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Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome – Ultra compact CD player as Limited Edition

There will be no more than 1,000 pieces of this noble audio CD player in its most compact form, the Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome, which above all is the ideal playing partner for the Pro-Ject MaiA S2 Chrome, which is also newly offered as a Limited Edition. Sophisticated drive control and a high-quality DAC are designed to guarantee audiophile results.


Of course, music streaming has gradually taken over the role of primary music source, at least by and large. The CD, which for decades had this function, is increasingly being pushed into the background. Nevertheless, there are still many music lovers who do not want to do without their beloved audio CDs, which have been collected over many years. Furthermore, by far not every recording is actually available on the various streaming and download portals, so that CDs will certainly not disappear from the market completely so quickly and thus there is still a demand for high-quality CD players.

Numerous manufacturers are meeting this demand, including the Austrian company Pro-Ject Audio Systems, which even has several solutions available within the so-called Pro-Ject Box Design series, including the Pro-Ject CD Box S2.

The Pro-Ject CD Box S2 is distinguished above all by the fact that it is a solution at the audiophile level, even if one might not initially suspect it because of its extremely compact dimensions, and yes, also because of its extremely attractive price. The developers at Pro-Ject Audio Systems have placed their trust in impeccable equipment, where every effort is made to guarantee perfect readout of the audio CDs and high quality signal processing.

The new Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome goes one step further than the regular Pro-Ject CD Box S2, because here they use even more refined components and pack the ultra compact audio CD player in a particularly high-quality, elegant housing. At first glance, the design in chrome conveys what the Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome has to offer, namely high-end in the form of the smallest high-end HiFi CD player on the market.

Thus, the Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome measures no more than 205 x 37 x 155 mm, if you add the connection sockets, it is a depth of 165 mm. Without the external 9 V 2,000 mA DC power supply, this solution weighs 950 g.

The housing, which is made entirely of aluminium, is chrome-plated here, so it literally shines, including the operating elements – four buttons for playback control and the standby button – which can be found next to a numerical display on the front.

The Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome is designed with a slot-in drive, although the company has opted for an IT model that is optimised solely for playing audio CDs. According to Pro-Ject Audio Systems, pure CD players are clearly superior to DVD or Blu-ray multidisc players, whereby a “mini PC” is used to control the drive. This should ensure that a 1:1 bit-accurate readout of the data media is guaranteed, whereby any Redbook-compatible medium is read, including the CD layer of a Hybrid SACD. When reading out the data, one relies on a buffer memory, a so-called buffer, so that any read errors are compensated and a constant data stream can be guaranteed. However, this means that the start and read times are somewhat longer, as Pro-Ject Audio Systems is happy to report.

The further signal processing relies on a high-quality converter, whereby one deliberately “exaggerates” here and relies on a 32 bit 384 kHz DAC of the type Texas Instruments PCM5102A DirectPath. A filter is also available here where the user can choose between IIR and FIR. The latter requires a much higher performance of the DSP, but according to Pro-Ject Audio Systems offers a finer and linear processing of the digital signal and is therefore the ideal basis for even better sound.

Analogue signals leave the Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome via a pair of RCA jacks, but a digital output is also available as an alternative, namely an optical S/PDIF. This allows the quality level of the CD player to be further enhanced by an external DAC.

The Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome is of course supplied with a matching infrared remote control, although it is interesting to note that it can also be used to control the volume of an amplifier from the Pro-Ject Box Design series, such as the Pro-Ject MaiA S2 Chrome, which is designed to be the ideal playing partner for the new CD player.

By the way, the new Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome is delivered in a high-quality wooden box to underline the high quality standard.

The Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome will be available in a quantity of 1,000 pieces worldwide alone, whereby this solution will be manufactured exclusively to order. This means a slightly longer delivery time, but it also gives you the certainty of owning a very exquisite, fine system.

The recommended retail price for the new Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome is € 799,- by Pro-Ject Audio Systems.

Getting to the point

The new Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome goes one step further than the regular Pro-Ject CD Box S2, because it uses even more refined components and packs the ultra-compact audio CD player in a particularly high-quality, elegant housing. At first glance, the design in chrome conveys what the Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Chrome has to offer, namely high-end in the form of the smallest high-end HiFi CD player on the market.

Manufacturer:Pro-Ject Audio Systems
Distribution:Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Price:€ 799,-
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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