Pro-Ject's Head Box E is a pocket-sized headphone amp that eschews integrated chips for discrete components and comes with an attractive price tag of just £89 / €119.
Available later this month, it weighs just 390g.
Pro-Ject makes some of the best turntables around, but that's not the only arrow in its quiver of audio components – it makes very impressive amps and audio streamers too.
Now the Austrian audio expert has launched a small but mighty headphone amp that promises high spec for a low price.
The Pro-Ject Head Box E is pocket-sized and weights just 390g. That's thanks to its fully discrete electronics, which Pro-Ject has chosen instead of the integrated chip designs you'll find in similarly-priced rivals.
With a price tag of just £89 in the UK, it's considerably cheaper than many rival headphone amps from known names. However, Pro-Ject claims its amplification "outperforms" the headphone stages usually found in stereo amps, while also delivering "superior" low distortion.
The promise is simple enough: high-end performance without the high-end price. It should therefore provide a dramatic upgrade from low-powered audio outputs, such as laptop headphone sockets.
Pro-Ject Head Box E headphone amp: key features and price
The Head Box E delivers 665 milliwatts into 32 ohms, enabling it to drive even demanding headphones, and the design is deliberately simple. On the front, there's a pair of headphone outputs (6.3mm and 3.5mm) that can be used simultaneously for shared listening, plus a volume control and a power button.
Round the back there are RCA inputs and outputs, and the power connector.
The RCA output is a bypass loop so you can use it to send unaltered audio to the next stage in your audio setup when you're giving your headphones a rest.
The Pro-Ject Head Box E will be available this month, July 2025, for £89 / €119 (around $120 / AU$180).
