PRO-JECT CD Box - DAC Box RS

CD Box is a top-loading transport that can accept external clock signal and sends out digital data through multiple digital outputs – coaxial, optical S/PDIF, AES/EBU and proprietary Sonic output.
The CD mechanism comes from Austrian OEM supplier Stream Unlimited and it is mounted in all aluminum chassis. The disc has to be inserted into the loading bay and clamped with a magnetic clamping ring plus the bay has to be sealed with an aluminum cover plate in a lid-on-a-pot fashion. All the parts are precisely machined so it needs patience and certain cautiousness to make everything right before you can push PLAY. Should you not place the clamping ring ort he cover plate proprely, the CD will not play.

The central part of the CD Box RS is a full colour LCD screen that shows usual information about program material that is played back. You can switch between three display modes with the PLAY VIEW button on the remote controller – I liked the default one the least as it provided too much information in low contrast so I settled on the 2nd mode for my listening sessions which was less cluttered. I think that a switch-off option for display could be a good idea for implementing in future.

I liked that, when the cover plate was lifted during playback, the CD disc immediately stopped, stayed put clamped. It prevents the disc to fly away or scratch itself, a common thing with low-cost players.

The miniature toggle switched were another thing I had fallen in love with immediately. Luckily, the rest of the RS line had them too.