very good bass, soundstage, lots of detail but still warm sounding

build, original tubes

Out of the box the unit sounded pretty good. After the break in period, I felt I had to upgrade the original tubes. Switching to some inexpensive Sovteks improved sound from top to bottom, but bottom end was a bit boomy. Then put in some Mullards and got a little more detail and much tighter bass. Right now the unit sounds very very good. Lots of detail, wider soundtage, smooth, warm highs. Eventually, I'd be tying the Siemens and Amperex tubes that everyone is recommending.

This unit seems very sensitive to tweaking. you may or may not get the results you are expecting if you try damping, cones, power cord upgrades, etc. Note: I found that you need to experiment with the power cord orientation. I heard big a difference when plugged in one direction, then reversing.

CJ PV-11 preamp
McIntosh 2255 power amp
Ryan Acoustic MB-1 speakers
Homegrown Audio Interconnects
Kimber 4pv speaker wires (gray/black)

Similar Products Used:

Dynaco CDP-1

makes really sound

none

Associated equipment:

Cary 572-3 SE mono amps
Cary SLP-94P preamp
Soliloquy 5.3 speakers
TMC yellow and white label interconnects and speaker cables

My Phillips cd player was old (1987) and having trouble tracking certain CDs, so it was time for a new one. The only alternative to spending >$1000 was this player, and given all the favorable reviews the '98 and '99 received here, it seemed a chance worth taking. I preordered the Njoe Tjoeb and while it took a few months, it finally arrived and has been everything it was advertised to be. CDs in general have a ringy tendency, but not so bad with this player. My wife, who is no audiophile and in general scoffs at my pursuit of better sound, said that of all the changes in the system (all components have been replaced in the last year), this one made the biggest difference. While it's not analog, it sounds wonderful. CDs now have a more mellow, rhythmic quality. Timbres are natural sounding. The soundstage is more three-dimensional. Much more presence than before. A very enjoyable cd player at the price. I have not auditioned any of the deluxe players such as Arcam, Rega, etc. so cannot compare, but this one makes me happy.

Similar Products Used:

phillips cd 767

cost, soundstage, balance, simple

build quality of enclosure

I have had this player only a short while and as I listened
to it play Biber to Basie to Boards of Canada even the silence that followed each track sounded so so sweet. Those
folks who took such a simple cdp to create this unit also
chose their company name well: Ah! That's it, a revelation.

I listen to a lot of vinyl, and also cds. I am used to listening to one disk type sources, not cd/record changers.
While the unit seems a little "flimsy," I have not found
this to be a problem while changing disks, pressing the
play button, etc. I _did_ suspect it would slide in the
rack a bit as I pulled it's 4 or 5 lbs out of the packing.
Nope. Stays put. It _is_ a little disconcerting to hear
such open and musical presentation from an evidently mass
produced "consume me" unit... and I refer only to the enclosure, NOT the PC board added by Ah! Their work is well
done.

The imaging took me a while to understand. I had been listening to cds with a Rotel 970BX, through Anthem Pre1L
and Amp1, then through a pair of Totem Sttafs. (Lindsay-Geyer grey btw the cdp and preamp) I *thought*
my cd collection was well represented! The stage presented
by the 970BX seemed open and the voices, including bass,
detailed, well described. Sure, but isolated, just coincidentally comming together as music. With the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 I hear the same voices--OK, no wise cracks!--but it's the whole music I hear, first.

I was asked for this review as compensation for the very
low price-point on the unit. I am all too happy to share
my thoughts on this player. No, Upscale Audio did _not_
give me a discount to post this! But they _do_ make this
unit easy to own(thanks Kevin). Ah! has very cleverly
stepped up the worth of what others might deem low-end...

"Kjoedos!"

Similar Products Used:

CAL DX-1, Marantz CD-65, Linn Mimik, Anthem CD 1, Rotel 970BX

Excellent sound definition,

none

I have only been using this unit for a day or so.
But I was immediately impressed.
You definitely need to be patient and leave the unit on
for a week or so.
My system is actually almost budget.

