It's no secret that WiiM's streaming products have taken the hi-fi world by storm. The amount of features and performance they pack into compact, affordable boxes is impressive, but the true secret of its success lies in WiiM's excellent operating system and streaming platform.
The WiiM Home app – crucial to the streaming experience – is well designed, easy to use for hi-fi novices and seasoned audiophiles, and the platform itself is terrifically robust.
No wonder then, that Pro-Ject has decided to tap into WiiM's software expertise for its new streaming amplifier, the Pro-Ject Uni Box S3, while bringing its own analogue expertise to the amplifier side. Pro-Ject and WiiM share the same distributor in the UK (Henley Audio), so perhaps the collaboration isn't entirely a surprise, but it's a smart move.
The Uni Box S3 is based on the same dual-mono architecture analogue design as that of the MaiA S3 integrated amplifier, offering 40W per channel into 4 ohms (or 23W per channel into 8 ohms).
Here, Pro-Ject promises to "preserve the rich character of analogue sound by keeping the analogue signal path intact." Pro-Ject says that any source connected to the analogue inputs remains analogue throughout, with no extra digital conversion marring the signal.
The preamplifier and power amplifier sections are kept fully analogue, while the brand has "taken great care to integrate the streaming input with clear separation of analogue and digital devices".
Connectivity is ample from this compact unit, allowing you to connect to a CD player, turntable, TV and a pair of headphones.
You get a moving-magnet phono stage, a dedicated headphone amplifier with 6.3mm output, RCA line level, optical and coaxial inputs, and an HDMI eARC input. There is also a subwoofer output.
Wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.1 are on the menu, while the WiiM streaming platform brings support for Qobuz, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Deezer, Amazon Music, TuneIn internet radio, and many more. We've asked if Qobuz Connect is supported in this unit, and will update this article as soon as we have an answer.
Instead of using an ESS Sabre DAC as we have seen in many streaming products we have tested recently, Pro-Ject instead opts for a Cirrus Logic CS4344 DAC in the Uni Box S3, which can handle up to 24-bit/192kHz hi-res files.
Also new is the Pro-Ject Home app, which is very similar to WiiM's Home app in design, allowing you to adjust EQ settings, control multi-room features and playback across other connected Pro-Ject units.
Housed in an aluminium chassis and with a fairly compact footprint, the Uni Box S3 is also designed with longevity in mind.
Pro-Ject claims that by keeping the analogue and streaming elements separate, the Uni Box S3 can continue to function as an analogue system if the streaming tech evolves or becomes obsolete.
The Pro-Ject Uni Box S3 streaming amplifier is available now in black or silver finishes, and costs £699 / $1099 / €799. That's significantly higher than the price of the WiiM Amp Pro we recently tested at £399 / $379 / €459, in comparison.
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Read our WiiM Amp Pro review
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