[JGOelfke]

Hey guys,
 
Has anyone heard anything or have any experience with the Pro-Ject Head Box II? I'm still on my search for an amplifier to power my 300 ohm MB Quart QP400s and I came across a really good deal on this amp. Sounds like it has just RCA input in the back, and a 6.3mm headphone jack. I'm debating between this and the Schiit Asgard...if anyone has any info or opinions I would very much appreciate it! Thanks,
 

 

[Arvan]

Hi there!
 
Im in the same position as you. So i went to my local dealer and borrowed their head box II for some days of testing. At first i used it with a nuforce Udac ( used as dac only )..The overall clarity got rather much better and overall control increased as well, but the difference was not that noticeable i was hoping for. I went back to the store and got myself a new dac to match the head box. The one i got was the Pro-ject DAC box USB. 
 
The result was even more clairy and low end control, the dac feels very solid and looks amazing stacked with the head box. I don´t got that much to compare this combo with except the nuforce Udac which this combo outperforms by far..
 
The amp drives my AKG k242 HD and my old sennheiser HD200 with absolutely no problem at all, very good control! again i think the highs are the strong side of this amp, imho they sound great. 
 
So for me the dac/amp combo is a keeper i think, i will give it some more days listening before handing over the cash, but for the money it feels like a good amp. Very good build quality with smooth volume pot and very sturdy outer metal casing.
 
I hope that i´m giving you at least a tad of help

 

[JGOelfke]

Yeah that does help. Did you feel that the amp was able to extend low and high enough? That's one concern I have when comparing it to the Asgard...the Asgard can reach as low as 2 Hz and high as 200 kHz (according to Schiit's website) whereas the Head Box can only reach as low as 30 Hz and as high as 20 kHz...

 

[Arvan]

it sure gives you some low end!
 
My akg k242 HD is very natural, what you feed em with they play, but still a very good low end punch and control. I also tried it with my sennheiser HD 200 which are more of the disco-side..Very fun combination i tell you! 
 
There are much better amps out there, but then again i think you need to look at your weakest linc..In my case i dont think that upgrading to a better amp and dac would give me that much more improved sound.

 

[JGOelfke]

Great! Thanks for the feedback. I'm still not too sure which one I'm going to go for, but I might order the Head Box and at least try it for the 30 days

 

[BournePerfect]

I was just researching this yesterday myself since I saw it on Amazon. All the old posts here on it say it's either the worst amp ever made...and some say it's perfectly great....very polarizing. I think I'm gonna pick it up soon and compare it to my E9. It's a great-looking amp from an aesthetic standpoint, imo...and it has actual RCA inputs (my biggest gripe of the E9 is the **** mini jack-lazy, Fiio, LAZY...). Be sure to post some more impressions here guys once you're more familiar with it-including what cans you're driving!
 
-Daniel

 

[JGOelfke]

If I wind up getting it I'll definitely post some impressions. I don't have a whole lot of experience in the amplifier area, as I only own the e9. 
 
BournePerfect...If you end up ordering one I'd be very interested to hear your comparisons with an e9 as well. I have had a lot more gripes with the e9 than just the lack of quality jacks! If I do end up ordering one it probably wouldn't be for a couple weeks or so...

 

[Arvan]

What would be a good alternative to this amp? I think that most budget amps looks like..Well not as good as this one! I live in sweden so i have a some what limited selection Dont know if i want to get something shipped world wide that i havnt listened to..Maby if its THE budget amp to get il consider it.

 

[JGOelfke]

I would say the best budget amp to consider besides this one would be the FiiO e9. It has the most raw power that you can get for just $120 bucks. My only complaint about the inputs is that there is no RCA in, just static RCA out and a line-in port in the back (along with USB of course). If you are just looking for a simple, low end budget amp I'd say this is a good place to start.

 

[BournePerfect]

Quote:

If I wind up getting it I'll definitely post some impressions. I don't have a whole lot of experience in the amplifier area, as I only own the e9. 
 
BournePerfect...If you end up ordering one I'd be very interested to hear your comparisons with an e9 as well. I have had a lot more gripes with the e9 than just the lack of quality jacks! If I do end up ordering one it probably wouldn't be for a couple weeks or so...

Yeah I am actually gonna buy one in the beginning of August and do some testing between them and let the loser go.One of the reasons the E9 RCA issue irks me so much is the fact that probably 99.999999999999999% of people who bought it are using it as a headphone amp (GASP!) and not aa a **** preamp! (Which is where the true RCA jacks are). /rant
 
-Daniel
 
 

 

[JGOelfke]

Oh yeah, that makes a sense. I've just had such bad luck with my e9 that I'm getting really irritated with FiiO and am looking to move on to something bigger and better. I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks what my final plan will be, so I'll definitely keep the thread updated if I go the Head Box route.

 

[BournePerfect]

Another I've been looking at in the same range would be the Cute Beyond. I'm interested in that being as it's a Class A amp-not sure if the Headbox II is?
 
-Daniel

 

[JGOelfke]

I haven't been able to find anything either regarding the Head Box being a Class A amplifier. I haven't looked into the Cute Beyond at all though...something I'll have to start researching