Pro-Ject, founded in Austria, is perhaps best known for its high-performance, cheap turntables, but the business now makes a host of digital goods for the rising audiophile. According to the recent news cycle, this year was the first time in a long time that CD sales increased somewhat globally.
At $899, the CD Box DS3 incorporates all of the current Pro-Ject workstation choices, including a Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC on the new DS3. The CD Box DS3 is called a ‘Red Book’ CD player. It is Pro-ject’s first model in its all-new, European-made Pro-Ject DS3 series.
Tube Box S2 will give a full and relaxed laid back sound with lush mids, similar to a much bigger high end tube phono pre-amplifier.
According to Pro-Ject, they took the most remarkable elements from their prior CD players and combined them with the PCM1796 DAC. The new CD Box DS3 follows the January release of the more affordable Pro-Ject CD Box S3.
The new device aims to give users the ideal CD player, complete with all the functions they want. The CD player is simply controlled by the front-panel buttons or the included remote control, and the high-quality dot-matrix display provides all the information you want to enjoy your favorite CDs.
New DACs often strive for increased bit resolution. Nonetheless, many high-end designs and very costly CD players use the legendary PCM1796 for its analog, pleasant, and easy-to-listen sound quality. It’s the ideal solution for a CD player that aspires to sound as similar to an analog record. The CD Box DS3 has a line-level RCA output for use with pre-or integrated amplifiers and two digital results for help with your preferred DAC.
Three soft points insulate the drive from external disturbance, while one hardpoint directs the laser’s rapid movement into the enormous chassis.
Standard sheet metal housings are neither torsion-resistant nor mechanically precise enough to attach a sensitive CD drive that requires constant laser position accuracy. Our huge aluminum chassis offers the greatest foundation for the CD drive, and Stream Unlimited’s Blue Tiger CD-80 servo is the most sophisticated on the market.
The drive has been tuned for 1:1 Red Book CDDA playback. In comparison to DVD or Bluray Disc players, pure CD players usually perform better while playing stereo CDs.
Pro-Ject was developed in 1991, amid the assault of compact discs and CD players, with the objective of providing the highest quality analog experience at an affordable price. Heinz Lichtenegger maintained his conviction in the primary yet most acceptable method to enjoy music – turntables – throughout a period when digital audio media was on the increase and vinyl was pronounced obsolete and dead.
The mission of The Pro-ject is to introduce as many people as possible to the delightful hobby of HiFi audio and to provide an authentic stereo experience at the lowest feasible price. The best product, to begin with, is a high-quality turntable. The company wishes to reclaim the customer’s freedom to pick just the features they need without overburdening our goods with superfluous functionality.
(Image Credit: Pro-Ject)
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This post was last updated on 2025-03-16 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.