[Left Channel]

Thank you. Nice to know we're not the only ones frustrated with firmware.

(Having said that... my other DACs may not have MQA, but they also just work.)

 

[Arnandsway]

Is there any sign the Head Box S2 Digital will also get the full MQA decoding treatment?

It would be the best of two worlds, I guess.

EDIT:
I now see that they both have the same output voltage... So it is not an upgrade to the amp-section anyways.

 

[Left Channel]

Is there any sign the Head Box S2 Digital will also get the full MQA decoding treatment?

It would be the best of two worlds, I guess.

They've given no indication of any such plans, and based on history I'd say an upgrade is not likely.

The Head Box S2 Digital almost seems to be an intentionally scaled-back Pre Box S2 Digital, with 60% of the processing power and 70% of the features at 80% of the price.

Other than the price I'm just making those ratios up because they sound good of course, but clearly the Pre Box S2D is the flagship of this little line.

 

[Arnandsway]

They've given no indication of any such plans, and based on history I'd say an upgrade is not likely.

The Head Box S2 Digital almost seems to be an intentionally scaled-back Pre Box S2 Digital, with 60% of the processing power and 70% of the features at 80% of the price.

Other than the price I'm just making those ratios up because they sound good of course, but clearly the Pre Box S2D is the flagship of this little line.

Aha yes. That seems understandable and fair.

An awesome stack would be to use the amp they offer; the Head Box S2.
Would need ultrashort RCA-cables for it, as well.

 

[Left Channel]

@Arnandsway that's a great idea for more power and, if needed, a change to the sound signature. When I use my S2D I set the volume to 0 dB, and run 6" RCA cables to an external pre/head amp. It's another company's amp though, because I prefer a warmer sound.

 

[unknownuser]

So lame that it has quality issues, it would be a killer DAC. Everything seems good quality, why on earth they decided to ruin this with this fragile micro USB power source. Micro USB should be the past...

 

[Left Channel]

So lame that it has quality issues, it would be a killer DAC. Everything seems good quality, why on earth they decided to ruin this with this fragile micro USB power source. Micro USB should be the past...

Watching these problems happen has been quite frustrating, as they're quite avoidable. But as I just posted on another forum, I hope this is only a cluster of problems in one production run and they'll get past it. I only own this Pro-Ject product and one other (the Amp Box S2), but for the record both have been reliable for me, firmware aside.

 

[unknownuser]

Watching these problems happen has been quite frustrating, as they're quite avoidable. But as I just posted on another forum, I hope this is only a cluster of problems in one production run and they'll get past it. I only own this Pro-Ject product and one other (the Amp Box S2), but for the record both have been reliable for me, firmware aside.

Their other products like the Pre Box DS2 digital have normal DC plug, so it's a bummer. I don't even know what's the real difference between this and the Pre Box DS2 digital aside of the DAC and few other features, functionality seems the same.
But they are offering 2 years warranty and if you buy it from their retailer list then it's not a big deal to bring it back if it dies and just sell it before end of warranty

But with DC plug it would be instant buy.

 

[Left Channel]

@unknownuser yes and using a standard jack would have made it it easier for us to replace or upgrade the PSU. I chose this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G6EBGWO/

[Edit: replaced wrong product link.]

 

[unknownuser]

@unknownuser yes and using a standard jack would have made it it easier for us to replace or upgrade the PSU. I chose this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G6EBGWO/

[Edit: replaced wrong product link.]

An adapter like this just put more stress on the Micro USB port. But to be honest, very few people reported broken Micro USB port. I still keep this DAC on my shortlist There are so many DACs out there but most of them are not widely available or hard to find owners of them. Finding headphones is easy, finding DAC/Amp is hard...

 

[Left Channel]

An adapter like this just put more stress on the Micro USB port. But to be honest, very few people reported broken Micro USB port. I still keep this DAC on my shortlist There are so many DACs out there but most of them are not widely available or hard to find owners of them. Finding headphones is easy, finding DAC/Amp is hard...

It does put more strain on the port. I originally had one with wire separating the ends, which created less strain, but it was a bit loose and sometimes the power cut off.

