Anyone tried or know anything about the Pro-ject head box s2 headphone amp?
(https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/head-box-s2/)
I’m curious about it mainly because I like the looks and footprint of it and the numbers doesn’t look terrible.
Since I live in Sweden where you have to add 25% for importing an Atom (and another fee and shipping) I’m looking for alternatives. I Do own an Atom though, but need another unit, trying to not import this time.
It’s pretty decent, although personally I am not the biggest fan of it
What reason? Just how it handles/feels? The performance? Any quirks?
Nothing that stands out imo, it sounds decent but I think for the price you could get better. What kind of sound are you going for?
I’d rather switch the headphones when I want a change in sound or add a tube.
So I suppose I ain’t looking for more then a clean amp but that isn’t flat.
I really liked what the el amp did (another price ofc), if that can guide you somewhere!
When I’m sitting down to really enjoy music I listen to a lot of modern classical stuff, usually with a lot of piano. But sometimes music similar to Ben Howard.
And the Atom is nice and all. Just having a hard time with plastic and Want something else for this setup!
Hmm, is schiit gear available to you?
Yes, a lot of stuff out of stock right now, but they recently released a EU site. 20 euro shipping (about 20 usd). But no import fee.
https://www.schiit-europe.com/
Damn I was going to say the heresy or the Asgard 3 but both are out of stock unfortunately
Could you perhaps link a couple stores where you could get stuff from at a reasonable price?
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The swedish sites are mostly to high end for me.
But at my price range you can find (except pro-ject) ifi and fiio (no K5 for me). A bunch of combo units though like chord, audioengine and aune.
But I do have access to amazon.de and co.uk!
And I’ll look into the Heresy, could always wait for it to become available - but I have terrible patience:)
Hmm, the topping a50 is available it seems, but honestly I think waiting for the heresy it asgard 3 to come back might be the right play
Yeah, the a50 might be great but, being completely honest, just feels boring lol 
So, maybe I’ll wait for the heresy. Which they could make it in the same form factor as the Hel, really like a big volume knob!
Have you listened to the Heresy yourself @M0N ?
If so, can you compared the sound to the Atom or El amp?
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When I heard the heresy I got to directly compare with the atom, and it just sounds like an atom with more power lol. The El amp imo is more refined and also slightly more fun. I think it just sounds more natural and also has something going on with the treble that makes it sound very pleasing. Personally I would prefer the El amp but that is like 150 more I think
Yep, unless used… but those are rare. And a bit of a big footprint, this time…
Anything else that reminds of the el amp?
And i am thinking of pairing it with a khadas tone board (build a custom enclosure) but where that lands (about 130usd in total) I might just be better off buying something. Or hell, even using my Q5s as a desktop dac…
So khadas, ol dac, modi, d30? Anything else?
And as always, thanks for the input!
Hmmm, higher end stuff reminds me of the el amp, like the iha6, questyle cma 400i, rnhp, burson soloist mk2, etc. The liquid spark is pretty good but it does have a bit warmer and smoother sound by design.
I think you might want to save money on the dac and use your q5s as a dac when you need to as it’s pretty good for that. If you wanted a clean desktop dac the topping d10 has my vote, but there may be some fakes floating around under the name Aimpire AD10 or something like that so watch out for that one
In terms of sound - what can you compare the Asgard with?
It’s big - but thinking I could switch with my other setup
Edit: Actually found another dealer with the Heresy in stock! So i’ll probably order it today.
I wasn’t allowed to edit post for some reason… So heres the edit:
Actually found another dealer with the Heresy in stock! So i’ll probably order it today.
Nice, hopefully it works out 
So. Got the Heresy yesterday, and plugged it in today.
First thought - DAMN thats tiny! The reviewers out there got to have small hands 
Now. Comparing this to El Dac > Atom. For me, I’m much more happy with my new setup which is Khadas>Heresy. I actually feel like im getting more detail and a “snappier” bass. Havent listend to classical stuff yet, so i’ll see how the new setup performs. I also think the bass digs deeper.
Now i dont have to deal with my El Dac problems - popping in between songs, random crackling at low volume and windows muting the dac.
So far, really happy! AND as the Hughe cherry on top - Amazon just gave me the Kadas for free since i didnt get the USB-cable in the box. Instead of returning the unit, they made a refund. Talk about customer service!
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I can confirm you aren’t in the us with this statement lol, that would never happen over here
Hope you like it.
I actually have a older Pre-ject amp/dac with remote but no S2 experience.
Has been working flawless for like 5 years or so.
Output voltage : 2V RMS
Output impedance : 100 ohms
Frequency response : 20Hz - 20kHz (max. deviation 0,3dB)
24bit/192kHz Multi-bit Delta Sigma
Neutral, plenty of connections and enough for casual use. Games and music.