I have a late 70's McIntosh system. The phono stage of my 40 year old C28 preamp started to fail. My friend brought his Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 to try on my system. I really liked how the tubes reduced the performance of my solid state system. I decided to buy the S2 rather than spend that money troubleshooting and repairing my C28 phono stage. The S2 was easy to set up. However, one of the tubes stopped working a few weeks after purchase. My friend upgraded his stock Pro-Ject bulbs to Tung-sol brand bulbs. I ordered a matched pair of Tung-Sol 12AX7 bulbs and replaced the Pro-Ject bulbs. I had no problems with the block after replacing the burned tube. Hopefully it was just a broken pipe. Now I'm in a better position. I have a Pro-Ject DC turntable with an Ortofon 2M Bronze MM cartridge. Playing vinyl through the S2 sounds better than through my old McIntosh phono stage. And switching to Tung-sol tubes also had a noticeable effect on the sound quality. When the signal goes through S2, my vinyl records sound better. I feel that the output with the tubes is clearer, more tonal and richer, especially in the mid and high ranges. At this price I'm really happy with the sound quality of this little S2. But I would recommend upgrading the stock Pro-Ject bulbs. You'll get more out of your S2. You'll also need to find the specs for your current cartridge so you can properly match the S2 to your cartridge's wattage. Cartridge information is usually easy to find with an online search. The instructions that came with the S2 help explain how to connect the S2 to the cartridge's output.
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