@ facten: I haven’t so far thought to contact the Pro-Ject Audio Team about this issue, because it seems to me to be a localized issue related to living in the freezing-cold Midwest, where right now the relative humidity is very low (< 30% in sub-zero windchill readings in the Chicago area, where I live), and where in my condo, the heat has to be constantly on to defend against the strong winds buffeting my building and further drying the air). All you have to do under these conditions is walk across a carpeted room while wearing socks (no shoes) and you’ll build up a major charge of static electricity. When I take a CD out of its jewel case and insert it into my Pro-Ject Audio CD Box transport, I must be giving it a static charge which somehow prevents the laser pickup from "reading" the CD, causing my transport to eventually stop trying to load it and declare "NO CD" present in the drive (indicated by a big green or red letter ’X’ superimposed over a yellow outline of a CD on the front panel). By "zapping" my CD with the little static-charge neutralizer I bought from Mapleshade Audio of Baltimore, MD, several years ago, I am once again able to get my CD Box to recognize and play my CDs.
You make a good point, though - I should let Pro-Ject’s people know about this problem, and then find out what they have to say about it. If I learn anything from them regarding this matter, I’ll make sure to post it here.