Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 S2, Bookshelf Speakers

These are a simple but beautifully thought out and designed set of speakers. I spoke to their Heinz Lichtenegger, the head of Pro-Ject about them, and he passionately described the design ethos behind them as the crusade to get good stereo sound to the masses.

Even more than the high end gear, Heinz seems particularly invested in getting good 'mecahnical' rather than electronic sound to the broader population countering the mono trend for little bluetooth speakers. A turntable and and well placed set of Speaker Boxes bring a much richer experience to the listener.

He went on to explain that he asked his architect about what shape he should choose for a new set of speakers and was met with 'there's everything right abut the box shape of a set of speakers, why change it?'. The box serves a function and is an instantly recognisable form. There is no need to redesign the envelope if it works just fine. 

What the architect said though is keeping the form the same doesn't mean you can't look at the details that make a good thing great. Like kitchen bench tops and other furniture in the house, our interactions with things are based on the haptic touch of a product. We're more likely to go up, touch, use and appreciate something if it has round edges and feels nice! That's why the effort was put in to make the smooth edges on the speakers and the satin feel of the finish.  

And more than the aethetics and texture of the speakers. These little boxes make a big sonorous sound. I was actually pleasantly suprised by what they could do.

These units are part of the Colourful Audio System by Pro-Ject and are on demo in our new Pro-Ject room on Lygon st.

Check out the Colourful Audio System here.

They are available in Walnut, Satin Black, Satin White, Satin Yellow, Satin Green and Satin Blue.