This achievement can be attributed to a combination of factors, including a custom and proprietary clock design, meticulous PCB layout featuring separate power supplies, dual differential ESS DACs, and an exclusive proprietary digital filter designed to deliver pristine and transparent transient response. The Pre Box S2 Digital may seem small, but it is really the ultimate design.

The chip crisis of 20/21 has hit the Pre Box S2 Digital particularly hard, given its enduring demand. But during the downtime, we and original designer John Westlake seized the opportunity to implement key improvements and refine the design, thus rejuvenating the product almost exactly 5 years after its original introduction.

Edition 23 Improvements

New internal power supply design

The power supply units (PSUs) of clock, DACs, and analog output stages have undergone enhancements to offer increased isolation from PC USB power noise and achieve a wider/flatter output impedance across the entire audio bandwidth.

Redesigned master audio clocks

We have redesigned and improved the discrete audio master clocks – this lowers the phase noise and further,enhances the already cutting-edge jitter performance.

New output stage with higher Class-A current

The new analogue output stage, based around the SABRE9603Q, has higher Class A operating current, for improved performance with low impedance headphones and long cable runs.

New headphone amplifier

The entire design is now more energy efficient – a 12% reduction in PSU current, while also offering higher Class A analogue stage operating current resulting in lower distortion when used with low impedance headphones. Users with mobile devices or laptops on-the-go will also appreciate the lower power draw, and simultaneously enjoy more power for the energy that is being drawn. And for anyone finding themselves using low-impedance headphones or in-ears – whether in a mobile, home, or work environment: they will experience a noteable boost in sound quality too.

Unbeatable value – handmade in Europe

Normally up to 70% of Hi-Fi production cost goes into the cabinet. By reducing the cabinet size and using the same casework for entire product-lines Pro-Ject can shift the cost-relation to the benefit of technology involved. This allows us to invest in a higher quality PCB design. The Pre Box S2 Digital Edition 2023 is carefully designed and handmade in Europe. We aim to develop a technically flawless device in a housing that is only as big as necessary to save raw materials. Due to the timeless design & rigid aluminium casework, the Pre Box S2 Digital Edition 2023 is built for eternity.

Features
Edition 23: powerful output stage for headphones
Edition 23: analogue output stage - higher Class A current
Edition 23: redesigned discrete audio master clock
Edition 23: internal power supply design
Edition 23: less energy consumption - more power, higher efficiency - saves battery life for mobile devices
Edition 23: Jitter even lower than 100 Femtoseconds!
Dual mono high end ESS Sabre ESS9038 dual DAC
Organic polymer capacitors and thin film miniMELF resistors
MQA hardware decoding
DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512 (DoP, DSD512 native)
Up to 24bit/192kHz for optical & coax inputs
8 selectable digital filter characteristics
1 proprietary optimum transient digital filter
Headphone output on the front (6.3mm)
Synchronization of all internal oscillators
Gold plated four layer PCB