Pro-Ject - CD Box RS2 Tube - High-End CD Player with Balanced Tube Output Stage

A top-loading high-end CD player combining the new SUOS DM-3381 Red Book drive, Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC in fully differential configuration, and a fully balanced tube output stage featuring 2x E88CC tubes. Balanced XLR and RCA analogue outputs, optical and coaxial digital outputs, gravity design with central mass point, full aluminium remote. Made in Europe. Available in Silver and Black.

Where Digital Precision Meets Tube Warmth

The Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 Tube is the latest expression of Pro-Ject's top-range RS2 line — a CD player that refuses to choose between the precision of high-end digital engineering and the warmth, fluidity and emotional engagement that only vacuum tubes can provide. It brings both together in a beautifully crafted, compact aluminium chassis that is as visually refined as it is sonically extraordinary.

This is the first CD player in the RS line to feature an integrated DAC, and Pro-Ject has chosen nothing less than the Texas Instruments PCM1796 — one of the most respected DAC chips in audiophile design — operated in fully differential configuration to feed a fully balanced tube output stage. The result is a listening experience that is simultaneously technically accomplished and profoundly musical.

New SUOS DM-3381 Red Book CD Drive — Built for Stability and Purity

At the mechanical heart of the CD Box RS2 Tube is the new SUOS DM-3381 Red Book CD-DA drive, featuring the new BlueTiger CD-88 Servosystem. Built around a robust, low-vibration disc mechanism engineered to dramatically reduce jitter and extraneous noise, the DM-3381 is housed in a solid, vibration-damped chassis designed for long-term stability and reliability. Every component is selected for audio-grade performance, ensuring consistently clean, precise disc reading — the essential foundation for everything that follows.

The top-loading design with aluminium cover plate and magnetic clamp ensures the disc is held securely and precisely during playback, eliminating the resonances and micro-vibrations that plague lesser mechanisms.

Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC — Fully Differential Configuration

The PCM1796 is a legendary high-performance DAC from Texas Instruments — a chip revered in audiophile circles for its exceptional linearity, low distortion and natural sound character. In the CD Box RS2 Tube, it operates in a fully differential configuration, delivering the cleanest possible digital-to-analogue conversion before passing the signal to the tube output stage. This combination of a premium DAC in differential mode with a genuine tube buffer is an approach rarely found at any price point.

Fully Balanced Tube Output Stage — 2x E88CC

The crowning achievement of the CD Box RS2 Tube is its fully balanced tube output stage, built around a pair of premium E88CC vacuum tubes. This sophisticated tube buffer enriches the audio signal with the warmth, fluidity and natural harmonic structure that only real vacuum tubes can provide. The result is a listening experience that feels organic, musical and emotionally engaging — a welcome and meaningful contrast to the often sterile character of conventional digital playback.

Tubes have been an integral part of Pro-Ject's RS line ever since its original introduction, and the CD Box RS2 Tube represents the most complete and sophisticated implementation yet — fully balanced from DAC to output, with a tube stage that genuinely shapes the character of the sound rather than simply adding a cosmetic valve to the signal path.

Fully Balanced XLR & RCA Analogue Outputs

The fully balanced circuit architecture of the CD Box RS2 Tube pays dividends at the output stage. A balanced XLR output allows connection to balanced preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers with the noise rejection and channel separation benefits of a fully differential connection. An unbalanced RCA output is also provided for connection to single-ended equipment, ensuring compatibility with any system.

Optical & Coaxial Digital Outputs

A TOSlink optical output and coaxial RCA digital output allow the CD Box RS2 Tube to function as a high-quality CD transport, feeding an external DAC of your choice. This flexibility means the RS2 Tube can grow with your system over time, serving as both an all-in-one player today and a premium transport tomorrow.

Gravity Design with Central Mass Point

The CD Box RS2 Tube employs Pro-Ject's gravity design philosophy, with a central mass point that provides exceptional chassis stability and reduces the impact of external vibration on playback quality. The full aluminium casework — a hallmark of the RS2 line — is as acoustically inert as it is visually striking, available in both Silver and Black finishes.

Intuitive Control & RS2 LCD Display

The large RS2 LCD display shows all relevant playback information including time, track number, and — where available — artist and song title from CD-text encoded discs. Front-panel controls and the included full aluminium IR remote provide complete, intuitive control from the listening position.

Made in Europe

The CD Box RS2 Tube is designed and manufactured in Europe, reflecting Pro-Ject's long-standing commitment to quality craftsmanship and sustainable, local production.

Specifications