Natural and musical, especially with upgraded tubes

Marantz cabinet

For the price, this is an excellent CD player. I won't be able to add much to what has already been said, so I'll give a review of how this player sounds with substituted tubes.

The stock JAN Phillips are ok and the player sounds good with them, but you can really get a whole lot more by substituting higher quality tubes. The tube sockets are sturdy and designed for frequent tube substitution. My favorite tubes for this player are the Amperex 7308 gold pins, 60's vintage. With these, the soundstage opened up and cast an image beyond my speakers, the highs and mid-range are natural and neutral and bass is decent. Siemens E188CC tubes are also an excellent choice; tighter bass, but not quite as open as the Amperex 7308 tubes to my ears. Other tubes I have had good experiences with include the Amperex ECC88 A-Frames (lovely mid-range), Siemens ECC88 (balanced from top to bottom) and Mullard CV2493 (deep, rich soundstage).

By the way, the folks at Upscale Audio are great to deal with. Thanks, Kevin, for bringing this player to "budget" audio enthusiasts.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio CD4SE, Marantz 67SE

Musicality. Broad and deep soundstage. Natural vocal and instrumental timbres. Exceptional value.

None at the asking price.

I don't have any idea what the reviewer below was listening to. Either he was in posession of a malfunctioning unit, or he simply did not listen to the unit after proper burn in. My experience is similar to many voiced earlier - during burn in, the player did sound a bit on the strident side and seemed to lose focus somewhat on passages containing wide dynamic swings. However, after several weeks of listening(I didn't keep track of the hours)things started to fall into place. I've had the unit since March now, and I can say that after burn in, this is one of the most musical players you will hear at even twice the asking price. Both male and female vocals are utterly natural and in the room with you on quality recordings. String bass and wooden acoustic instruments convey body and that wonderful wooden tone. This player also resolves space very well. Images are three dimensional and lifelike. Detail resolution is very good, though not superlative. What is far more important however is the sheer musicality of this player. Very analogue sonding. No more "haze" over the music. The Rega that I owned was a disappointment - excellent detail resolution, but sterile and lifeless. It failed to convey the emotion of a fine recording. The 4000 plays MUSIC!!!!

System:
JoLida JD-302B
Alpha-Core Goertz MI2 speaker cable
Kimber PSB interconnects
Magnepan MMG; Magnepan MG 1.6 QR
Njoe Tjoeb 4000

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon, Sony, Rega

Up front, in-your-face and exciting presentation

Rough around the edges

I really wanted to like this cd player more than I did, as I love to find bargains. I've been looking for a newer generation cd player to replace my Theta Miles, which had been in service for awhile, and I love the sound of tubed electronics. I borrowed the unit under review from a friend. Unfortunately, the sound was a step backward for me. It did have its good points. The sound was very up-front and oh so in-your-face. The whole stage moved giant steps forward. It was certainly exciting. But this up-front presentation had rough edges on vocals and the overall sound was a bit hard, not as bad as many mass market players, but obvious, nonetheless. It just didn't flow in a refined and natural manner like the best players do. And this is in an all tube system. I'm not trying to say this inexpensive player SHOULD sound as good as $1,500 and up players. I just wanted to point out that the people who seem to be saying in reviews here that the Ah can compete with players at this level or belongs in high end systems are hearing something I don't understand. And I've heard some of the qualities I like in the expensive players (clear and grainless sound) in other less expensive players. And don't expect the tubes used here to sugar coat or cover up flaws upstream; they are 6922/6DJ8 types, which are very wide bandwidth tubes meant for television use and have a harmonic structure different than a lot of triodes, being somewhat similar to transistors. What I am hearing appears to be the DAC and filters used. I find after a lot of auditions that I have a hard time listening to anything less than the latest generation 24 bit/ 96 or 192 khz resolution DACs. I especially like the AKM's as implemented in the Metronome Technologie players, clear, sweet and analog sounding. Even in inexpensive players they seem to make a big difference to me (I've found these same dacs in lower cost players to sound good as well). I would really like to hear what the Ah guys could do with better upstream hardware. What they have accomplished here is adding a well designed high resolution gain and buffer section that exposes upstream flaws (DAC and filters) to my ears. I'll look forward to their next effort, as this one couldn't quite get to me. I would also love to directly compare this to the nOhr CD-1, which is scratch built (no upgrades of mass market players), sells for a bit more at $799, uses a 24 bit 96 khz dac, and has 12AX7 tubes on the output, which are more "musical" than the 6922/6DJ8 family to my ears. 4 Stars for the nice quality work they put into the upgrade and fair price, 3 Stars for the sound.

Pace, rhythm, and dynamics. musicality.

None at this price and performance.

Without testing I bought,and like 99% of other purchasers I am happy with this little gem. It has made such a amazing improvement in my system and has kick started the rest of my components.

