More and more consumers are realizing that music streaming services are a great way to discover new music, but miss the emotional attachment that is realized by investing in physical media. Following the revival of vinyl, it's predictable that the venerable Compact Disc is bound to make a comeback. The two new Pro-Ject CD Players target the CD-revival that is likely to take place, sooner rather then later. And unlike the cheap CD players that typically dominated the market two decades ago, or the extreme high-end CD transport with separate electronics available with prices equivalent to a car, still available today, the two new Pro-Ject CD players are priced sensibly for those who appreciate quality but also great value.
The new CD Box DS3 is the first component of a completely new DS3 line from Pro-Ject, designed to be integrated with existing DS2 products because the dimensions are the same. The new CDBox DS3 - $899 USD MSRP and available in April 2022 - maintains the best features of the company's previous CD players and adds the acclaimed Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC to provide improved quality reproduction. The buttons on the front panel allow easy control, while the supplied remote control offers convenience. The high contrast dot-matrix display shows all the relevant information that can be extracted from CDs.
As Pro-Ject explains, the CD Box DS3 is a true Red Book CD Player - which means carefully reviewing those now almost forgotten specifications. The Red Book standard specifies the physical parameters and properties of Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD. Compared to DVD or Blu-ray Disc players, purist CD players are optimized explicitly for 1:1 playback of the Red Book CDDA standard and offer higher performance. Following the same philosophy of "doing one thing well," these two new CD players from Pro-Ject focus on doing CD reproduction well, not caring to accommodate Super-Audio CDs or "data" media holding hi-res audio files. Pro-Ject also selected a CD-80 Blue Tiger Servo, developed by StreamUnlimited as the brain that controls the CD player driver.
And as the main area for improvement for digital media happened in the digital to analog converters, the company selected a Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC that is famous for its easy-to-listen sound character and doesn't need to be high resolution, since CD is limited to the 16-bit/44.1kHz standard (now touted in the streaming age as "HiFi" quality...). The CD Box DS3 offers a simple line-level RCA output for connecting to a pre-amplifier or integrated amplifiers and two digital S/PDIF outputs to connect to an external DAC of choice, if desired.
Another area of focus for Pro-Ject was the mechanics and the chassis, adopting a 4-point intelligent suspension and three elastic points that isolate the drive from external vibration. The high-frequency vibrations caused by the fast movement of the laser driver pass into the rigid chassis via a single hard point. And the internal mechanics, including the slot-load mechanism, are incorporated into a rigid aluminum case that protects the CD drive further against vibration and electromagnetic interferences. This chassis is available in silver or black, with optional magnetically attached wooden side panels in walnut, rosenut and eucalyptus. The Power Box DS2 Sources are separately available as linear power supply options, contributing to a better overall performance.
The second new CD player from Pro-Ject is the CD Box S3, an ultra compact design, which signals the start of the new S3 line, also using a complete aluminum casework, instead of standard sheet metal housings. The reworked circuit design brandishes a 1.54" display with a color inversion feature that shows relevant CD information, with front panel buttons and a supplied remote control. The S3 follows many of the main improvement areas developed for the bigger DS3, without the TI DAC, and featuring only S/PDIF coaxial output, apart from the analog RCA connectors. Retailing for a more affordable $549 USD MSRP, the CD Box S3 will be also available in silver and black at authorized Pro-Ject dealers from April 2022.
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