Hello my setup so far: Nagaoka MP-500 Technics 1210GR Yamaha AS-1200 Kef R7 Rel T5X After recently acquiring a Humming Guru cleaner the love of my record collection has been rekindled. I've been very happy with the aforementioned equipment however with Christmas coming up I'm hoping to treat myself with an upgrade. The AS-1200 has a capable MM phono stage but I have been considering the Pro-Ject Tube box DS2. Costs around £600 in the UK which is the top end of what I can afford at present. It offers some flexibility with loading and I wonder if it would provide a better match for my MP-500 plus a greater sound quality overall. What do you good people think? Would the DS2 be a notable upgrade or is it wise to save up for something even more substantial like the Icon Audio PS1 for example?
Possibly, you will have the warmer, rolled off tube sound most likely but great sound from what Ive heard. Not sure if more loading options will benefit you much. It may also be somewhat equal to turning your MP500 into an MP200 however. I suggest trying one first or looking for used. Ive seen deals around 300£ I think. Welcome to the forum!
In my opinion, you would benefit from the selectable capacitance of the Tube Box S2. When I tried the lesser Nagaoka MP-110, I found it to be sensitive to load capacitance. There was a dramatic difference in sound balance between using 50pF and 220pF phono-stages. I imagine this extends to other cartridges in the MP range. However, the DS2 provides a relatively limited selection between 100, 220 and 320 pF. This might be sufficient to allow you to choose the most suitable sound to your ears, but I note that the Tube Box S2 offers more capacitance options - 47, 147, 267, 367, 487 and 587 pF - although I suspect that you would be mainly interested in the lower three anyway. Tube Box S2 – Pro-Ject Audio Systems
