A phenomenal new CD transport-Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 transport


I have had in-house for the last week Pro-Ject's new CD Box RS2 transport to review for the website Stereo Times. I was very curious to assess its performance because it uses the Pro 8 drive with the Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card. This drive was developed and built by StreamUnlimited a company started by the original Phillips designers that historically built the finest CD mechanisms. Only two other companies use the StreamUnlimited 8 drive and Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card, their pieces cost $16,000 and $39,000 compared to Pro-Ject's sane price of $3,000!

My reference for the last two years has been the excellent Jay's Audio MK-II transport that had out-performed much more expensive highly regarded transports in my system. Well, across every sonic parameter  (transparency/micro-details-overall dynamics/bottom-end extension/purity of tonality- a much more airy sound-stage with wonderful 3D imaging) compared to the Jay's Audio transport.

That's way I titled this thread a "phenomenal new CD transport" because while not inexpensive, it just might be a bargain based on its performance. Mind you, this superlative level of performance is based on using the switching power supply that Pro-Ject ships the transport with. I have shortly coming a custom 20 watt 3 amp linear power supply from Linear Tube Audio and Pro-Ject's own upgraded power supply to see if the RS2 transport performance will even go to a higher qualitative level of performance.

I'll be writing a full detailed review for Stereo Times in the near future. However, I wanted to share this information to GON members who still spin CDs. I have had numerous CD transports in for evaluation and this just might be the best sounding of all of them.

Teajay (Terry London)




amorstereo

Showing 13 responses by jriggy

Isn’t it interesting how great some things can sound ‘right out of the box’. Always give your system two days after unplugging moving and plugging in cables and power cords. The majority of what you know from your system will return by then…and then the nice ‘normal’ level of positive changes (level depending on what one is swapping from and to what) will show up 👍

I had this happen once with a piece during a demo period. You had to be no farther than 7ft away and no farther than a 10 or 20 degree angle from the receiver… Unfortunately I didn’t hear about a fix after that but one thing you could try is to make sure that both remote and receiver on the unit are clean and with no crumbs of something obstructing the signal, if that’s even a thing for this type of signal. 

How noisy is the transport mechanism when running? I read a comment on a YT vid saying it was noisy and audible from 10ft away. The statement was from 2019, so maybe they’ve changed it? 
@micro13, there are a couple or few posts comparing the Jay’s MK3 to the older MK2 that you can find in search. wig compared the two. 
@micro13, I’m just betting it’s gonna be a long while till that materializes. I’ve been waiting for how long now, for a comparison between Mojo EVO vs Holo May. Some comparisons happen faster and easier. This is another one, for a few reasons, I feel we won’t see for who knows how long, hope that’s not the case though. 
That’s great to hear Teajay. With less B&M dealers and a seemingly shrinking number of demo-able / trial period brands, we need more ‘philes to team up and plan comparisons. 
@jaudio1, I read the same in a YT comment and asked that in this thread already. 

Also, just checked the Audio Advisor website and sure enough, it says the transport will be available again in November. And just when I was poised to purchase in July…


@lrm1jaf  I think the I2s is only for Pro-Ject’s corresponding DAC. That, or it only works with DAC of a certain i2s configuration, as there are like four different ways i2s output can be configured…
 The Denafrips Terminator has a function to set the configuration of the i2s input to accept from different sources… But again, I believe the one on this unit is for Pro-Ject use only. 
@gyeltsen I own one now but haven’t posted on it yet…  the transport is simply clean, clear and natural, and is a source that should pair well with any DAC or whole system. 
 Like others have said, I too, hear the clean and well separated bass, the natural musical textures, and it’s open and transparent nature. It seems to present the music in a nice full, neutral, balance and uncolored way. And I don’t have an upgraded power supply yet. 
@musichead , I was worried/curious about this also, and among other reasons, is why I purchased from a retailer with a trial period. Good news is no noise issues at all. During the first 20 or so CDs played through the unit there were a few with slight repetitive ‘tick’ like a fast clock but it hasn’t happened again now after a month or so. Maybe just the mechanism breaking-in, like some motorized mechanisms do… 

Question for other owners:
Does the triangle shaped “reading” symbol ever show up green? And same, does the no disk “X” icon ever show as green?? These two screen icons are usually red in color, but periodically they show as green. Why?

BUT it seems like ever since I switched to a different aes/ebu digital cable they are now always red; I haven’t seen these icons show up as green since the new cable. That’s probably a coincidence and maybe it has to do with powering down or something. 
Has anyone else seen this?

It seems like us Audiophiles learn and relearn about break-in over and over again in the forums. But it’s still always good to see:)  
If we had an audiophile rules 101, I’d want *do not evaluate or draw conclusions about a new out-of-the-box component at all for at least 48 hours.