Полочная акустика — Pro-Ject Speaker Box 3 E Carbon

The Speaker Box 3 E Carbon is a compact passive speaker from Pro-Ject Audio Systems, planned by its maker as a desktop monitor that also fits into home cinema systems and mini hi-fi setups, and an optional bracket lets it be mounted on a wall. Pro-Ject presented it together with the plainer Speaker Box 3 E as a debut at the 2024 High End exhibition in Munich, and the pair of models became available in early June 2024. The plainer model came in high gloss black or white at EUR 199 per pair and in walnut at EUR 229. The Carbon version is the upgraded twin - its cabinet is slightly larger than the box of the Speaker Box 3 E, and its woofer swaps the plain fibre glass cone of the sibling for a carbon composite, with the reflex port tuned to extend the response further down.

Key specs that matter

It is a 2-way bass reflex design with a port that fires to the rear. The tweeter is a 0.75 inch silk dome, and a 3 inch cone handles bass and midrange made of carbon fibre glass. Frequency response runs from 83 Hz to 20 kHz, sensitivity is 85 dB at 1 W and 1 m. Each cabinet is 175 mm high, 119 mm wide and 152 mm deep and weighs 1.69 kg.

Engineering and use context

The enclosure uses MDF, which Pro-Ject selected as a non-resonating cabinet material. Pro-Ject calls the woofer a fibre glass carbon composite design and states that the small diameter of this driver gives a good impulse response. The rear port assists the box with bass reproduction. Gold-plated terminals on the back take the speaker cable, and black magnetic grilles are packed in the carton. For the Carbon model, buyers can choose painted satin black, painted satin white or a real wood walnut veneer. The wall bracket for mounting is sold separately. At launch, Pro-Ject set the recommended price including VAT at EUR 299 for the black and white versions, while the walnut veneer version costs EUR 349.

Pairing

Pro-Ject specifies amplifier power from 10 W up to 100 W for each channel, and the company names two of its own models as matching partners - the Stereo Box S3 BT and the MaiA S3. Any other stereo amplifier chosen for the pair should carry a manufacturer rating for stable operation into low impedance speakers of this kind, since the Carbon model is a 4 ohm design.

Alternatives

The Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 E Carbon steps up in size within the E series, with a 1 inch silk dome tweeter and a 5 inch carbon fibre woofer.