Mark Fleischmann

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Pro-Ject Phono Preamp Reduces Audiophile Rage
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments
Every six months some clueless publication hypes a stupid plastic turntable with USB output. This is a terrible way to transfer vinyl to MP3 because a bad turntable is a bad turntable regardless of how it outputs the signal. Pro-Ject eases my irritation over this sorry situation with the Phono Box II ($179), a decent little phono preamp with USB output. Connect a good turntable to it--Pro-Ject offers several, and also makes them for Music Hall--and your vinyl-sourced digital music library will sound a lot better.
Continue Reading >
Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital Headphone Amp/DAC Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 09, 2018  |  0 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dual mono DACs
DSD and MQA support
Can function as a preamp
Minus
Limited portability

THE VERDICT
Pro-Ject’s compact amp/DAC pairs especially well with modestly priced headphones, and it can also serve as a stereo preamp.

More people are listening to more diverse high-resolution audio formats through higher-quality headphones than ever before. But ideas about how to feed those headphones vary. The headphone amplifier/digital-to-analog converter, a popular hybrid product, is among the most tireless shape-shifters on the audio scene. I’ve reviewed Amp/DACs as compact as a USB stick and as big as a full-size rack component. At about 4 x 1.5 x 4 inches (WxHxD), Pro-Ject’s Pre Box S2 Digital falls somewhere in between. You wouldn’t carry it in a pocket, but it doesn’t take up much space on a busy desk.

Continue Reading >
Pro-Ject Thinks Inside and Outside the Box
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  1 comments
Pro-Ject's Design Box Series includes an iPod dock, USB phono preamp, stereo amp, mono amp, tube amp, etc. And if you buy four of them, you can keep them in this attractive box, which also comes in red and other colors. And if you flip the box over, you'll find a cutout that accommodates the iPod dock, were that one of your choices.
Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2011
Procella Continues Two-Part Strategy
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 08, 2011  |  0 comments
Why bolt a speaker onto a sub? Well, if you deploy five or more of them, your surround system's regular sub will have huge reinforcement, great coverage, no holes in bass response. That's what Procella does with products like the new P610. Thanks to shallow depth, it's not as bulky as it looks. Inside are a 10-inch sub driver at bottom with a 6.5-inch midrange and one-inch tweeter at top, the latter recessed deep into a waveguide. Price $3199 for the speaker half and $1499 for the sub half.
CEDIA 2010
Procella Screening Rooms Are THX-Certified
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 24, 2010  |  0 comments
While Procella did not have any new product to show at CEDIA 2010, it did demonstrate a concept it had talked about before: the first THX-certified screening room. Designed and constructed to THX specs by Epic Home Cinema, it featured products from Runco, Integra, QSC, Meridian, and Stewart. More details here. Played at THX reference level, the sound was loud enough to shave ear hairs at a thousand paces, with especially tuneful and delicious bass, something almost unheard of at a trade show. Chuck Back was kind enough to pose for a scale pic of the P18 sub but blinked while our auto-focus was taking its time. Apologies.
Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2009
Procella Will Make U.S. Debut at CEDIA
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 31, 2009  |  0 comments
The Procella loudspeaker brand will make its U.S. debut at CEDIA. Products will include three L/C/R/surround models, the P6, a two-way, 6.5-inch model ($1499/each); the P8, a two-way, eight-inch model ($2499/each); and P815, which mates a 15-inch woofer to a P8 secured by a mounting bracket ($8999/each). Also shown will be two subs, the 10-inch P10 ($3999) and the 15-inch P15, both with 2 x 350 watt amplification. Oh, and there's a third sub, the P18, with (you guessed) an 18-inch driver powered by 2 x 700 watts ($8999). Procella was launched in the U.K. in 2006 by ex-employees of DTS and its U.S. operations are run by a veteran of M&K.
Continue Reading >
Proclaim Takes a Stand
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 12, 2007  |  1 comments
Sometimes the secret to a great speaker is in the stand. The folks at CT-based Proclaim Audioworks say their spherical speakers (not shown) boast their best time-domain response when you arrange them on this versatile stand so that the output of each driver hits "the tip of your nose" at the same time. Pricing is $25,999 for, uh, a speaker or two or five.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
Product Promotions Proliferate
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 14, 2009  |  0 comments
As the economy continues to stutter, what novel ideas are manufacturers coming up with to tempt cost-conscious consumers?
Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2009
Proficient Shows Receivers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 10, 2009  |  0 comments
Proficient is a new brand name in receivers and we look forward trying one of its two surround models. The M60 has 80 watts times seven, four HDMI ins, and SmartEQ for $600. Step up to the M80 and you get all that plus 130 watts times seven, Faroudja DCDi video processing, and XM satellite radio compatibility for $1250. Proficient also showed an eight-channel power amp, the M8, with 35 watts per channel, for $1100.
Continue Reading >
CES 2010
PS Audio Augments DAC with Networking Device
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  0 comments
PS Audio, best known for its high-end DACs and powerline accessories, has augmented its Perfect Wave DAC ($2000) with The Bridge ($500). The latter allows anything on your home network to send signals to the DAC via wi-fi or ethernet. Yup, there's iPhone/iPod touch control and the company may add Google's Android phone to that list "if it gets popular enough."
Continue Reading >

Pages

X