Sony SDR 845 Receiver
Sony 360 DVD
Acoustic Research 11 speakers

I was a little concerned I would not hear the benefits.
But I was wrong. This is an awesome player! Even through
a budget system.
I wasn't going to spend this kind of money on a CD player.
But glad I did.
I'll know doubt upgrade the rest of my equipment
over the next few years. Apart from the CD player of course.

Upscale audio is a quality company! Everything arrived on
time and was undamaged. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

none

Very musical midrange and top end. After the tubes break in for a while, the sound opens up. Imaging is clean and open. The Marantz base CD unit doesn't look too bad and has a quality feel.

None noticable. I did not like Kimber PBJ cables with this unit.

This is a very enjoyable, musical CD player. A gem for the price. I purchased the Nordost Blue heaven cables with the unit, and they are a very good match.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, Sony units with Musical fidelity X-10D tube line stage.

Proper tonal balance and realistic rendition of piano

I am very pleased

I am pleased that I was one of the first to here this model when the importer, Upscale Audio, had received a sample production unit. I went to Upland, which is about 40 minutes from my home, and was warmly greeted. They had just received two units, and I was able to listen at length without pressure.

I tried another player there...a Rega Planet...which was smooth but sounded dead to my ears. The owner, Kevin Deal, was playing one unit and taking apart another for photos and so I was able to see the interior. He showed me the tube sockets...which are very unusual, but look like they will last forever. I was very very impressed by the size of the interior parts and apparent quality. That....along with the excellent sound...prompted me to order one.

In the meantime I still searched for others...and while there was some good CD players out there....they did not do what the Tjoeb did. At this price range, anyway. Not that the Tjoeb 4000 is so colored is "changes" the music. It's actually very neutral. But I took home the Rega Planet 2000 and it was thin in the mids, and a Cambridge which was bright (I have Thiel loudspeakers...and they are very revealing). It was like finding a compatible mate.

I received a call that my unit had come in this last Thursday...and took off work early to pick it up. I used an XLO burn in disc..and have to say that it is as good as I remembered when I demo'd it. I am using the suggested Nordost Blue Heaven cable...and they even put the cable on the Nordost burn in cable toaster for me without me even asking. No charge. Nice service.

The piano comment...I play piano...and have since I was a child. That is an important instrument to me for judging not just naturalness but decay as the sound trails off. The hammer strikes sound correct...without hardness. A very difficult feat. Congratulations to the employees at Ah! and Upscale Audio for bringing this in at a price that has to be low profit for them.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge, Rotel, Rega

Best price/quality ratio, many different sound-configurations depending on used tube, beautiful, warm sound.

For the price nothing really, maybe better sounding audiophile parts, such as audiocaps (e.g. MCAP Supremes from www.mundorf.com instead of the used caps) would improve on soundquality and detail, but that would increase the price also extremely. The search for the perfect tubes can be quite long, since many tubes sound different...see my tube experience below.

OK, here´s my review on the Ah! Tjoeb 4000 CD-Player. My english may not be perfect, but I´ll try!

I will also try to stick to the facts instead of telling stories here.

I have the Tjoeb 4000 now over one month, I ordered the standard-version of the tjoeb, with no tube upgrade since I got myself some tubes to test out with the player.

First thing to mention is that the Tjoeb 4000 CDP itself needs about 100 hours of break-in, which is quite important, because until that no real comparison of tubes can be done.

Because the sound quality of the Tjoeb 4000 CDP depends pretty much on the used tubes, I have added my tube review here, too.

At first, without break in and with the standard philips jan tube I was impressed that it did NOT sound as good as my old CDP, some mids were missing, overall it was not as good as anyone said.

But like I mentioned, 100 hours of break-in period is absolutely neccesary for the cdp.

