Фонокорректоры — Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B

The Phono Box DS3 B by Pro-Ject brings balanced connections, previously reserved for the RS range, to a more affordable line. It is a fully balanced phono preamplifier with dual mono, discrete circuitry. It accepts two turntables, stores separate settings for each, and offers stepless impedance adjustment for moving coil cartridges. It is handmade in Europe in a steel chassis with aluminium panels, which adds rigidity and isolation from interference, offered in silver and in black. Discrete components are used in place of integrated circuits throughout the audio path.

Key specs that matter

Input impedance is adjustable without steps from 10 to 1,000 ohms by a potentiometer, or fixed at 47 kOhm. Input capacitance can be set to 50, 150, 300 or 400 pF. Gain is selectable at 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 or 65 dB, with 6 dB more at the XLR outputs. The signal to noise ratio is 104 dBV, or 111 dBV A-weighted, for MM at 40 dB gain, and 85 dBV, or 91 dBV A-weighted, for MC at 60 dB gain. THD at 1 kHz is below 0.001% for MM and 0.004% for MC, and across 20 Hz to 20 kHz it is below 0.005% for MM and 0.01% for MC. RIAA accuracy is within 0.25 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The case measures 206 x 72 x 194 mm, or 205 mm deep with sockets, and weighs 1,480 g excluding its DC adapter.

Engineering and use context

Three input types are fitted - a 5-pin mini XLR socket, two XLR sockets and two RCA phono sockets. Line level leaves through one pair of RCA and one pair of XLR outputs, wired with pin 1 ground, pin 2 hot and pin 3 cold. RIAA equalisation is fully passive, discrete and split between stages, which Pro-Ject links to better impedance matching and lower deviation from the RIAA curve. The symmetrical gain stage works in balanced mode whether the signal arrives over RCA or XLR. A subsonic filter at 20 Hz with an 18 dB per octave slope is available. A 12 V trigger input and output act as an on/off detector for linking the unit with other components. Power comes from an external 18 V, 500 mA DC supply, current draw in operation is at most 290 mA, and standby consumption is below 0.5 W. Wooden side panels are sold separately.

Pairing

The balanced inputs suit tonearms wired for true balanced connection through XLR or 5-pin mini XLR, and the XLR outputs connect to an amplifier with balanced inputs. With memory for two turntables, an MM deck and an MC deck can both remain wired in permanently.

Alternatives

Pro-Ject also makes the Phono Box S3 B, a smaller balanced phono preamplifier in the S3 Box Design line.