VPI JR / Madrigal Carnegie cartridge
Ah Tjoeb 4000
Aragon 4004 mk2
Anthem Pre 1
Apogee Duetta Signature

Similar Products Used:

CAL Tercet MK 3 Rotel RCD 855

nice midrange

OK low end and hi end

I have just finished my initial comparison of the Heart CD6000 purchased at fsaudio.com ($800) and the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000. I bought both after extensive reading of reviews here on this site of <$1k CDPs. The Njoe Toeb 4000 has been equipped with all the upgrades: ACDirekt, Feet and Siemens 7308 tubes, and has been settling in for 48 hours. The Heart has been on for 24 hours.

I made my initial comparisons using DH Labs BL-1 Interconnect into my B&K AVP 1030 preamp using Sennheiser HD 560 headphones. The 3 CDs I used were Tony Bennett Unplugged, Dee Dee Bridgewater's Tribute to Horace, and Best of Nina Simone.

The first significant difference I noted was on low-end extension. The Heart has noticeably more bottom. The high end extension took me longer to dial in, but the Heart is clearly more extended on top as well. The tinkling of cymbals is more realistic than on the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 even with upgrades. The midranges is similarly absolutely palpable. I will wait a few days to compare again, as the interconnects and CDP's are still breaking in. I was cautioned to allow a full week for the Njoe Tjoeb to settle in.

Some of my CDs are not in the best shape, and I noticed the Njoe Tjoeb skipped more often than the Heart or my old Sony 508 ESD.

The the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 has a functioning Headphone jack, which the CD6000 doesn't...so I can carry the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 upstairs to bed or on trips to plug in and listen. For me this creates a versatility with regard to headphone listening that few high end players have.

So far both the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and the Heart CD6000 are a pleasant surprise.

Similar Products Used:

Heart CD6000

This is a followup to a review I did 10 days ago.

The Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and the Heart after breakin are much closer in performance than initially. My current impression is that the Heart goes slightly lower in range. However, the Heart with the stock Sovtek's is less pleasing in my system than the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with the stock supplied Philips tubes. My system is mid/upper mid forward (SS with Sonus Faber Concertinos), and the Sovteks are *Bright*. So the stock Heart configuration goes slightly lower, but also has too much energy on top. It is also notable that the new $850 price on the Heart makes it less directly comparable pricewise.
Having said all that, the Heart with a better 6922 tube pair offers a little more than the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 sonically, as it should for $100 more. But remember you don't get a functioning Headphone jack with the Heart and you do with the Njoe Tjoeb.

Both Kevin and Jerrod at upscale, and Frank at fsaudio.com are helpful, professional and offering incredible value. You can't go wrong with either the Heart of the Njoe Tjoeb.

As an aside, there is a NOrh CD-1 ($800) that has gotten a lot of discussion at the harmonicdiscord.com forum...I decided not to cross that (literal) bridge by ordering from overseas, but that player fits approximately into this category and deserves a comparison, but I won't be the one to do it.

Similar Products Used:

Heart CD6000


Heart CD6000

Sonic quality, build quality

None I can think of

My office is being remodeled, and this is where my Tjoeb resides with some small Proacs and integrated amp. I had to bring my office system home until the job is complete. I bought this player as a second system player, and have had it close to a year.

It has performed perfectly. Since I brought it home, I decided to upgrade the tubes and power cable and have some fun. The power cord from Ah! is quite a bargain at $69, and since the time I had bought mine they have come out with a new logo and remote control overlay which they were kind enough to give me at no charge.

The player is a huge bargain at the price. The power cord makes it even better. I inserted it into my home system, which is all Mark Levinson, and costs more than ten times as much. I also have Martin Logan Prodigy loudspeakers, and know the system well.

Is the Tjoeb better than the Mark Levinson? No. But I was suprised how much it did NOT yield to the super mega-bucks player. In fact I alsmot preferred the bass from the Tjoeb, and the midband was slightly more bloomy. The ML is higher in absolute control during really complex classical recordings.

I bought a couple new old stock tube types from Upscale Audio's vast selection. They were happy to discuss what would best match my tastes, and appear to have many flavors.

Great buy, great player. I paid more for one power cord than this whole thing. Great fun.

Similar Products Used:

Higher end Mark Levinson in main system

I as well wondered how the much vaunted Njoe Tjoeb stacked up against the Heart. So what else could I do but purchase and audition both of them like the reviewer before me?

The players were hooked up to a NAD C350 integrated with Kimber PBJ. Axiom's M3Ti two-way monitors and a pair of Etymotic ER4S earphones provided the output. The players were auditioned with the stock tubes.

The results? To these ears, the Heart was the winner, hands down.

