- Pro-Ject announces two wireless upgrades for classic hi-fi gear based on WiiM OS
- Stream Box E upgrades your amp with streaming skills
- Wireless Box E turns any passive speakers wireless by connecting to the binding posts
Beloved hi-fi brand Pro-Ject hasn’t slowed down at all in 2026. After announcing a premium turntable in January and record cleaner last month, it has two more pieces of gear coming soon.
The brand has announced the Stream Box E and Wireless Box E, as part of its growing hi-fi ecosystem. They cost £159 (about $200, AU$300) and £199 (around $270, AU$400) respectively.
The Stream Box E is a wireless network streamer and digital pre-amp that can upgrade your wired audio system to allow for Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz. It can be connected to an amplifier, or directly to active speakers.
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Then there’s the Wireless Box E, which also gives a tidy tech upgrade to existing gear. This time, it upgrades your passive loudspeakers, acting as a wireless receiver for them, meaning you can position them anywhere without needing to worry about running cable to them, giving you more flexibility over where you put them, or perhaps where you put the rest of your hi-fi setup.
You’ll need one per speaker, of course, and each needs to be connected to a power outlet.
A WiiMsical choice
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the news, is that the Stream Box E and Wireless Box E will both run on WiiM OS. This is a platform primarily designed for the brand’s own tech like such as the WiiM Sound, but is also available to other brands, bringing their tech into the burgeoning WiiM ecosystem.
We’ve compared Sonos vs WiiM in the past to help you understand the differences, but the gesture is clear: this is part of a growing alternative to Sonos, and is clearly one that wants to be as flexible as possible based on these launches.
However, there’s a big catch here for Apple users, which is not exactly a small portion of the world. WiiM has some kind of on-going issue with Apple that means that many of its products don’t include Apple AirPlay 2 as an easy streaming options, and it’s the same with these.
While support for the likes of Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect might mean you’re actually fine with this, it also means these boxes are basically no good if you’re an Apple Music user, or if you want to be able to use AirPlay’s platform-neutral multi-room skills.
In this instance, Sonos absolutely still has the edge — it not only supports AirPlay fully, it’s the only brand with a streaming amp that has native Apple Music support in its app for lossless listening.
The fast pace with which Pro-Ject is releasing gears shows that it’s only getting bigger and bigger in the home hi-fi game, especially with affordable options like these. Perhaps it’s found an ideal partner in the equally ambitious WiiM — we can’t wait to see how well these work in practice.
The best stereo speakers all budgets
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tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
