Discrete Circuit

A discrete circuit consists of individual discrete electronic components. These can be "passive" components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors, as well as "active" components, which in our case are transistors. The opposite would be an integrated circuit, which uses operational amplifiers in the signal chain. Countless hours of listening tests and years of experience have shown us that even the best op-amps don't sound as neutral, natural, dynamic, or lively. Standard phono preamplifiers with integrated circuits have tens or hundreds of components. In contrast, discrete designs use hundreds to thousands of components. This leads to an extended and more costly design process, but also to the best sound.

Fully Balanced Signal Path

The Phono Box RS2 uses a fully balanced design principle. Balanced transmissions consist of a hot and a cold (also referred to as + and –) signal. Both the + and – signal chains effectively carry the same musical information. A balanced amplifier can now extract the final musical information from the +/- signals and subtract any interference that may have been added along the transmission. In a true, fully balanced amplifier like the Phono Box RS2, the + and – sections of the left and right channels are treated individually, effectively doubling the amplifier sections by two. They require twice as much space on the PCB, twice as many electrical components. As a result, the Phono Box RS2 excels in suppressing noise, errors, and interference, providing the best possible signal-to-noise ratio.

Split Passive EQ

The Phono Box RS2 uses split passive equalization for its RIAA and DECA curves. While more expensive to design and implement, it ensures the most accurate representation of the ideal EQ curve. Split passive equalization allows for better impedance matching and a smaller deviation from the ideal RIAA or DECA curve.

Extreme Adjustment Options

No other phono preamplifier in the world offers such excellent gain adjustment options as the Phono Box RS2. Very wide ranges from 40 dB (voltage gain by a factor of 100) to 70 dB (voltage gain by a factor of 3690) are possible. At these high gains, a phono preamplifier must be incredibly quiet to handle such high gain levels.

The load impedance can be continuously adjusted via a potentiometer. You can seamlessly adjust the impedance during playback and instantly evaluate the effects of different loading options.

Cartridges inherently suffer from small imbalances between the left and right channels. To correct this, the Phono Box RS2 introduces a new feature that is absolutely rare in this price range. With a potentiometer, you can adjust the exact center of the soundstage in ranges of 2 dB to the left or right.

Steel / Aluminum Casing

The Phono Box RS2 features a steel chassis covered by bolted aluminum plates. This construction provides excellent rigidity and superb isolation against interference.

Power Box RS2 Phono – Linear Power Supply

An external linear design power supply is even better as it can provide much cleaner power. If you want to build such clean and truly high-quality power supplies, you need to use a transformer with very low core saturation and preferably with shielding between the primary and secondary windings. Obviously, such a transformer will be larger than one would expect. Also much more expensive. For this reason, such a power supply requires a casing the size of the Phono Box RS2. The Power Box RS uni 1- & 4-way is a further enhancement to the performance of your Phono Box RS2.

• Suitable for MM & MC
• Fully balanced signal path - no op-amps!
• True dual mono design
• Balanced XLR & unbalanced RCA inputs & outputs
• Purely passive RIAA & DECCA equalization
• Unique continuously variable input impedance and balance adjustment to match any system (while listening!)
• Minimal noise & distortion levels
• High-quality & elegant switches
• Metal housing protects against vibration and interference

ATR - Audio Trade HiFi - Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH
Wallufer Straße 2, 65343 Eltville am Rhein, Germany
info@project-audio.com
https://www.project-audio.com/de/impressum/
+43 50443