It came in a yellow and white-themed box that showcases an image of the Phono Box at the centre. The name of the unit is below the picture. Underneath it is the words “Best Buy, MM/MC phono preamplifier”. There's a compelling elegant simplicity to all of Pro-Ject's ancillary components. The Phono Box S2 exemplifies this elegance with a chassis so compact it easily fits on the palm of a hand-including the plug-in outboard power supply. Curve Selection (most phono stages are designed with RIAA equalisation in mind, but there are other options available - such as DECCA) Pro-Ject also builds a decent range of digital and analogue ancillaries that includes a DAC, streamer and several nicely priced phono stages that perform way above what their RRPs indicate.

Mixing it up a little bit we swapped out the Ghosteen album for one of the greatest Tool albums of all time, Lateralus. Dropping the needle onto Lateralus was an absolute revelation and the Phono Box S2 was able to do the album complete justice. The guitar was so clear and crisp whilst the drums delivered a solid thud with every hit. Then there was Maynard James Keenans’ vocals, and wow is all we can say. His incredible vocal range and his unique tone was nothing short of amazing. We’re incredibly amazed at how a little phono stage can improve audio sounds in a snap. But we’re definitely not complaining. We loved everything about it. Now, we will focus on the key features of the preamplifier, here in our Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 review. Audiophile-Grade Phono AmplifierThe Phono Box S2 from Pro-Ject comes with excellent build quality and a lot of great features. Aside from that, it has a sleek design that makes it easy to set up anywhere in your home. This part of our Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 review will be all about the specifications of the Phono Box S2. Our experience with the Phono Box S2 was great. It delivered subtle yet fantastic audio, which proves that it’s an upgrade from the previous Phono Box S. All of these were more than what we had expected from a low-budget phono amp.

But this didn't stop them from labelling one of their amplifier's line inputs “phono” - go figure. A generous interpretation may be that all this signified was the input one would use with an external phono stage.

With some speakers you might find subsonic noise causes a real problem. You’ll see the bass cones moving wildly as they struggle to reproduce inaudibly deep bass sounds. Cutting in below 20Hz, the subsonic filter protects the woofers from wear and tear and ensures the bass you do hear is less distorted. Replacing both existing DS and DS+ models with a smaller, simpler design, the Phono Box S2 Ultra has adjustable loading and impedance options to offer a useful degree of setup flexibility. But the most notable aspect of the new design is that it is fully discrete, with no op-amps in the circuit. Both of these features are rare but not unheard of at the price point and the intention with both aspects is the reduction of unwanted noise. Another design feature is the use of polystyrene capacitors in key parts of the circuit and a split RIAA circuit so that it adheres closely to the recognised equalisation curve. With the MC10 installed, there wasn't much between it and the 160ML as far as bass, and treble reproduction was concerned. When it came to the vital midrange, I felt the ML160 was more linear and transparent, but the bass was simply tighter and fuller with the MC10.

Whatever the reasoning, Pro-Ject, as usual, was on the money with its affordable valve and solid-state phono stages. The bass sounded more life-like, and the richness was optimised further. Of course, despite the enhancement, we didn’t experience any overpowering bass, and that was something impressive. Pro-Ject are offering a fully discrete, OpAmp less design, which enabled us to realize an incredibly harmonious sound. On top of this, they decided to use polystyrene capacitors, which significantly contribute to the high-end sound of the Phono Box S2 Ultra. These capacitors are known amongst audiophiles as the holy grail for phono preamplifiers. The split RIAA equalization enables a pin-point accurate representation of the RIAA curve, a luxury many other phono preamps do not possess. Features: Playing the comparatively slower and more considered Fink’s Sunday Night Blues Club Vol. 1 the results remain extremely impressive. Instruments demonstrate a consistently believable tonal quality and decay to notes. It’s commendably resistant to amplifying surface noise and these factors combine to ensure that you listen to the music that’s been recorded onto the record rather than the record itself.The initial impressions we had was that the Phono Box S2 is an incredibly capable device. We dropped on some vinyl and cranked it up. As the sweetness, refinement and detail in the treble went up in quality several notches, I became aware that the S2 was capable of spinning some pleasant surprises. Everything was better now. The midrange was fuller and populated with a level of transparency the OM5 denied me. As for bass frequencies, these became more extended, and they were faster to explode in my listening room. This simplicity starts at the S2's facia which is bereft of embellishment save for its Pro-Ject logo, model number and solitary on/off power switch. I imagined I was in the Pro-Ject factory watching as a horde of workers assembled before a giant poster of a Pro-Ject turntable before the start of their shift. A bell rang, and they began chanting a mantra over and over. I could hear them intone the phrase “Value for money, Value for money, Value for money.”