So - after some days of nonstop playing, the mids improved, but still I was not quite satisfied.

So I tried out my tubes - all tubes were professional tested 100% ok, and used, which means that they didn´t need such a long break-in time as NOS tubes. This should be interesting for every tjoeb user!

Tested tubes:
-------------
standard shipped Jan Philips 6922
Amperex Bungle Boy 6DJ8
(those made in holland and made in germany are equal)
Amperex E88CC , 6922
Valvo RED Series E88CC
Telefunken germany E88CC
HP (Hewlett-Packard) ECC88
Sylvania 7308 and 6922
Siemens CCA
and Siemens E288CC.

I try to keep this short:

Tubes NOT good for use with the Tjoeb 4000 CDP are:

All Sylvania Tubes! If I wasn´t an audiophile and an high-ender, I´d say that have great bass,mids and high, but if you listen exactly, you will soon find out that the high frequencies are really DISTORTED, it´s no pleasure to listen to. The built quality of the Sylvanias also seem not good, the tubes are not perfectly manufactured.


OK and GOOD sounding tubes:

Jan Philips 6922, HP ECC88,
Valvo RED Series E88CC: These Valvos are kind of special, because they have really good detail, very good mids and highs, but they kinda lack in bass...they may be really interesting if you don´t need that much bass. Maybe for classical music, I don´t know.


GOOD and VERY GOOD sounding Tubes:

Amperex 6DJ8 and 6922, Telefunken E88CC, Siemens CCA:

Which of these are best, you may ask? This really depends
on your ear, I´d say.
All of those tubes have good bass, mids, highs and detail.
Telefunken E88CC has a very special sound, which no other tube has... don´t know exactly how to explain it...
it has a kind of softness other tubes don´t have in the same amount.
So you have to try these out to find your favorite tube.


And NOW THE BEST SOUNDING TUBE FOR THE AH! TJOEB 4000 CDP:

Well... there´s only one tube left, and it is indeed
the Siemens E288CC, which is a bit different on the specifications that the other tubes...it has a slightly
higher gain level and a higher "steilheit" in german words.

But not that it just does work, oh no, it is for my ear
the very best sounding tube of all I tested out.
Why is that so? It has ok-good bass, really good mids and
highs, really good detail and a very natural sound which
I liked from the first second I listened to them.
Also a little softness like the telefunken types, and just
beautiful, musical, incredible. Music comes alive with them.

But like I said, it doesn´t mean that this tube is the
very best for you - you have to try out at least the very
good sounding tubes as well to make your decision.

So, that´s my review... the Ah! Tjoeb 4000 CDP is a very
good piece of hardware!

My used equipment:
------------------
Ah! Tjoeb 4000 CDP
TMC yellow label interconnects (the-music-cable.com)
Monster Z2 speaker cable
Selfmade amplifier, "HiFiAmp", 2*50W, 0,005%THD
JM LAB Cobalt 820 speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo DX-7110

Fine imaging. Very musical.

Nothing much. I would like an eject button on the remote, but thats getting picky.

