Precision CD Playback in a Rigid DS3 Chassis
The Pro-Ject CD Box DS3 is a dedicated CD player that combines a high-performance Texas Instruments PCM1796 DAC with a rigid aluminium DS3 series chassis to deliver accurate, low-noise playback of Red Book compact discs. Like all products in the DS3 range, the enclosure is machined to tight tolerances, with the internal components mounted on a four-point intelligent suspension system — three soft points and one hard point — that decouples the drive mechanism from external vibration and chassis resonance.
Slot-In Drive Mechanism and Digital Outputs
CDs are loaded via a slot-in mechanism, keeping the footprint compact while maintaining the structural rigidity of the all-aluminium case. In addition to a stereo RCA analogue output, the CD Box DS3 provides two independent digital outputs — optical TOSlink and coaxial S/PDIF — so the digital bitstream can be fed to an external DAC or digital processor. The front panel features a high-contrast dot-matrix display and four transport control buttons, with full remote control operation also available.
Engineering to DS3 Standards
The DS3 series represents Pro-Ject's approach to affordable high-end source components, using premium casework and circuit board layout to minimise interference and maintain channel separation. The external 18 V DC power supply removes a potential source of mains-borne noise from inside the chassis. Optional wooden side cheeks are available separately to match the CD Box DS3 to other DS3 series components.