I decided to take some time and drop some coinage on upgrading my turntable system into a true analog listening system. I enjoy playing my LPs casually but I’d like them to sound nice. In my previous setup, I used a Applied Research & Technology DEEJAYPRE Phono Preamplifier which I picked up about five years ago on eBay for about $35. Now, I understand I shouldn’t expect knock out quality from such a cheap product, but what it did produce didn’t exactly blow my socks off.

Now, a little history on why we need phono preamplifiers A record cartridge (which is the housing for the needle) in most instances (including mine) is a moving magnet cartridge, where it uses two small magnets in the cartridge to detect the vibrations from the record grooves and generate a small electrical charge. Because this electrical signal is so small, we need a device to make it ‘louder’ so you won’t need to crank the volume up to MAXIMUM on your amplifier. Also, records use RIAA equalization so what’s on the record needs to be EQ’d properly. A phono preamplifier performs both theses tasks by EQing the incoming signal and applying gain so the signal cant be sent to a standard RCA input on an amplifier or receiver.

If you have a low quality phono preamplifier you might notice such playback artifacts as distortion, a low hum or music that is too “boomy” for bass or too “tin-y” on the treble. I know that the cheap preamplifier I was using before didn’t produce much gain as I had to turn my amplifier up pretty high for it to sound right. It also had issues doing a decent job grounding out the turntable so the music sounded distorted and there was an audible hum due to the poor quality ground terminal on the preamp. After cracking the lid off the DEEJAYPRE preamplifier I saw that it was a single JRC 4558DD chip doing all the EQ and GAIN. I Googled around and although there is a cult following behind the 4558DD chip, it was obviously not performing up to par in its current application in my system.

I researched preamps and decided to try and stick with a brand that remained true to the analog signal that’s coming from the turntable without using many IC’s or any digital to analog conversions. I settled on the Pro-Ject Tube Box II which I purchased from NeedleDoctor.com for $399. I chose this preamp for several reasons, main reason being that it uses two 12AX7 vacuum tubes for the gain stage which preserves the analog signal.

NeedleDoctor was able to ship out the preamp quickly and it arrived without hassle. Upon unpacking the preamp I noticed one thing: it’s small but very heavy for it’s size!

It uses an external wall-plugin transformer which provides 16V at 1amp. I was a little worried about the low power requirements but once I thought about it, it made sense that the output wouldn’t require a high DC current as it’s only being converted to line level.

Also as I said before, it’s very small and fits easily in one hand. The two 12AX7 tubes are surrounded by protectors to keep wandering fingers from the tube but I don’t think it’s for safety as the heat coils in the tubes are barely being fired up, so don’t expect the typical ‘tube glow’. I mean there is a tiny, tiny glow from the cathode… but only if you turn the lights off and you cover up the (very, very bright) front LED

After hooking it into my system I noticed an immediate difference when turning on my amplifier. There was no more audible hum even when turning up the volume to maximum which tells me that Pro-Ject has taken the proper steps to grounding out the phono signal and eliminate artifacts from the gain stage, resulting in a clean line level signal.

I tested the Pro-Ject Tube Box II with three albums which I thought would give the EQ a run for it’s money.

I use The Fugees album, “The Score”, because it has a very “busy” sound profile while still having very deep hitting bass. Songs such as the Fugees cover of “Killing me Softly” has a good mix of Lauryn Hill’s melodic voice with a heavy bass line while their cover of “No Woman No Cry” combines tight bass hits with an acoustic guitar. The specific version I used was a 180 gram limited edition remastered in ‘high definition’

I heard immediately that the deep bass was reproduced beautifully without distorting higher ranges. Lauryn Hill’s lyrics came through amazingly clear, including her pronounced “S”’s when singing the line “Softly” which has a tendency to be distorted/clipped with poor equalization. The sound stage for the album came alive and literally shook the house. So far Tube Box’s performance has been great!

Ben Folds Live is one of my personal favorite albums to listen to. It’s a simple album consisting of live tracks with just Ben and his piano. It’s a fun album to play on a well setup system because it has the feel of being at a live concert while still sounding like Ben is playing right next to you on his concert grand piano. I selected songs like “Zak and Sarah” and “Army”, which both include very loud and pronounced piano sections. They are reproduced brilliantly by the Pro-Ject Tube Box II Phono Preamplifier and softer melodies like “Brick” and “The Luckiest” are as soft and sweet as if he were playing the piano in the same room.

The final test I threw at the Pro-Ject Tube Box II was an older LP I’ve had in my collection for a while and is still a favorite of mine, Ella Fitzgerald sings the Duke Ellington songbook. Sometimes older records that are worn down from being played over the last 30+ years give EQ’s a little trouble because it’s not the strict RIAA curve that they’re used to. The Tube Box was able to being harmony back to this LP by bringing forward the Duke Ellington Orchestra without having Ella and her amazing vocal runs overpower them. My wife loves when I play this record now because it makes the house come alive as if we were in a jazz club like the Blue Note

All in all I am very pleased with the Pro-Ject Tube Box II Preamplifier. It is able to EQ and apply gain elegantly to any music selection and apply the right amount of gain without causing any clipping. Is it worth the $399? Well, I suppose that depends. It could be argued that vacuum tubes are a niche market and are only for those few who want their system to be stylized without compromising quality. I’m sure a cheaper preamp might sound just as good, but why run the chance? Preamplification and Equalization is THE most important part of playing back a record so you’ll want to guarantee you have quality. My previous ART preamp only used a single JRC 4558DD IC for equalization and gain, which I imagine was the cause for it’s low quality and performance.

So for those with money in the budget for an upgrade, I highly suggest picking up this amazing phono preamp for your turntable as it’ll breathe new life into all your LP’s both young and old