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"Recommended" - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
Universal, Future-Proof High-End Preamp, DAC, and Headphone Amp
The Pre Box RS2 Digital is the bigger brother of Pro-ject's award winning and ground breaking Pre Box S2 Digital. It uses the same excellent sounding DAC chips as the S2 version, proving once again that the Pre Box S2 Digital was already at the very top of high-end DACs. Based on the same core-design principles, the Pre Box RS2 Digital's has and extended feature set and new heights of performance. It is the perfect partner for cream-of-the-crop of high-end amplifiers and speakers.
Key features include full MQA unfolding by hardware, user-selectable vacuum tube or solid state analog output, multiple digital inputs (including Bluetooth v4.0), balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA pre-outs, and an all-aluminum wireless remote.
"The Best I Have Heard CDs Sound"
"Is this the best I have heard CDs sound, you bet! Recommended? Absolutely!" raves Francisco Licon in his joint review of the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T and Pre Box RS2 in the November 18, 2019 isssue of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity.
"If there was a CD playback system that would sway me over, it would be the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2T. The Pro-Ject combo had me wanting to listen to CD after CD. This Pro-Ject combo brings the musicality and natural details I hear in the best analog."
"Jaw-Dropping Openness"
"I found myself marveling at just how good high-DSD files could sound, courtesy of some releases from the specialist website NativeDSD. There’s scale and solidity, plus an occasionally jaw-dropping openness, to recordings like this played through a DAC as accomplished as the Pro‑Ject; but just as impressive is the way this two-box combination brings a version of the same qualities to CDs," reports Andrew Everard, Grammaphone, March 25, 2020.
"Not only does it breathe new life into familiar recordings but it manages to do so without that hyper-detailed effect that makes less-than-perfect mastering jobs sound excessively raw and brittle."
"A Fabulous, Small-Footprint Digital Front End"
"Match the Pre Box RS2 Digital with a suitable source component – a CD transport such as the CD Box RS2 T or a network streamer like the Stream Box S2 Ultra, both from Pro-Ject – and you have a fabulous, small-footprint digital front end for a pair of analog active speakers like my Elac Navis ARF-51s, or for a more conventional system comprising a power amp and passive speakers," observes Gordon Brockhouse, soundstagesimplifi.com, February 15, 2020.
"The sheer precision of the performances is jaw-dropping, as is the way the engineers have captured them in the reverberant chapel acoustic, in which voices just hang with wonderful focus," observes Hi-Fi News & Record Review. "Not only does all the engineering effort pay dividends in a sound combining solidity with vibrant detail, but the DAC / pre / headphone amp also has the ability to inject new life into everything up to and including top-rate DSD files."
Dual-Mono DAC Configuration
The Pre Box RS2 Digital is a DAC and preamplifier that uses a dual-mono configuration of the highest-class D/A converters from ESS Sabre. ESS9038Q2M chips provide the highest sound quality in price-affordable, high-end circuits. Unlike most of DACs in its price range, the Pre Box RS2 Digital includes dual DACs and separate signal paths for the left and right channels. Thanks to these converters, the Pro Box RS2 Digital supports up to 32-bit / 768 kHz files in PCM and DSD formats (up to DSD512) via USB, covering any digital file you can buy or stream.
The Pre Box has eight digital filters. One of them is the proprietary optimal transient digital filter from the MQA creators. With these filters, you can customize the sound to suit their own preferences.
Choose Tube or Solid State Analog Output
The analog output is a buffer that lets you choose between both solid state and high-quality tube. You can choose which of the option is preferred. The tube buffer relies on four 6922EH vacuum tubes to deliver the lush, rich sonic experience unique to tubes and evocative of golden age hi-fi gear.
Full Support for MQA
Pre Box RS2 Digital comes with full HW and SW support for MQA technology (Master Quality Authenticated), delivering full MQA unfolding by hardware, delivering the highest possible sound quality of the original master recording. MQA is an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the studio. MQA technology is licensed by labels, music services, and hardware manufacturers worldwide. An included digital filter lets the RS2 Digital take maximum advantage of stunning MQA sound. <.p>
XMOS Microcontroller with Advanced Multi-Core RISC Architecture
In the Pre Box, the USB input signal is processed by a powerful multi-core XMOS microcontroller with advanced Multi-Core RISC architecture. The CPLD MAX II (Complex Programmable Logic Device) Altera is used for re-clocking, which together with the XMOS microcontroller brings high-quality processing of both classical and MQA technology.
For the ideal use of this technology, it is best to connect the Pre Box to our Stream Box S2 Ultra in conjunction with the TIDAL service. You can also enjoy MQA quality by linking it with Pro-Ject's new revolutionary CD transport, the CD Box RS2 T. The CD Box RS2 T can be connected to the Pre Box by reliable I²S differential bus via the HDMI connector where the Pre Box RS2 Digital also provides the master clock (16.9344 MHz).
No-Compromise Headphone Amplifier
If you enjoy headphone listening, the Pre Box RS2 Digital was designed with you in mind. The headphone amplifier is the ultimate design. The no-compromise implementation doesn't use coupling capacitors – not even on the output. The entire amplifier is DC coupled. A very fast DC servo assures no DC voltage on the output, and the output power is suitable for all kind of headphones.
Wireless Remote and Other Perks
A premium full aluminum remote control is included in the packaging, and the Pre Box RS2 Digital is available in a high-quality silver or black aluminum casework. The big display screen on the front shows all relevant information in an easy-to-read, clean, and structured way. Navigating the menu is very responsive and fast, allowing you to set up the unit to your preferences in seconds!
