Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T, Pre Box RS2 Digital Review

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The Pro-Ject RS2 Digital is a flexible pre-amp that features tube or solid-state output along with the ability to link to the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T via an I2S HDMI interconnect to utilize the master clock inside the Pro-Ject RS2 Digital pre-amp. The Pro-Ject RS2 Digital pre-amp also features dual mono DACs

Outwardly looking understated and small, the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T feature top notch engineering and manufacture. Individually, these units are capable of intense musical communication. Together, when playing CDs via HDMI, they deliver an unusual level of music reproduction. Don’t be fooled by the simple appearance, this combo delivers tremendous sound consummate to their price, and beyond.

When my editor told me that he had a front-end system from Pro-Ject audio for me to review, I said sure. I was familiar with the brand having sold its products in the late 1980s. More recently, I reviewed one of their turntable offerings. Pro-Ject Juke Box S2 Review – HomeTheaterHifi.com What surprised me when I received the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T was the price. Pro-Ject built their reputation for providing great sound at a reasonable cost. Would this Pro-Ject combo carry that tradition? They are priced well above entry level. Also, a CD transport you say, isn’t that a little bit old-fashioned?

Now before the heckling starts, let me state something. I have been heckled before for holding on to my turntable and vinyl records through the 1980s and 1990s, and now in our digital streaming age, there are folks that hold on to and play their CDs. I know that some of this is reliving the past. For example, I fondly remember the launch of the CD and the excitement of a new sound and new equipment. For us audiophiles in 1982, this was the science fiction future in the present. But I know there are some audiophiles that prefer the sound of CDs over streaming. Before he passed away, RCAS member and former recording engineer Alan H. confided in me that he felt that the sound of properly decoded CDs sounded better than the same recording while streaming. Will this Pro-Ject combo stir up a controversy? Read on.

The Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital pre-amp is unusual in my experience because of the user-selectable features provided in the unit. The Pro-Ject pre-amp also features a D to A converter that challenges the state-of-the-art. By carefully implementing a dual mono design with the highly regarded ESS Sabre ESS9038Q2M chips, Pro-Ject gives the consumer great engineering and a good value product. Along with the 9 digital inputs available, the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital can handle all digital formats available to the consumer.

The Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital offers not only a multitude of inputs but also offers the consumer the ability to select what kind of output circuitry to be listened to. You see, the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital has both an excellent solid-state output stage and an excellent tube output stage. The end user can decide which output stage he or she would prefer to listen to and do it at the touch of a button. I really enjoyed the ability to switch at a whim the output stage while listening to music to hear the difference.

The Pro-Ject RS2 Digital also has the option to change the digital sampling rate/filter during playback. This was another feature I really liked and took advantage of while listening to music. I tell myself that my audiophile tweek days are over, but…I just think it is so much fun to be able to change the filtering on a given recording to suit my taste.

In addition, the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital offers a high-end headphone output. Those of you that love your headphones will appreciate the care given to this output. The headphone amp is DC coupled and has no coupling capacitors in the signal path in order to give the listener the most transparent sound possible.

The Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T is a transport-only device, which means you will need a separate DAC to get the music to your system. If you have the wherewithal to do so, get the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital to pair with it. Doing so will allow you to use one most unusual features of this unit. It is the I2S + Master clock over HDMI interconnection. Using the HDMI output to the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital will allow the digital information stream to use the master clock inside the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital. The result is claimed to be a more accurate reading and decoding of the digital signal.

Not all transports are created equal, and the folks at Pro-Ject have spared no efforts to make it the best. The transport is the StreamUnlimited CD mechanism CD–Pro 8 and the servo system CD-84. One of the features of this mechanism is that the aluminum body has the servo system integrated on it. This mechanism is then mounted on a proprietary anti-vibration system. Anti-vibration dampers are used inside the carbon fiber chassis of the unit to further isolate the CD drive mechanism and reduce the effects of unwanted vibrations. This attention to detail even extends to the magnetic CD clamp which is made of a new aluminum alloy.

The idea behind the I2S + Masterclock via HDMI is to minimize the limitations of using other forms of interconnects. Although the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T has digital outputs to accommodate Optical, Coax, and balanced AES/EBU, the HDMI interconnect allows the master clock in the Pro-Ject Pre RS2 Digital to be used for playback.

I did not have a suitable power amp for the RS combo at the start of the review period, so I thought it would be a good idea to ask a favor from my friend and audiophile buddy Don. Don has a very nice system, and he is a most knowledgeable person about digital audio technologies and audio in general. Don was kind enough to pull some cables and make some space for the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T and the Pre Box RS2 Digital.

Don has a full Atmos system that includes Golden Ear Triton Reference speakers, D-Sonic amps, McIntosh preamp, and a Rose streamer. Don graciously disconnected the preamp and made space for the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T on top of his cabinet. We used the balanced cables from the D-Sonic amp (AudioQuest) and I provided a Balanced AES/EBU cable for the interconnect between the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T. (I forgot to bring an HDMI cable with me, so my impressions on that will come later in the review.)

I enjoyed the combination of the D-Sonic amp and the Pro-Ject combo so much that I asked the fine folks at D-Sonic if I could borrow a stereo amp for the system I have at my office. Fortunately, they agreed, and I was able to later use it with the Pro-Ject Combo on the NHT C-4 speakers I have in-house. My impressions of the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T were taken from these two systems.

