Will going from Aragon 47K to Pro-ject Phono Box RS or Tube Box DS2 be worth it?

Here's my current setup:

Denon AVR4520
Emotiva XPA5
Seaton Submersive HP sub
Martinlogan Motion12 as main speakers

Denon DP-59L w/ Denon Dl-301mk2
Aragon 47K preamp

Will changing the preamp to Pro-Ject Phono Box RS or Tube Box DS2 be worth the upgrade? The $300 difference between the 2 Pro-ject preamps doesn't matter too much, so I'd like a worthwhile sound difference.


Thank you for any constructive input.

Also, feel free to recommend other $1000 or thereabouts preamps.

 

I'd say yes. I don't know the Aragon. But, I have had the Tube Box DS2 in my system, and the Phono Box RS. This was after I had a Musical Surroundings Nova II and a Jolida JD9 upgraded in my system. I felt the JD9 was a bit noisy, and was ready for an upgrade after having it for 7 years. I had the Nova for 6 mos, and it sounded a little too rolled off in the highs for me. So, I ended up with the RS, and also auditioned the Tubebox at the same time.

I really liked both. The RS was well broken in (dealer demo), and the TubeBox was new, so that may be part of it. But, the RS is a level better, as the price would suggest. I found it quieter by far (obvious... tube vs SS), a bit more dynamic, and overall a cleaner, crisper sound. It's definitely a step up in quality from the Jolida, and also better than the TubeBox. What I think would be awesome is if they later created a TubeBox RS, with better quality innards like the PhonoBox RS.

Having said all of that... I had the RS demo unit in my system for three months before my new one arrived. Over that time, I decided to make a major step up, and bought a Manley Chinook. It is a whole different level, but of course, it costs double. In my system, I was making improvements from the JD9, but not enough. Now, I'm there. So, the point of this is that I have the RS I'm going to be selling. Let me know if you are interested. I'm thinking $900 shipped, which will end up saving you about $150 over buying new. It is 100% perfect, and has only been used about 10-15 hours. I only received it a few weeks ago, and have been traveling all weekends in between, so it's not even broken in. Including the original box, manual, power cord, plastic bags, original receipt, everything in perfect condition. It's new.

Let me know if you are interested!

 

Thank you for your input. I saw your ad on Audiogon. As trivial as it sounds, all of my equipment is black. I went ahead and ordered from the "river."

Good luck on your sale!

 

The Aragon 47K is excellent and outstanding (to me). What don't you like about it?

 

My goal was to find that "warmth" vinyl gearheads talk about that seems to be missing in my system. There's a bit of harshness that I'm not happy with.

At any rate, I just received the Phono Box RS today. After a long days work, I was excited to plug her in and start experiencing the new toy. To my disappointment, there is a terrible hum and interference that the Phono Box is picking up. Adjusting the variable dial did very little. I will try again this weekend and try to figure out if I got a defective unit.

The Aragon 47k is plugged back in and sounds better than ever for now.

 

Are you sure it's not the cartridge? Are you sure the gain and load settings are appropriate for your cartridge?

 

I am open to a cart other than the Denon DL301mk2. Price up to ~$1000.

As far as the Pro-Ject preamp, I set the Phono Box RS on variable between 330 - 1000 ohms and tried all three gain settings. There's a ton of interference and hum. The WART power cord is absolutely cheap Chinese quality. I will try again tonight when I get home and try eliminating the interference.

 

Any idea when the Phono box RS settles down? I've got it runnng and due to ear fatigue I'm ready to send it back.

The high end is not shrill or distorted but takes its toll after listening to one record.

Thanks!

 

I did not notice any "shrill" or distorted sound from mine. I think you may want to recheck the gain settings and the loading. With my 10x5, I ran it at 50db of gain, and load around 1k.

 

I hope you kept the 47k. I tried to run it out of the house with a AR PH3 but even that could not dislodge the 47k. I think its one of the best bargains in audio, especially if you can get your hands on the IPS upgrade. Those are almost impossible to find now.