First a short sermon "Garbage in, Garbage out". That said; I received my AHA! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 just over a month ago. I set it up quite late one night, played one CD, left the power on. When I returned from work the next day, no power. Talked to Kevin at Upscale and he led me through a little troubleshooting, which led to a simple fix. So I didn't have to send it back. It's been working beautifully ever since. I sprung for the Siemen's 7308 tubes, so I do not have a clue what the factory tubes sound like. I have a Denon 5600DTS AV receiver, three B&W 805 speakers on the front, a couple Mirage 190is's on the rear and a Paradigm Servo 15 sub. On to the listening part, which is what this Hi-Fi thing is all about. On the PD59 I would listen to the CD "Prelude to a Kiss, The Duke Ellington Album" featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater and The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in the five channel sterio mode because it made the band feel bigger. I also experimented with the differences between the inboard 'Logato Link' DA convertor and the Denon's DAC. The Denon was more detailed but too harsh for any long term listening. On the AH! I listen in the direct mode (two channel with sub, bypassing all tone controls). Better detail, big sound, 3D imaging, and I can listen 'till the cows come home with no fatigue. Dee Dee's vocals live and breath in true holographic sound. Another vocal that puts me into nirvana and back is "Love Is", Melissa Walker from "May I Feel". Again, it's almost live and brings back memories of a time when I listened on a Lynn LP12 with a Dynovector Ruby moving coil cartridge, without the pops and clicks of vinyl of course. In the classical vein, I revued Hilary Hahn's "Barber & Meyer Violin Concertos". Talk about dreamland, her solos were intimate with subtlties that gave the illusion of a ghost like presence of Hilary in my living room. Then the orchestra would crescendo with a dynamics that would send me realin' to the cielin'. Then there's bass. The tube bass sound is difficult to describe, but if I had to do it in a word I guess I'd have to say mellowtothebone. Ray Brown, John Clayton, and Chris McBride have a release together called "Super Bass". The three have never been more defined in my house. Get this CD. Buy your own AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000, and play cut 9, "Brown Funk" and die a happy human. The fun comes through. I have never before been able to hear distinctly three bass's 'til now. I, in all honesty, must give lots of credit to the Paradigm Servo 15 sub for the fine bass sound. This sub is truely neutral with lots of punch. In conclusion, "Ya, I like the AH!"

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite PD59

Impressive soundstage, tremendous musical reality and richness.

Slightly cheap looking display and remote.

My system consists of the following:

Denon DCD-1500 (replaced by the Njoe Tjoeb 4000)
Audio-X-Stream CXR-22 Active Crossover
HSU Research VTF-2 Subwoofer
Extremely Modified Velleman K4040 Tube Amplifier (KT88s)
Bohlender-Grabener RD50 Ribbon Drivers

The AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 is a Marantz CD4000 whose stock solid state electronics have been replaced with very good looking, neat, sturdy, and well built tube based (6922) electronics. The Marantz CD4000 nomenclature is still intact on the front panel.

The first matter at hand when setting up a Njoe Tjoeb 4000 is removing the cover, installing the tubes and replace the CD clamp.

Upscale Audio recommends a one week burn in for the Njoe Tjoeb 4000. However, I connected my Njoe Tjoeb 4000 to my system and immediatly played it. The first thing I noticed was a tremendous increase in bass response. I had to immediatly turn my subwoofer down. After that, I noticed a fantastic additional musical richness over my Denon. The Denon sounded great and all sound was reproduced well. However, the Njoe Tjoeb added tremendous depth, richness and soundstage to the music without any introducton of brightness or shrill notes. Every instrument sounded much more real and as smooth as a live performance. Also, the soundstage contrast was comparable to surround sound over normal stereo! I have NEVER heard such a fantastic sounding CD player at any price!

One thing which is nice about tube based CD players is that one can try different tube types to match one's preference. Soon, I will be replacing the 6922 tubes with JAN 7308s which are super 6922s.

The Njoe Tjoeb is a fantastic sounding CD player, is worthy of high end systems, and is an excellent value to boot! Bravo!!!

Similar Products Used:

DENON DCD-1500

Sound

Non considering the price.

(Please note that this review is based on my own taste and experience, and that it therefor is subjective. It is just my opinion, and it might very well differ from yours).


Listening session at the shop:
------------------------------

Before buying the New Tjoeb I went with my old Sony X33-ES CD-player (with which I generally was very satisfied. It is about 10+ years old, and it never let me down) to the Hifi-winkel in Eindhoven to compare it with the sound of the New Tjoeb. Although I was not able to evaluate both players on a compareable system with my own, I immediately noticed some (to my, and my friends, ears) improvements when the Tjoeb was playing: a bigger soundstage, better bass controle, smoother high, more detail, more rest and a very natural/musical sound, not as direct/agressive as my old player, especially considering the higher tones. It was clear to me, I had to buy the New Tjoeb.