For classical music, I listened to the Chesky recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chesky CD2). This is a very difficult recording to have sound right. The Heart nicely brought out the ambience - the very feel - of the recording hall as well as the music. Instruments seemed to be part of an actual space, rather than popping up from nowhere.

I suppose some would deem this 'fuzzy imaging'. To them I ask, have you ever been to a classical concert?

The piano sounded natural and smooth - rather than accentuating the strike of the hammers, the Heart kept the *notes* in the forefront.

By comparison, the Njoe Tjoeb sounded a tad thinner in the midrange. The strings were noticeably drier and the various instrument sections never seemed to come together as a whole.

On jazz, the Heart was noticeably more refined. This is particularly evident on "My Funny Valentine" from the Miles Davis album, "Cookin'" (PRCD-7094-2). In some areas, the Njoe Tjoeb's presentation of Miles' trumpet pierces the eardrum. Red Garland's piano almosts sounds clangy. Cymbals have just a bit too much high-end 'sizzle'. The Heart relaxes the trumpet bite to let the brassiness come through. The piano again, sounds more natural - the notes have a bloom rather than a hard hammer strike with sound trailing afterwards. The cymbals have a semblance of a natural 'ring' to them instead of a white noise sizzle.

But where the Heart really outshone the Njoe Tjoeb was in the arena of rock. In Weezer's "Green" album, the Heart laid down a solid bass foundation. The overdriven guitars had real definition and weight. The Njoe Tjoeb's sound was almost waifish. It seemed to be a bit bass shy and the guitars lacked life.

What does this mean?

In my system, the Heart possessed tube 'magic' in spades. The midrange was liquid, the top end was free from grain, and the bass had real weight and definition (which probably contributed to its excellent retrieval of the recording hall's ambience in classical recordings). The presentation was relaxed and smooth. The Njoe Tjoeb had a more exciting (and dare I say) analytical tilt. Next to the Heart, it sounded almost solid state.

Similar Products Used:

Heart CD6000

At this price point I have not heard better

none

I had actually gotten this back in March or so but wanted to truly evalute it before I wrote this, then of course forgot to.

My first experience was a bit tragic, as I was sent a 220 volt unit designed for Asia by mistake. Kevin was on top of things right off the bat and instead of having me go to the trouble of a new shipment and a return, forewarded instructions on how to re-wire it (they are all the same apparently) Then as a token of his appreciation, he cut me a great deal on a pair of step up Siemens 7308 tubes. A class act all the way.

I rewired it, plugged it in, put a disc in and let it play for 3 days before even listening to it. Well, I did cheat and plug in my headphones for a "quickie" and was immiediately impressed how much better it was than my Denon right out of the box. (which was their top line model of about 6 years back) This was with the stock tubes.

After three days I finally put it in the stack. I have never been overly fond of digital, being a vinyl junkie, but for the first time in my life I had a sound I could live with. Shortly therafter the Siemens arrived and I installed them, no dampers. After a day of break in the sound was already 5 steps higher, the bass was more controlled and deeper and the whole soundstage had a better presence. These tubes are normally about $45 each, but they are definitely worth it. (he reserves them for customers only)

As to layout, I like the faceplate more then the previous Ah! units, the remote is laid out well and simple. There's no button to open the tray but that's a small quibble. The player has a volume control, and it's been my experience (and my friend who also owns this unit) that the best setting is between 13-15. (I use 15, he uses 13) The setting used will effect the sound, so it's important to check what it's set at.

I'm quite sure you could spend thousands more to get a unit that is better in some nuance areas, but for the money I'd say this player cannot be beat, and with the best tubes can play against units up to 2 grand easily. It has a delicious timre, reproduces all transients well and A/B'd against vinyl sounds quite close. I don't tire of listening to CD's like I used to. I'm finally almost happy.

system components;

Conrad Johnson PV-5 preamp (updated internally)
Sonographe SA-200 Amplifier
MAD pearl flat dielectric interconnects
Alpha Core Goertz cables
PSB Image 5T speakers

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Sony

Da tubes!

Build quality, Power cord and stock tubes

Overall, a very nice CD-player. It does well in minimizing some of the digital jaggies off of CD's. It fits well into an all Tube system.

The ability to mix and match tubes offers a potentially a great amount of sonic experimentation.

On the flip side, the base build quality is not that great. I would almost hope Ah! would offer another step up player with a more substantial fit and finish.

The stock tubes are also not that great and you will probably need to invest more $ in a tube upgrade. In my case, I tried a set of Siemens and Amperex and prefer the Amperex best.

Finally, and probably the most egregious, is that the stock model has built in power cord. I think that they should seriously consider a detachable cord so that we can entertain the possibility of upgrading.

Overall, good but not perfect. A solid 4 stars.

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Cambridg Audio D500-SE