Turntable legend Pro-Ject has a weird but wonderful new hi-fi box – it’s a phono stage, streaming hub, DAC, TV HDMI connector, and headphone amp all in one

• All your analog, digital and wireless audio through a single pre-amp
• 13 inputs and outputs including streaming from aptX HD
• £499 (about $685 / AU$985)

Pro-Ject – maker of some of the best turntables available – has announced a new compact stereo pre-amp that’s designed to make today’s hi-fi systems simpler. The Pre Box S3 unites your vinyl and digital sources, your TV’s audio and your wireless streaming in a single component that acts as a control centre for all your audio needs.

This is a pre-amp so it doesn’t contain its own amplification for passive speakers, but you can use it to connect to active speakers or a power amp, as well as to be the source and controller for an existing hi-fi setup. And it looks like a smart option for those of us whose audio diet isn’t limited to a single source or to streaming audio.

Design-wise, it’s a typically minimalist Pro-Ject affair reminiscent of previous products such as the recently launched Pro-Ject Head Box S3: Pro-Ject likes to keep things clean and uncluttered rather than add unnecessary bells and whistles.