Disc Players

The founder of Pro-Ject, Heinz Lichtenegger is as dedicated to his mission in life as he was when he started making the company's first turntables almost 30 years ago. Ask him where his company is going, and he says 'We are fighting for hi-fi stereo as we fought for analogue turntables in the '90s. What we won't be making is some integrated one-box streaming speaker which only gives a mono sound!'.

But he acknowledges that the development of modern digital systems involves a degree of co-operation, as is the case with the CD Box RS2 T: 'The CD drive involved an investment of millions of Euros, which we alone can't support, but you will see many brands, even those making way more expensive players, using this mechanism.

'This also happened with the [StreamUnlimited] S700 streaming board, where we and Naim were the lead customers, and others including Musical Fidelity and Krell followed. There's no other way to make this high technology affordable to the consumer.'

Unlike some recent Pro-Ject designs, the Pre Box RS2 was an entirely in-house project. Discussing the small form-factor of the Box Design series, he says 'You realise very fast that the highest costs are in the cabinet and the mechanical parts, not the electronics – the only way to reach a sensible price is to reduce the size of the box, also improving its feel and rigidity. We believe that the modern customer wants smaller products, and not big boxes that are mainly empty'.