The New Phono Box DS3 B

At Pro-Ject, balanced connections were exclusive to our RS range of products until now. The Phono Box DS3 B model offers some of the high-end features of the Phono Box RS2 at an affordable price and trusted Pro-Ject quality. One of those is our new True Balanced Connection

High-End Features and Limitless Loading Options

The Phono Box DS3 B employs a steel chassis enveloped by aluminium panels. This construction offers very high rigidity and isolation against interferences, which is essential for the new technology inside. Magnetic wooden side panels are available separately as add-ons. You can connect up to two turntables simultaneously – all parameters for each input get stored in the memory. Perfectly match the Phono Box DS3 B to a wide variety of cartridges. Load impedance can be set continuously via a potentiometer, a system invented by Pro-Ject Audio Systems, to adjust the impedance during playback and assess the impact of different loading options in real-time. No other manufacturer implements this feature as elegantly!

Balanced By Nature

Cartridges are balanced signal transducers by nature! Due to the internal wiring of MM cartridges, you'll need a MC cartridge to access the entirety of that balanced signal. Together with our new True Balanced Connection cables you'll be able to access high-end features that were previously only available on the most expensive phono stages. And the best: any Pro-Ject turntable with RCA, miniXLR or 5P output can do it!

A Technical Deep Dive

The Phono Box DS3 B incorporates a true, fully balanced gain stage design. Whether you're using a single-ended RCA or balanced connection, both times the fully symmetrical gain stage can optimize the signal-to-noise ratios, feeding the fully passive and discrete RIAA equalization stage with the cleanest signal to work its magic on. Entirely split passive equalization allows for better impedance matching and lower deviation from the ideal RIAA curve. The Phono Box DS3 B uses fully discrete audio circuitry. A discrete circuit is composed of disparate, individual electronic components, also called discrete components. Years of experience have proven that even the best Op-Amps do not come close to the neutral, natural, dynamic, and vivid presentations of discrete circuit.

True Balanced Connection

The symmetrical design is the fundamental standout feature! Connect your turntable via the 5-pin mini XLR cable or standard XLR cables and enjoy the benefits of our new True Balanced Connection. A truly balanced gain stage can extract the final musical information, effectively filtering out any noise from interferences stemming from our noisy, modern homes (household appliances, wifi & Bluetooth, power cables, audio amplifiers).

Specifications

Input impedance: Stepless 10 – 1000 ohms or fix 47kOhms

Input capacitance: 50, 150, 300, 400 pF

Gain (+ 6dB using XLR Out sockets): 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 dB

Signal / Noise ratio MM (40dB): 104dBV, 111dBV - ‚A‘ weighted

Signal / Noise ratio MC (60dB): 85dBV, 91dBV - ‚A‘ weighted

THD at 1 kHz: <0,001% MM, <0,004% MC

THD (20Hz-20kHz): <0,005% MM, <0,01% MC

RIAA-equalization curve accuracy: <0,25dB / 20Hz - 20kHz

Subsonic filter: at 20Hz with 18dB/octave

Input: 1x 5-pin mini XLR / 1x pair XLR / 1x pair RCA phono

Line-level output: 1x pair RCA, 1x pair XLR

Wiring XLR sockets: 1 ground, 2 “hot” and 3 “cold”

Trigger In/Out: 12V on/off detector

Power supply DC: 18V/500mA

Power consumption: 18V/max.290mA DC, <0.5 W standby

Dimensions: 206 x 72 x 194 (205 with sockets) mm

Weight: 1480g without power supply

CONNECT IT DS PHONO MINI XLR

A balanced signal coming from a moving coil (MC) phono cartridge remains balanced through the tonearm and over to the RCA junction box. Setting us apart from the pack, Pro-Ject turntables with RCA/ground outputs are terminated in a balanced configuration within their junction boxes (excluding turntables with built-in phono preamps), providing you the option of sending that balanced signal on to a phono stage with a mini XLR input.  It features flexible oxygen-free copper conductors with silver-plated copper connectors and a low capacitance of 90pF (ideal for phono). Standard length is 1.23m (4.04′).