Project Pre Box S2 Digital-Silver

Project Pre Box S2 Digital

ProJect's Pre Box S2 is the company's first product to provide support for MQA audio. It features an ESS Sabre ESS9038 dual DAC chip which supports resolutions up to 32bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512. The Pre Box S2's clock circuit has a jitter rate of 100 Femtoseconds which provides ultra accurate Digital to Analogue conversion. As well as providing stellar DAC facilities, the S2 also has a more than capable headphone amplifier for private listening.

Features

• Pre-amplifier with built-in DAC
• High-end ESS Sabre ESS9038 DAC chip
• Proprietary clock circuity design
• Jitter as low as 100 Femtoseconds
• Organic polymer capacitors and thin-film miniMELF resistors
• MQA audio files compatible
• Roon-ready product
• Hi-Res certified product
• DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512 (DoP)
• Up to 24-bit / 192kHz for optical & coax inputs
• Seven selectable digital filters
• One proprietary optimum transient digital filter
• Headphone output on the front (6.3mm)
• Dual-mono construction
• User-friendly screen and operating system
• Gold-plated four-layer PCB
• Premium S2 chassis
• Available in black or silver

The Pre Box S2 Digital is a premium pre-amplifier, DAC and headphone amp, all squeezed into a compact, aluminium chassis. As mentioned before, the pre-box S2 digital features a huge array of impressive specifications, rarely found in products twice its price. The compact box features a high-end ESS Sabre DAC chip capable of handling up to 768kHz / 32-Bit or DSD512 conversion. To top it off, this is Projects first box which is capable of decoding the latest MQA files. The optical and coaxial inputs can also be used to handle up to 24 bit / 96kHz data from external digital sources, such as CD players or network streamers. 

What do we think?

I loved using the Pre Box S2 Digital as a headphone amplifier at my desk. It works perfectly with Tidal to decode MQA and play high-res files. It sounded great paired with a range of headphones, from the Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signatures to the Quad ERA-1's. This is a very capable, compact preamp and DAC.