Pro-JectStream Box S2 Ultra - Black

I bought the streamer to replace a laptop as my source. Wanted a TIDAL interface that could pass MQA signals. It was clearly an improvement over the laptop with regard to sound. Smoother, completely non-fatiguing, and revealing. Once set up, it was easy to operate from my iphone. But I was initially unimpressed with the TIDAL interface. It couldn't handle any of my larger playlists, and at times could be slow or just plain uncooperative. But the sound was so much better than my laptop that I just dealt with it. A December 2020 firmware update was a vast improvement! Even a 1000 song playlist is handled effortlessly. This update also added the TIDAL "My Mix" capability to generate playlists for me, and it's great. Randomization is excellent, better than my laptop. Extremely happy with the interface now. Really fast, really reliable. Works equally well using wifi or ethernet. Easy to use, lots of capability, and great sound. Glad Pro-Ject is continuing to improve the Streambox via firmware.WRT price, yes, it is terribly expensive compared to using a Rasperry Pi with open source Volumio. That having been said, I believe the performance of the Streambox merits the price. The design incorporates improvements to power supplies, clocking, jitter and noise reduction. IMHO they work. I've heard other Raspberry Pi set ups, and they don't sound like this. Smooth, and sweet.

First let me say that a perfectly adequate Roon endpoint can be had for $40 (Google Chromecast Audio, get one while you still can). You can also put the function of the Stream Box Ultra S2 with a very inexpensive RPi. Issues I encountered are:1) The identifies my DAC (SU-8) , but does not report correctly to Roon2) The instructions for setup are woefully lacking, consult Roon support page prior to pulling your hair out3) The performance over WiFi is equivalent to a $40 Google Chromecast (96kHz PCM Audio)4) There is NO phone support from Pro-ject, or their US partner Sumiko.5) The WiFi does not support 5G6) The wired ethernet port does not support 1000BaseTXThe price is absurd for what you are getting.

INITIAL EXPERIENCE: I followed the instructions, that aren’t very clear btw. After the initial set up it won’t connect via WiFi. There’s no troubleshooting guide and nothing I can find online. Two plus hours of trying and I’m done.It connected and so far so good. This lasted two days and now it won’t connect again.I read so many great reviews about this steamer but it’s too quirky. Project needs to work out the bugs and or provide better customer service....I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO CONSISTENTLY CONNECT. Push the the startup button on the left once and don't hold it. Wait a minute or two and it connects every time. It does sometime disconnect, which may be a Roon quirk, but just reboot either Roon or Stream box and it's good to go.It's reliable, reasonably stable, and sounds so much better than streaming from my iPhone via lightning connector or iMac. I'm told by many that the sound quality is better than Bluesound Node.My system: Vintage restored - Sansui AU-717 / Harman Kardon 730 / Ohm C speakers / Ohm L speakers . The Denafrips Pontus 2 DAC & Iris DDC coupled with the Stream box S2 Ultra brings a near vinyl experience.I would have given the Stream Box five stars if they had better customer support and at least clearer instructions.

this is a piece of useless junk..works a bit, then freezes or has glitches..a NIGHTMARE PRODUCT ..it is way overpriced as well.. customer service is draconian...slow and indifferent...Sumiko does not care about customer service..

The Pro-Ject S2 sounds fine, when it's available on my WiFi. The problem is getting a WiFi connection via the iPhone app or using an IP address and Safari browser on a MacBook Air. Sometimes it's there and sometimes not, even when the MacBook can see the S2 in the finder. Never had anything that I found so IRRITATING! Euro-shit, and they know it, because there is no feedback on their web site, not to mention no help.

I use the Stream Box connected with an Audioquest Carbon USB cable to a Topping D90 DAC porting into an IOTAVX-SA3 Integrated amp, and I get great results. I have no use for the expensive Roon software nor any PC connection nor any DLNA connection. The included OEM version of Volumio software works just fine for me, using my Android phone or my iPad. My sources are Tidal (standard version), the great Web Radio selections, and my Music Library, which resides on a portable 1 Gb hard drive plugged directly into the back (or the front) of the Stream Box. This hard drive contains a copy of all of my flac files ripped on my computer, which I can update at any time. The Stream Box quickly indexes these updates when the drive is plugged into it. It's like having a JRiver-style renderer on board the Steam Box, only much higher quality sound. The resolution of these digital files is limited only by the source of the files, and the audio performance should be better than any LAN- or WAN-connected data source. The sound from all sources is spectacular, with a very low noise floor. No need for an expensive third-party power supply. Having said all of this, the list price is too high for me. I found a used model that is a better fit for my budget.

Plugged in, followed all instructions through wifi setup, gave it object name, initialization was all fine. Put in wifi name and passkey. Took it, said all is good, open browser, go!Opened browser, couldn't find the page to control the streamer. Typed in exactly the correct web, got a totally different website.Horrible. Avoid to spare yourself frustration.

does not connect to wifi. Hdmi display no longer shows settings. Junk!

OK, this is a streamer nothing more. It's based on a Raspberry PI with cleaned up circuits (important for audio) and outputs. Yes, it's more expensive but it's supported, updated and comes in a neat box. If build this separately based on a PI it would be cheaper.In my use case I'm using at as a Roon (using Tidal) endpoint feeding a Matrix Audio X-Sabre Pro DAC via USB and it's performing very well indeed with no jitter, usb noise etc.The only downside is the lack of Spotify connect, though you can access the web browser on the device and browse and play spotify from there. So if spotify is only source then it will be clunky to use.

I bought this to stream to my Chord Qutest powered by Peachtree Nova intergrated amp and also connected to my PC. I found the sound quality to be excellent for Tidal and Qobuz. The low noice USB from the PC is particularly useful. While the streaming cirvumvents the need for PC audio, I notice improved noise floor on youtube video music and when I occaisionally use Amazon HD direct from the computer, since Amazon is not compatable with Roon. As a roon ready device it's great and a real space saver. It does occaisionally need to be restarted to be seen by the network, but I did keep it on all the time, so not actually an issue.

Die Pro-ject App ist eine Unverschämtheit! Ich nutze Tidal. Leider lässt sich die Tidalapp nicht nutzen, um die Streambox zu bedienen. Die Pro-jekt Softwareentwickler sollten mal versuchen, damit Tidal zu benutzen, da würden sie merken, wie umständlich und hackelich das funtioniert. Ich überlege das Ding zurückzuschicken.

Very good streamer but the user app could be better.