Pro-Ject Phono Box II, another modern "small wonder".

[Pio1980]

The fellow AKer who loaned me the Shure V15III kit I reviewed also sent one of these along as a suprize "easter egg" addition. It is much smaller than I'd expected tho' heavy and solid, sufficiently high output for a passive control set-up. Woo-hoo!
Tho' it cannot accommodate the capacitance requirements of the type III it does also include the ability to take a typical LOMC cart @ ca 100^ and I have finally got to trying it with the A-T OC9 MLa/II in my ET-II/ VPI HW-19MkIII.

Some listening notes from earlier this eve;
Clear, cleanly detailed, open, very transparent, yet 'musically' appealing/ non-fatiguing. Balance may be a bit on the "light" side for a lean-sounding system, depending.
Very low noise level, no hum whatsoever. Wall wart is tiny but apparently more than adequate.
I did not try the USB feature, I'm not set up to use a computer for music enjoyment.

Conclusion;
A safe purchase IMO, this is a very good candidate for a "Benchmark" phono stage at it's ca $150-$180 price point, I suspect it'd take a fair amount above its MSRP if not a multiple to be "better" rather than just "different".
:thmbsp:I can highly recommend it.:thmbsp:

 

[zimmergeil]

I'm looking to get a phono pream and I'll probably go with a Pro-ject.

However I don't see that particular model on their page or maybe it has a different name there could you say witch one it is.

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?info=boxes&cat=boxes&lang=en

 

[1tumbleweed]

I think the current equivalent is the PhonoBox S - right around $200.

 

[zimmergeil]

Looked around a bit and I found it some places it's quite a lot cheaper than the S model, 100€ vs 150€

 

[ssmith3046]

I own a Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II that I really like.

 

[grooveman]

I own a Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II that I really like.

Agreed. I own the Tube Box DS, which is a very fine phono stage as well.