Pro-Ject Tube Box DS Review

I've not had a huge amount of success with records over the years.

I recall getting my hands on some of my dad's old records when I was younger and while I can't quite remember how it ended, I'm certain that they were worse off.

Flash forward to today and I'm still struggling to get the best out of my records.

I mean it's strange right? I have all the things I technically need. 

Turntable, check. 

Amp with phono input, you bet. 

Speakers and cabling, absolutely.

So what was it I was missing? Why was it I'd always lean more towards my digital media rather than my analog records? 

Despite popular belief, it wasn't the convenience factor.

I've always been simply fascinated by records. I like to romanticise the process of it all, removing the record carefully from its sleeve, placing it on the platter, clamping it down, pulling out my carbon fibre brush to take off any surface dust and then carefully placing the needle on it. The effort required, alone, is satisfying.

More than anything, my records just weren't singing to me.

The in-built phono stage on my Roksan Kandy K2 is widely regarded as being excellent as far as internal stages go, given it wasn't simply an afterthought, but a really well thought out design. 

It was because of this, I was curious to see what gain (pardon the pun!) I may get from an external stage. I was wanting to see whether it would really make any difference or whether it was just a case that I wasn't in love with that record sound.

Enter the Pro-Ject Tube Box DS. A tiny little box with little more than a button and a dial on the face, a couple of tubes sticking out the top and a few jumper & RCA connectors on the back. Looking at the compact nature of the design, one might wonder how significant an impact the Tube Box DS might have.

Despite having tubes, the Tube Box DS is actually a hybrid design. 

What that means is you get a solid state preamp with a tube output stage. I find it to be a nice combination as it delivers extremely low noise, but seems to deliver a very down to Earth sound.

I connected the Tube Box DS to my Marantz TT-15s1 (as standard with supplied tonearm and virtuoso MM cartridge) and then to my Kandy amp via a pair of Chord Chameleon interconnects.

After letting the tubes warm up for around ten minutes, I pulled out my latest record, the self titled LP by Fleet Foxes and sat down to listen. 

Within seconds, no exaggeration, I could hear a huge difference. It wasn't subtle. There was better stereo separation, the imaging was wider and everything just sounded more lively. It was the first time I had ever listened to a record and actually preferred the sound to its digital equivilent. 

I continued to spin disc after disc and the results were much the same. 

The saxophone from Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street was something that my system has always struggled to convey in my room. It always sounded a little dull, like it sat recessed somewhere in the mix but now, it came to life in my lounge room. 

The subtle nuances in Iron & Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days had a pinpoint accuracy and definition. I could quite literally hear the placement of each individual instrument.

Most importantly, when I closed my eyes, the speakers disappeared into the room and I was left with an incredibly intimate musical experience. 

For me that is what it's all about. 

I was too young to ever get a chance to see Nirvana play live, but now I can chuck on their MTV Unplugged LP and I'm right there, front and centre.

Initially, when I had set up the Tube Box DS, I set the gain at 40db and capacitance to 147pF for my Virtuoso cartridge, however I have since found that the output on that cart is quite low and that the 50db gain setting is better suited to my system. 

That is another nice touch, the amount of customisation that can actually be done. You can basically tune the Tube Box DS to your system.

I have been completely blown away by the dramatic improvement the Tube Box DS has made to my record listening. My records which for the most part mainly sat about gathering dust, have now become the main source of my listening. In fact, I've been going through each one to hear how much more alive it sounds. 

If you've got a decent system and turntable but feel as though your records haven't been sounding like they should, do yourself a favour and check out the Pro-Ject Tube Box DS, I will be very surprised if you don't get a significant improvement.

The Pro-Ject Tube Box DS currently retails for AU$799

Pro-Ject Australian Distributor - International Dynamics

Associated Equipment -

Roksan Kandy K2 Integrated 

Roksan Kandy K2 Power

Marantz TT-15s1 Turntable

KEF R500 Speakers

Chord Chameleon Interconnects

Chord Odyssey 2 Speaker Cable