Your Thoughts on Pro-Ject Phono Box E Please...

[daza152]

Hi guys I currently do not have a pre-amp or phono stage in my system but have been recommended I should get one and I was wondering if this model was a good entry level one? Is it good value for money and will it deliver a better sound than not having one? Thanks.

 

[onepixel]

I've never heard the Box E, but I had the Phono Box II. It sounded way better than the Bellari VP129 with a Mullard tube. Pro-Ject makes some really nice stuff.

What will you be plugging the Box E into?

 

[daza152]

I've never heard the Box E, but I had the Phono Box II. It sounded way better than the Bellari VP129 with a Mullard tube. Pro-Ject makes some really nice stuff.

What will you be plugging the Box E into?

It will go between my Harman Kardon AVR20II and my Luxman direct drive PD272....Thanks for your help and advice

 

[onepixel]

Looks like your HK has a built in phono stage. How does it sound? In one of my systems, I have a Technics SL-1350 directly plugged into an older Yamaha AVR. It sounds really good. I would not get a phono stage for that set up.

I had the Pro-Ject Phono Box II plugged into a Cary Audio SLP-50B tube pre-amp. I needed the extra gain coming from a Sansui SR-838/AT-15sa cart. It was part of my dedicated headphone system. Which also included a power conditioner, garden hose sized cables, Pro-Ject Head Box II and Grado RSi. I mention all this because I was really critical to the final sound. The Phono Box did it's job wonderfully, without adding anything. It was just pure, clean music. The Bellari VP on the other hand made the music almost bland. I tried it on a SS system with the same results.

I'm not an expert, but I know what I hear and like. From my experience I wouldn't get a phono stage for something that already has a built in one. Unless it outright sounds like crap. As for a pre-amps, I love the Cary for it's simplicity and clean uncolored sound. I have an older Carver C-2 SS pre-amp. It sounds great too, but has tone controls for more flexibility.

I like Pro-Ject. If you must, I think the E at the entry level would do a fine job.

 

[daza152]

It is cheap enough and thanks for your views on it. I would hope that when I hear it, it will be vastly improved as I read on a Cambridge site today that a lot of built in phono amps are pretty crappy and to have one that is of good quality should make a diference... Also when I turn up the volume on my harman Kardon there is a rumbling sound that comes with the more I turn it up and a mate has said tjhis will go as well with the external phono stage.....

Do I really need a seperate phono stage?

"Some amplifiers are already able to support turntable connections but these in-built phono pre-amplifiers are massively out-performed by external phono stages. Vinyl lovers will instantly hear the difference that a dedicated phono stage makes to music quality".

 

[daza152]

Do you agree with the above statement? and what about the rumbling sound?

 

[daza152]

Is there anyone else here you think I should talk to about this choice? cheers

 

[onepixel]

Do you agree with the above statement? and what about the rumbling sound?

"Some amplifiers..." the key word in that statement is "some". A good amp and or receiver will have a decent phono stage and "massively out-performed" sounds like over hype. Some may suck, but most I've heard sound pretty good. I've never felt I had to get an external phono stage.

As for the rumbling sounds, it's hard to tell without checking it out and finding the source. Could be just the volume is creating vibrations that the stylus is picking up.

Try posing this question in the Turntable Forum. You'll get more responses.

Good luck!

 

[daza152]

Thanks for that, I'm thinking why spend the money now ($150) haha thanks. has always sounded prettyy good my music, better use of the money would be to put towards a record cleaning machine? what do you use for cleaning?

 

[daza152]

Do you think the phono stage built in would have specs on it in the manual?

 

[darkblue94]

Many vintage receivers, integrated amplifiers and preamplifiers had very fine phono sections that were superior to nearly all of the entry level phono stages available today. Fact is comparing some of the vintage phono stages to many modern separate phono stages one would have to spend $500 to $1000 today to match some of the older high quality built in stages.

 

[onepixel]

Thanks for that, I'm thinking why spend the money now ($150) haha thanks. has always sounded prettyy good my music, better use of the money would be to put towards a record cleaning machine? what do you use for cleaning?

Buying new stuff can be fun. Buying stuff that actually makes a difference for the good can be tricky. Don't expect just one thing in a "system" to make a huge difference. It can, but you also have to consider the cartridge, TT, speakers, amp, and everything in between.

I usually 2-stage hand clean my records. A basic cleaner, followed with a deep cleaner. Oddly I haven't cleaned many records since I changed to the Audio-Technica AT440MLa couple years ago. It's really quiet. I didn't think it would be that noticeable. When I first got this SL-1350 it had an Ortofon 5n. Inexpensive and sounded really good. The SL-1350 left my care for awhile and came back with a Shure M97 with a N97E stylus. I kept thinking something ain't right. It sounded bad. Probably why I didn't like the Marantz 6300 TT. I had put a Shure M97xe on it. The Audio-Technica AT440MLa made a noticeable difference. I've had other AT, Sansui and Stanton carts matched to other TTs and they all sounded great.

That said, the phono stage may make a difference. You won't know until you try. But somethings from my experience have a higher probability that it will make a difference for the better.

Tap into a broader range of experience. Ask the guys in the Phono Forum.

 

[doctor fuse]

I started my [expensive] adventure into moving coil cartridges with a Phonobox S. While it sounded OK in MM mode, there was very audible thermal noise/hiss in MC mode.
And with several different MM cartridges, I could never hear a difference with the different options for setting impedance and capacitance.
This was a dual mono design, unlike the E. The sound was very clean (with MM), and polite. Almost elegant. But not really engaging or dynamic.
If I had to do it again, I would either buy the cheapest stage out there (ART DJPre-II, or this Project E), or go big with a real quality item.
Personally, I have spent most on an MC cartridge (Benz-Micro Wood), then phono preamp (Benz-Micro Lukashek), then turntable, then amp, then speakers (my weak link). FWIW.