (plus, of course, there’s 47k ohms for MM cartridges). The top of the continuous range—near 1000 ohms—is useful with certain moving iron cartridges, and it’s missing on many phono preamps. Capacitive loading for MM cartridges is adjustable in 50pF increments from 50 to 400pF. A subsonic filter rolls off the lows below 20Hz at 18dB/octave unless you defeat it with its front-panel button.
Bird’s pizzicato felt more exciting on the attacks— so present and convincing it gave me goosebumps.
Cartridges are the fine jewelry of audio: typically handmade by skilled artisans, often with materials found in jewelry stores. But they’re not always perfect, and setup isn’t always ideal, so the RS2 provides a balance control that enables adjustments up to 2dB to offset channel imbalances or to tweak the soundstage.
Phono EQ is
