Pro-Ject Audio Systems Stream Box S2 Ultra ROON READY NETWORK BRIDGE

I have reviewed several networkconnected music servers in recent years, from Antipodes,¹ Aurender,² and NAD.³ All performed well but are relatively expensive, and their associated player apps didn’t equal Roon’s user friendliness in terms of interface, organization of the library, and inclusion and updating of metadata. So when Roon Labs introduced their own server, the Nucleus+, I first reviewed⁴ and then purchased it, along with a lifetime subscription to Roon. But at $2498 without an internal drive for storing music files, the Nucleus+ is still relatively expensive, and even Roon’s less-powerful Nucleus costs $1398. I was still on the lookout for a server that would be more accessible to our budget-minded readers.

Jim Austin and Jason Victor Serinus are using Roon with servers based on Intel’s low-cost NUC computer-on-aboard, and there are other suitable processors, such as the Raspberry Pi and the various Arduinos. But the last two are hardly fit’n’forget for the average audiophile—I was looking to review a lower-cost turnkey solution.

Then, when Pro-Ject’s US distributor, Sumiko Audio, sent us they also sent a sample of the Austrian company’s Stream Box S2 Ultra, which costs $849.