Description
Tube Box S2 uses fully discrete circuitry – no operational amplifiers here (aka Op-Amps, used in simpler, more affordable designs but with some sacrifice to sound quality). The standard, user-replaceable tubes sound stellar out of the box, though the design opens the gates for sound-shaping via tube rolling should you want to take it a step further.
Tube Box S2’s sonic presentation is full & relaxed with a blossoming midrange more typical of much more expensive designs. The stage welcomes most MM & MC cartridges on the market with a wide range of gain, loading & capacitance settings. The S2 series’ 2-layer aluminum/steel enclosure shields the circuitry from vibration and electromagnetic interference for more music, less noise.
Features
- Suitable for MM and MC cartridges
- Precise RIAA equalization in two parts, passive/active
- Fully discreet circuit design without OpAmps
- 2x ECC83 tubes (replaceable)
- Front-sided Subsonic filter button
- Front-sided Gain control
- Ultra low noise circuitry with FET input stage
- Dual mono circuitry for optimized channel separation
- Polystyrene capacitors used where possible
- Gold-plated RCA in- and outputs
- External power adaptor and multiple internal power supplies
- Well-filtrated high-voltage anode power supply
- Sandwich aluminum/metal casing protects from vibrations and electromagnetic interference
- Available in silver or black
- Handmade in Europe
Specs
- Tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX 7A)
- Input impedance: 10ohms, 100ohms, 1kohm, 2kohms A,
- Input capacitance/impedance: 47pF, 147pF, 267pF, 367pF,487pF and 587pF*/47kohms B
- Input gain: 40dB,43dB B ; 50dB, 53dB and 60dB, 63dB A
- Noise floor: 80dB (A weighted) at 40dB input gain 75dB (A weighted) at 50 dB and 63dB input gain
- THD: <0,02% at 40dB input gain <0,05% at 50dB and 63dB input gain
- RIAA-equalisation curve accuracy: 20Hz – 20kHz / max. 0,4dB
- Subsonic filter: at 20Hz with 18dB/octave
- Input: 1 pair RCA/phono sockets
- Line-level output: 1 pair RCA/phono sockets
- Outboard power supply: 18V/1.000mA DC, suitable for your country’s mains supply
- Power consumption: 470mA DC, <1W in standby
A: typical for low output MC cartridges, B: typical for MM cartridges or high output MC
*Input capacitance is irrelevant for low output MC cartridges.
Reviews
“What I am getting through this is an immediate improvement in sound stage depth, width, scale and also pinpoint accuracy and lower noise floor.” – Randall Messman, Cheap Audio Man
“Sounds fantastic and was a step up (no pun intended) from the solid-state phono preamp built into my Denon receiver” – Caleb Attaway, Analog Planet
