Pro-Ject has unveiled the latest device in its flagship RS2 range. The CD Box RS2 Tube is a CD transport with a built-in DAC and a fully balanced tube (valve) output stage. Versatility is the name of the game here.
Because CD transports only read CDs, not DVDs or Blu-rays, and tend to off-load the digital-to-analogue conversion process to an outboard DAC (or the one in your amplifier), they are able to focus all their energies on that one task. And that's very much the promise of the CD Box RS2 Tube, whose aim is "extracting every bit of data from your CD cleanly and reliably."
It does this courtesy of the SUOS DM-3381 Red Book CD drive, which is made of aluminium to minimise vibrations and mechanical interference. (SUOS-Hi-Fi, the company behind the drive, was set up by former Philips CD engineers.) Partnered with the BlueTiger CD-88 servo, it tracks the CD precisely and reduces read errors to feed the DAC with every bit of original data encoded on the disc.
Its fully balanced tube output stage employs two E88CC vacuum tubes to enrich the analogue signal. And with both fully balanced XLR and single-ended RCA connections, it gives you more versatility in your choice of partnering equipment.
Unusually, this transport does also feature a built-in DAC, which means the CD Box RS2 Tube is now effectively a CD player, too. It can plug straight into any amplifier with analogue inputs (either RCA or XLR), while the integrated tube stage can shape the signal from digital to analogue. But it has digital outputs too, if you would rather connect your own DAC and bypass the internal one.
So that's another tick for versatility.
It's also compatible with the Pro-Ject Power Box RS2 Sources power supply upgrade, and comes with its own aluminium remote control.
The Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 Tube will be available this month in a black or silver finish, costing £1749 (around $2300 / AU$3500).
MORE:
Best CD players: budget to premium options tested by experts
Quad's retro-modern CD transport promises to play your discs with “uncompromised fidelity”
FiiO's new portable CD player has hi-res Bluetooth and doubles as a DAC
