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Review NaN of
Price Paid:
$129.00
from Needle Doctor Summary:
Weighing in at just over a pound with a retail price of $129, this mighty mite improves the sound of a Pro-ject or Music Hall turntable in such a dramatic fashion, it'll knock your socks off!
The Speed Box II is a quartz-generated, high precision electronic speed control that provides stable voltage and frequency controlled AC power to 16V AC turntable motors such as those found on many of Pro-Ject's turntables, as well as those sold by Music Hall (even though the motor on my MMF-7 is often referred to as a 12V motor, its actual output is higher than 16 V). In addition to the Speed Box II, Pro-ject also provides a small wall wart power supply for the unit similar to the one that comes with a turntable motor.
In addition to speed control, the Speed Box II also facilitates electronic speed change from 33- to 45-RPM at the push of a button, as opposed to moving the belt to a larger or smaller motor pulley. To use the Speed Box II, you need to place your belt in the proper pulley. In the U.S. (60 Hz) that means you place the belt in the larger motor pulley (the 45-RPM pulley). In Europe, you would purchase the Speed Box II for 50 Hz and place your belt in the smaller pulley (the 33-RPM pulley). Once everything is hooked up, use the switch on your turntable motor to start playback and push the button on the front of the Speed Box II if you want to change your RPM speed. The device itself is energized 24/7 and is always on.
I was impressed by the impact this little box had on the sound generated by my MMF-7. Certain improvements were obvious; the platter turned at a stable speed which improved the turntable's pitch. Bass even improved due to the reduction in the slight phase shifting effects of speed instability. However, what really impressed me is the reduction of background noise and the gain in transparency.
The Speed Box II allows for a more relaxed and resolved presentation. Stereo images are even more tightly focused and graininess in voices and percussion is reduced. For instance, some graininess that I'd heard in Simply Red's "Sad Old Red" all but disappeared. His voice seemed so present, it was as if he was practically in the room. A sense of artificial edge on the high hat in the song disappeared, resulting in a more realistic and natural performance.
At first, I thought I'd heard a slight loss of dynamics, but soon realized that what I'd heard was greater detail and increased transient resolution with less of a hard edge on the attack. In other words, things just sound more natural rather than forced. For instance in the Master Recording of Fleetwood Mac's "Fleetwood Mac" album, on Stevie Nicks' "Landslide," the quieter background added to the sense of space around the acoustic guitars. Moreover, Stevie's voice was more tightly focused than it had been before the Speed Box II was in my system.
So, there you have it. For $129, this device is a no-brainer if you own the appropriate Pro-ject or Music Hall turntable (MMF-7, MMF-9 and, perhaps, the MMF-5 if it has a wall wart power supply) because it's one of the most cost-effective improvements you can make to your system. Strengths:
- Your turntable's sound will substantially improve
- Push button speed change
- The motor turning at a slower speed when playing back 33 RPM LPs reduces motor noise
- Quieter and blacker background
- Ridiculously cheap for all the performance improvements you'll get
Weaknesses:
The power cord feeding the motor from the Speed Box II is rather short and it limits your placement options. Also, the front of the box has an extremely bright blue power indicator light which can be quite annoying. This caused me to place the box in a location where the light isn't visible to me any more. Similar Products Used:
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