Tjoeb Sjoes:
Before placeing the order, Marcel of the Hifi-winkel insisted to demonstrate the effect of the Tjoeb Sjoes. When removed, both the soundstage and the bass control collapsed, resulting in a less detailed sound. (But still to me an improvement). I.m.o. these Tjoeb Sjoes are no option, they are a must!

Listening sessions at home:
---------------------------

After some weeks my New Tjoeb arrived. I first let it play for about 10 hours with a CD on repeat before starting to listen to it. At that time it already sounded better than my expectations: the first thing I noticed on my well known system was a dramatic change in soundstage: my room now sounds at least twice as big! The next thing was an incredible change in the higher regions: with my old CD-player I always got the feeling that it sounded like someone was throwing "glass sharfs" right in my face. Now it sounds smooth, yet detailed, never noticed that so many instruments produce echo's etc. Then there was this change in dynamics: not the "peek-to-peek" kind of dynamics I was used to, but a more live-like, more pumpy, "moving air" kind of dynamics. Also the details in the mid-range improved. (I used to play classical guitar, so I know how those "little resonances" after toughing a snare sound, they are there now). I tried all kinds of music with it (Blues, Jazz, Rock, Psychedlic and Sympho), and the Tjoeb seems to like them all. Good reproduction of voices, and a correct (warm) timbre of saxes etc. Finally, much to my surprise, the Tjoeb reduced (but not solved) the bass problem I have at my home, caused by a wooden floor. Before the Tjoeb I got terrible resonances even at moderate sound levels. I tried for years to solve this, suspecting my speakers, my amp, the placement of the speakers etc. for it, and ended up with a majorly modified set of speakers (and they where not the "boom"-type of speakers to start with, which they proved in my previous home. (It had a concrete floor)). Because of it's very good bass controle my speakers are now, except for a tweeter modification, back in their original state!

But this was just the start. The Tjoeb really needs a break-in period of 70-100 hours. During this time the sound smoothens further, details will increase, and bass reproduction will deepen. All resulting in more rest, and a more natural, musical and analog type of sound.

The Tjoeb is the only piece of equimpent in my system I am, from the sound point of view, completely satisfied with
at this moment. This does not necessarily mean that it is the best CD-player in the world, but I know of no player in this price range which comes near in performance, but I did occasionally listen to much higher (2 to 10 times) priced CD-players, which I liked less.

So far the good, now the minor points: considering it's price it is only fair to say that there are no real shortcommings. However the following points could be improved: first of all the weight of the player: it is so light that my interlinks are able to move the player in the cabinet. (I think that most of the CD-players in this pricerange will have the same problem). Secondly the output at the headphones connector is, even with the outputlevel set to minimal, at a too high level for me to be able to listen with headphones directly connected to the Tjoeb for a longer time. One needs to use the amplifier then. At last, the powercord is indeed very basic.

A final word about De Hifi-winkel in Eindhoven:
It is a great place to deal with, I always get the feeling that I enter a place filled with "friends who share the same hobby", rather than those too often found "pushy kind of salesman with dollarsigns in their eyes". Great service too:
my Tjoeb had this slight (trafo)hum, with introduced some vibrations to the players cabinet. I didn't like this, so I took it back to the shop. They immediately replaced the trafo's, while I was waiting (it turned out that the original Marantz trafo, now only used for the transport mechanism, was causing this hum). That is what I call service!

To summarize:
If you like the more direct, up-front, and somewhat harsh sound of the "digital-age" than the (older) Sony is the better choice. If you go for a more musical, smoother and more analog sound, go listen to the New Tjoeb. I like it very much, rate it 5+ (if I could).

Similar Products Used:

Sony X33-ES, several philips CD/DVD-players, Marantz 67 OSE.