Disclaimer
Firstly I just wanted to thank Simon and Adam at Pro-Ject for the review sample of the Head Box S USB. I am not affiliated with Pro-Ject in any way, all impressions are written as objectively as possible. That being said let’s get started.
Inside the box/Build quality
Well don’t expect anything too exciting here, the Head Box S USB comes in a rather plain white box and if we dive in a little further you will find the product itself encased in a brown box, which holds all the accessories. All, yes I said all. Damn it a man can’t help but feel a little let down, before getting into the reason your probably reading the review i.e. how does it sound, I just want to say I wished Pro-Ject had included a little more, you’re getting pretty much the bare essentials and that’s it.
The Head Box S USB is a tidy neat… well black box. It feels incredibly solid and holds a fair amount of weight to it. You have the big beautiful, smooth analogue knob for volume control and also all your inputs and outputs which are displayed and described a little further on. It’s quite hard describing how plain yet strikingly simple this thing is so…… They say pictures paint a thousand words, so here are a few below:
Moving on what you get is the following;
- Power lead
- Multiple power adaptor sockets
- USB lead
- The Head Box S USB itself
- Manual
What I’d like to see included;
- ¼ inch adapter
- Phono to jack lead at least one
- RCA cables
I promise there is a reason why I’ve chosen to shine a light on this, what I can only assume was an accident, it is the fact the Head Box S USB is to be used as a desktop unit! The ¼ inch is forgivable and cheap to pick up, and I’m sure most audiophiles out there will have a quality Phono to jack but really to get full use of this thing straight out the box it’s almost a necessity to have these included. Because without them you’ve pretty much just got a black box that sounds good but you won’t know until you can try it!
Let’s explorer this a little more in the functionality section.
Functionality
Well one of the most obvious uses for this unit is the fact it’s a DAC! So one would assume you’d have a cable included so you can make use of it through the line out. But alas there isn’t so unless you have a phono cable you’re stuck to using this unit as a DAC/AMP combo running out of the ¼ inch headphone out.
Inputs: There are two ways of feeding music through this unit, one is its obvious use as a DAC/AMP by which you use a digital device of your choosing to channel music through the Head Box S USB. The second method is by utilising the amplifier section of the device by using a phono to jack cable meaning you may hook up a higher end DAC and take just take advantage of the amplifier section alone. (Which I might add is pretty damn good)
Outputs: Well unfortunately I haven’t been able to use the unit as a standalone DAC I did try following the manual which states “The Out RCA/phono sockets of the headphone amplifier can be connected to the input sockets of you recorder “. Maybe I missed something here but just couldn’t get any sort of output using the RCA Out on the unit. A shame really because so far the unit has stood its ground with regards to sound quality.
I am pretty much out of my rant now so we can take a look into how the unit actually sounds.
Sound quality as DAC/AMP
Firstly I just want to describe a little about the sound of the unit as a whole for those using headphones or earphones with it. Most of my listening was done using the R2Pro earphones but I also used the Audio Technica ATH-50’s and tried the unit out with my Harman Kardon Soundsticks. All I will say is anyone with a decent Hi Fi system may want to take a look elsewhere but those looking to use this as a desktop amp for you headphones and/or earphones read on!
Secondly, as lazy as this may sound I decided not to add a section specifically when using this as an amp because the difference in sound quality between the DAC and using the Amplifier simply wasn’t all that different. Furthermore it will depend on the source you feed the amp to how it contributes to the sound. However, it is worth mentioning though to really take advantage of the amplifier make sure your input is set to its loudest setting, or else when you'll go to turn the volume up on the amplifier you will hear clicks, pops and cutting.
Treble
Almost spot on, there is a sufficient amount of detailing that presents itself in the treble. I really dig the natural presentation, I have heard DAC/AMP combos before that have messed this part up a little by trying a little too hard. That doesn’t mean to say the Head Box S doesn’t try hard but its efforts just seem effortless, there is a smooth, grain less approach which can leave out the upmost parts of the higher frequencies, but this is still certainly a noticeable improvement over most sources.
