Pro-Ject launches phono stages across budgets, plus vinyl-cleaning brooms

Pro-Ject has launched a phono preamp, and on paper it appears to be a doozy of a flexible friend. The Phono Box RS2 is compatible with both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges, helping it fit seamlessly into almost any turntable setup.

It has a fully balanced, true dual-mono design with fully passive RIAA and DECCA equalisation. It also has plenty of connections, including balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs and outputs.

And it should be able to suit your system perfectly, thanks to the continuously variable input impedance loading and channel balance controls. It will even continue to adjust in real-time while the system is playing.

It comes in silver or black and costs $1999.

But that's not the only new product Pro-Ject has announced. The Phono Box Ultra 500 is a discrete MM/MC phono preamplifier that comes in a chrome-on-copper chassis. It's an exclusive run, limited to 500 pieces, built to celebrate the 500,000th Phono Box that Pro-Ject shipped in early 2018. It features audiophile-grade polystyrene capacitors, precise RIAA equalisation, and a switchable subsonic filter to -18dB at 20Hz. It costs $399.

And there's more. The Phono Box S2 Ultra is another discrete new MM/MC phono preamplifier, with a very similar spec to the Ultra 500. But it doesn't have the same exclusive finish, nor the limited run. It's yours for $349.

Lastly, Pro-Ject has launched two devices that clean your records: the Sweep It E and Sweep It S2 record brooms. At $99, the E is the cheaper of the two, while the S2 ($129) is magnetically stabilized, and was made in collaboration with Klaus Mick and his patented technology. Both are designed to clean your vinyl while it's playing. Neat.

MORE:

These are the best phono preamps to partner with your turntable

Check out the best record players money can buy

Find out how to set up a turntable for the best performance