As I've said before the S2D is a very ambitious product, especially at this price-point. Even though I'm not a big fan of the Pro-Ject "house sound", this DAC has so many features I keep pulling it out to configure and test (OK, play with) other equipment.

 

[unknownuser]

It does put more strain on the port. I originally had one with wire separating the ends, which created less strain, but it was a bit loose and sometimes the power cut off.

As I've said before the S2D is a very ambitious product, especially at this price-point. Even though I'm not a big fan of the Pro-Ject "house sound", this DAC has so many features I keep pulling it out to configure and test (OK, play with) other equipment.

I just found this few days ago and the 9038 at this price point shocked me and at the same time made me suspicious, totally "what's the catch" feeling. It has optical, remote all the good stuff. But this damn Micro USB. Even if it's not a DC plug but at least that USB B would be much better power source.

 

[ggundars]

I just found this few days ago and the 9038 at this price point shocked me and at the same time made me suspicious, totally "what's the catch" feeling. It has optical, remote all the good stuff. But this damn Micro USB. Even if it's not a DC plug but at least that USB B would be much better power source.

just listened for a couple of hours my favorite records through S2D. it looks like a neat piece of European engineering, a lot of features, good channel separation, and sound detail. however, the bass is rather disappointing
the power adapter included is a joke, perhaps included in order to make S2D barely functional when optical/coax only is used.

I think one should forget about that microUSB power socket and use a decent powered USB hub instead.
I connected S2D to a mac mini through a USB3 hub powered by a decent 12V SMPS. the hub has built-in regulator providing relatively clean 5V. quite an improvement in SQ compared to the direct connection or original power adapter.
this works also if spdif inputs used.

 

[unknownuser]

just listened for a couple of hours my favorite records through S2D. it looks like a neat piece of European engineering, a lot of features, good channel separation, and sound detail. however, the bass is rather disappointing
the power adapter included is a joke, perhaps included in order to make S2D barely functional when optical/coax only is used.

I think one should forget about that microUSB power socket and use a decent powered USB hub instead.
I connected S2D to a mac mini through a USB3 hub powered by a decent 12V SMPS. the hub has built-in regulator providing relatively clean 5V. quite an improvement in SQ compared to the direct connection or original power adapter.
this works also if spdif inputs used.

I'm planning to heavily use the optical input too so it's kinda dealbreaker and this is not for me then :/

 

[Mark Dirac]

... the bass is rather disappointing
the power adapter included is a joke, perhaps included in order to make S2D barely functional when optical/coax only is used.

I think one should forget about that microUSB power socket and use a decent powered USB hub instead.
I connected S2D to a mac mini through a USB3 hub powered by a decent 12V SMPS. the hub has built-in regulator providing relatively clean 5V. quite an improvement in SQ compared to the direct connection or original power adapter.
this works also if spdif inputs used.

Perhaps there is something wrong with your S2D, or an incompatibility with your particular headphones? The S2D's headphone amp is not very powerful (it is powerful, but not very powerful) - perhaps your headphones show up a lack of power first of all in their bass response? I find the bass is excellent (LCD3) at typical listening level -20dBFS to -10dBFS. No one else has reported a problem with bass. Nothing in any of the technical review measurements has ever detected any problems with the bass.

There is reason to believe that the S2D uses innovative filtering techniques to reduce jitter, and certainly uses extensive PSU smoothing, such that the included power adapter is plenty adequate. I cannot believe it is included as a joke - the designer John Westlake is very aware of the importance of power supply to DACs.

Yes, the PSU is intended for use only with optical/coax input. Many find only a slight improvement using the PSU for USB, and some find only a slight improvement using a more expensive PSU instead. Some have reported not hearing any difference. Personally, I find it so hard/questionable to hear any improvement with the included PSU (compared with USB power) that I don't even bother connecting it. It is the case with most audio equipment that the included PSU can be improved upon, but this seems to be less obvious with the S2D, not more obvious. It is interesting that you heard "quite an improvement" with your 12V SMPS plus hub's additional regulator. What USB hub is that? Perhaps using a LPS plus a hub is significant?

I am curious to understand (a) why your bass is disappointing and (b) how you are achieving such improvements with external power.