Decay on guitars and strings stay but for a moment but the timber is actually very good at this price point. There’s room for improvement but man they haven’t gone far wrong in creating something that sounds so organic. Thankfully the treble mixes in so nicely with the rest of the sound you forget to ask if there is enough air surrounding each instrument as you listen, the answer is yes there is maybe not extravagantly so but nothing to be looked down at.
Midrange
Again there really isn’t much to fault here, hats off to Pro-Ject for creating such a well-rounded unit. I’ll throw in a little comparison against my Meridian explorer, a long-time favourite of mine, so on the one hand you clearly have a more mid centric sound and on the other you have something so delicate it begs you to listen more. I still love and probably always will love the Meridian simply because of its expansive soundstage and great midrange. But here’s the kicker I actually preferred the slightly more chilled approach of the Head Box on a few tracks.
There’s no cry for attention it just subtly draws you in. Vocals come across slightly behind the bass and treble however it very rarely feels like you’ve missed something out. The unit sometimes does lack a bit of detailing and bite. It’s almost like a haze sometimes unfortunately, and on some tracks the relaxed style seems to smear some of the detailing out of the midrange. But 9 out of 10 isn’t bad looking at its price point.
Bass
“Uptown Funk you up, I said Uptown Funk you up.” I have got to stop doing that in reviews, my sincerest apologies I was caught up in the rhythm and beat now back to the matter at hand. Bass will not disappoint most, the Box presents a rhythmic pace with a full bodied bottom end (sorry does that sound rude J) anyway it does not overcook the bass I’m please to say. In fact I think the bass might even be a little tighter than my beloved Meridian Explorer!
There is a solidarity to the bass that keeps the whole sound together, you never really feel like any one frequency is showing signs of deficiency. I would say there is a more of an emphasis towards the mid bass but the sub bass does its best to extend down to the nether regions but it just doesn’t always quite make it.
Soundstage and Imaging
So by this point you can see this wonderful little black box is keeping up quite nicely in every area. Okay time to play bad cop, I won’t describe the soundstage as airy or small but it’s certainly a different approach to the Meridian. Now if we were talking about sound stage and imaging vs something like your iPhone then there is a noticeable difference!
Instruments all have a place and take their seat wherever they belong on this slightly open stage. Nevertheless imaging remains fairly solid with a decent enough sense of space and accuracy, sure it could be wider, deeper and airier but to be honest I’m not complaining it doesn’t do things too bad at all and if I am being quite frank the natural presentation has really started to grow on me. The unit does really tend to stand out with acoustic pieces and well mastered recording will come across a lot more airy then some grime track recorded in a basement but that’s expected.
Resolution and refinement
Not a section I usually write about but since this magic box has done so well I wanted to add a little extra in to give more of an idea of the tone the Head Box S USB sets. Firstly I’d like to say it’s quite an admirable feat the Box has managed to pull sounding as good as it does with its limited sampling rate.
Anyway moving on to the resolution it wasn’t until I did a real A & B test against my AR-M2 that I started to see some more of its actual shortcomings in regard to sound. So thus far everything had a sounds sweet, fairly airy and organic, switching back to my AR-M2 though I suddenly realised the poor Box was actually lacking the real level of audio fidelity, resolution and refinement.
Sure it stands pretty great as a unit and I am not complaining also taking into consideration the price difference, but there certainly lack that extra sense of warmth and rich musicality you only really start to hear when you enter into that high resolution territory.
Extras
For kicks I hooked up the unit to my iPhone using Apple's CCK, as the unit is limited to 16 bit, I wasn’t going to be getting the most out of my high resolution files anyway. But I tell you what although there’s a difference between my beloved AR-M2 and this it’s not as big as one might think, I loved this thing with my iPhone! I must say I’ve tried a few DAC’s with my iPhone some with improvement some not so much but this unit certainly makes a difference. The sound doesn’t change a bit and remains as fluid and clean as when connected to my laptop which is more than I can say for others I have tried.
Concluding thoughts
I really have enjoyed my time with the Head Box S USB, it a shame it didn’t boast a bit more from its lacklustre accessories to its humble and unimpressive appearance and sampling rate. As far as sound goes for music enthusiasts this is a good bit of kit, I know this certainly won’t stratify diehard audiophiles but for those wanting a set up in sound quality and a tidy little rig at home or at work it’s hard not to recommend the Head Box S USB on sound alone.