As we were setting the system up, Don commented on how nicely finished the units are. When we sat down, Don and I noticed that we could both see the displays from our seats without squinting. Don and I are getting on in age and we both appreciated this feature. As I listened to the tracks it was good to know which one I was on. As I played with the options on the pre-amp, I could see which sampling rate and filter option I was using, as well as when I was listening to the tube circuitry. If it was available on the CD, I would get a readout of the track title, too. This is a really good design decision on the part of the folks at Pro-Ject.

The Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T is a top-loading unit, and the entire top plate of the unit folds up for access to the spindle on the inside. What this means is that the end user will need to place the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T on a shelf with plenty of space to allow the opening of the top plate or, better yet, place the unit on the top shelf. In use, I found it much easier to change CDs if the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T was sitting on the top shelf. Pro-Ject has included a magnetic weight/puck to place on top of the spindle when the CD is in place for play. I thought this was another nice touch and one which I think demanding audiophiles would require of a top-notch CD transport.

The first thing we played with was adding or taking out the tube circuit. The Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital remote has a button marked tube and you can switch the tube in and out of the circuit by pushing it. When the tube is in the circuit a small tube icon will display on the screen of the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital. I will say that I could hear a difference, but the sound from both options was very good. I settled on having the tube in the circuit, it seemed more listenable. Maybe not as “accurate” (Don thought he could hear a slight roll-off in the highs and maybe the bass was not as tight with the tube), but if the sound is enjoyable, then why not? I like that you can have this option because you may prefer the tube or not depending on the recording, your system, and of course your listening preferences.

Next, we tried the upsample and the digital filter options on the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital. Through the Digital filter section, one can use a Brick Wall Filter, Apodizing Fast Filter, or a Corrected Phase Fast filter. One can also turn on or off the oversampling. With so many options we were like two kids in a candy store, sort of like: which flavor do we try next?

I thought that there were very audible differences as we switched between the options. In time we found a combination that we liked best. Now let me say that what sounds best in Don’s system may not be best in yours. Factors like the equipment being used (amps, cables, speakers), the environment (room system it’s in), your ears and personal taste, and the recording itself may determine which options will sound best to you. I will say that all the options sounded excellent, none sounded bad or unacceptable, just that on this day in this room and on this system, I found what I liked best in a particular combination. I liked that I had these options.

I went back to my office system for listening. I had received the D Sonic amp (D-Sonic M3a 1200S) that I thought would be a good match with the Pro-Ject front-end combo and the NHT C-4 loudspeakers I had reviewed.

I decided to forego the NHT subs and just concentrate my listening to the NHT C-4 speakers. I used balanced cables for the interconnect between the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital, the D-Sonic M3a 1200S 800-watt X 2 stereo amp, and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T. I also connected the Blue Sound Node 2 streamer to the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital coax input. Immediately, as I listened to the CD, I noticed an improvement in the low end. The bass was tremendous. I had to check to see if I had not connected the 12” subs to the system. This is a good start I thought. At the end of my review, I came away with a much higher appreciation for the NHT C-4 speakers.

Although the sound was outstanding through the AES/EBU XLR cable, when I listened through the HDMI cable, it was even better. More tonality on the piano. What impressed me, though, was the timing. The rhythmic attack and the beat were better presented through the HDMI input. While listening to the HDMI I switched back to the tube circuit and I think I enjoyed it better with this input.

As fabulous as the music sounded through the AES/EBU XLR cable when I switched to the HDMI, it took the sound to another level. The guitar had more tonality, the soundstage seemed to open up more. If you use the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T with another DAC or DAC preamp I think the results will be very good. However, I doubt you will get the same performance without the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital.

For the record, the sound of this CD through the HDMI destroyed the playback using the XLR. This was the clearest example of the difference between all the other inputs and the streaming. Perhaps this was because there are so many instruments and voices? With the other methods of interconnecting the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and Pro-Ject CD Box RS2T, I couldn’t differentiate the sounds as well. During the large crescendo, the other inputs fell far short of keeping the sound clean and open. It was almost as if with the other inputs I was listening to a lesser amp with far less power.

Switching to the streamed version, I noticed a loss of vividness in the way the cello was portrayed. The solo instruments also seemed to lose some of the detail. The chorus seemed congealed. I could hear more of an individual nature to the members of the choir through the Pro-Ject combo. Either way, this was very impressive playback from the Pro-Ject combo, especially when using the HDMI.

The Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and CD Box RS2 T venture into high-end audio successfully by embracing innovative engineering and good design.

I will admit that at heart I am an analog guy, and I love LP records and turntables. In fact, I listened to my Rega RP6/ Ania Pro Rega Fono MC combination through the RCA inputs on the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital during my evaluation. The sound from my LP records was superb through the Pro-Ject pre-amp. However, 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. Add to that, the tremendous strengths that digital playback offers, and I think the Pro-Ject pair, while not expensive by high-end standards (but still pricey) does offer a great bargain. They allowed me to hear new details and re-experience old favorites in my music catalog. After all, isn’t that what the audiophile experience is all about? Did I mention that these units are fun to use and listen to? Maybe not for everyone, but if you have a discerning ear and love music, you will find the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital and the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2T dear to your heart. Is this the best I have heard CD sound, you bet! Recommended? Absolutely!