Soundstage. Image. Front - rear depth. Musical.

At this price!

I have been looking for a source for a while. I use Antique Sound Labs AQ1003DT integrated, PSB Stratus Mini's, PSB Image 6 sub, Goertz MI2 speaker cable and Micropurl interconnect. A carefully chosen upper mid-fi budget system to replace the $25K+ system that I had recently stolen. The CDP was the hard part. They don't make players in the $1K-$2K (Cdn) range that sound anywhere near as good as the Cambridge Disc Magic and DACMagic that I had before. Or do they? This one is close. And it's not even broken in! This one does something that I haven't had happen to me in a long time. The system disappears - the performers appear! The 3D image-soundstage is downright remarkable. I was ALL Solid State in my grando system. I chose tubes based on the marvellous liquidity of the ASL integrated, but the choice of tubes here reinforces my love of "bottles"! How the hell did we all get sucked in by this transistor stuff anyway? Highly recommended. Even if you really want to spend twice as much. Find a way to listen to this one! Or take a chance - buy it unheard. You won't be sorry!

Similar Products Used:

auditioned at home: Rega Planet, Arcam Alpha 9, Rotel RCD-971, Audio Refinement Complete

Broad, deep soundstage. Spatial accuracy with right amount of "air" around the instruments. Smooth, natural sound.

None

I don't want to be too long-winded and repeat everything that has already been said. Suffice it to say that at this price point there simply is not a more musical player available. At least not that I have found - and I auditioned many prior to this purchase. Prior to tube burn-in I thought it perhaps a bit on the bright side. Still, even out of the box, the soundstage and detail were impressive. Now that the unit is burned-in, the sound is absolutely liquid and smooth. Very palpable presentation both spatially and in the natural timbre of vocals and acoustic instruments. Totally non-fatiguing sound. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Denon, Rega, Rotel

Better bass and sense of space compared to my Ah! 99 and still close to analogue sound

At the $$$..zero

The whole low-priced CD category is very interesting for me. I started out with them due to not really liking CD's and then got obsessed with the way they differ. I've tried a lot and bought a few. Kevin at www.upscaleaudio.com did not have a unit to send to me as yet (they are due is soon as I understand) but during the holiday weekend I went to Los Angeles for a few days and went to Upscale Audio. Since I drove down I brought my Tjoeb 99 (with recently new stock tubes to be fair)for a comparison.

I should say thanks to Kevin for letting me "invade" on Sunday, my only available day. Though they are closed he graciously agreed to let me stay while they were doing some other work. I stayed four hours. I was happy to be left on my own to do as I wanted.

The Njoe Tjoeb is quite handsome. The LED display is very nice, and the face has a quality look. Kevin showed me the circuit boards and other parts and I was very impressed. It looks like a lot more money.

We hooked up my stock Tjoeb 99, which I have reviewed here, a Rega Planet 2000, and the Njoe Tjoeb. All three were hooked up to a Cary 300B integrated amp and Avantgarde Duos using Nordost Blue Heaven.

To get to the point....the Njoe Tjoeb is quite something. I listened carefully for the differences..so I will try to say it this way:

I love my Tjoeb 99, but the mid-bass timbre is better on the 4000. The midrange is more articulate, but not thin. This was made most apparent when compared to the Rega, which when listening to female voice did not have the body of the Njoe Tjoeb. I was shocked how different it sounded from the Rega, and I thought given the Rega name it would be the reverse as I owned the old model which was dark. Had I heard the Rega by itself I would have thought it was OK, but in comparison it was no contest.

The new player has a better sense of space, and the images are more defined as being 3 dimensional. This was most apparent when Kevin played The Coryells (is that spelled right?)which he played for me and was a great recording.

The click between tracks from the muting relay is gone during normal play, though I never really could hear it on my old one much.

The bottom line is at $39 more than my Tjoeb 99, it's an easy decision. I have ordered one. I will most likely keep my 99 as it has been such a great player for me.

This product costs 1/10 that my other equipment,and less than most of my cables, so I don't know if I am crazy for spending $5000 for a preamp or $579 for a CD player to hook up to it. But I don't care.

Similar Products Used:

Ah! Tjoeb 99, Cambridge D500, Rega Planet and Planet 2000, Jolida 603, Audio Note CD2

great timbre and air, music is alive...very clean bass...a pleasure to listen to.

too soon to tell...just have 3 hours on it

I am sending in this review early before the unit is broken in because out of the box it's great qualities really show through. I have listened to most of the high end CD players out there and for the most part have not been very impressed unless one gets into the ozone layer with units from Krell and Levinson etc. I sold all of my analog and vinyl gear years ago when my children were young and I really didn't have the time to maintain and listen to a truly high end system. At that time my system consisted of various analog front ends into a Levinson preamp. VPI, Denon Professional and Linn turntables and an assortment of very expensive MC cartridges. I used Krell monoblocs into Apogee Duetta full range ribbons. I couldn't find a commercially made CD player that I could even listen to so I had one built by Larry Smith of Discreet Technology based on a Magnavox drive. It sounded better than anything else around so I lived with it until I sold the entire system and my entire collection of vinyl.
I then purchased the Adcom changer and an Adcom preamp and an Aragon 4004 power amp and used a pair of small original Spica speakers on Linn SARA stands. This was background music for a few years because I never got the enjoyment of really sitting and listening to music the way I used to. But I also didn't care if the wife or kids used it or broke it or whatever.
Then 2 years ago I came across some vintage McIntosh tube gear and set about restoring them to perfection. I am now using a C-22 preamp with all original Telefunken tubes and a pair of MC-75 monoblocs with the original KT-88 Genelecs. When you hear these properly set up there is no questioning the high prices these 40 year old units are fetching. I am using a pair of Crosby modified Spica TC-50's on custom SoundAnchor stands and an Entec subwoofer.
This system in my wonderful listening room ... a turn of the century New York apartment with high ceilings, very thick solid walls and oak floors over concrete and perfect acoustic dimensions... is as sweet as it gets for the money invested. Only weak link was the Adcom cd player ...very listenable but boring and not very musical.
Enter the Njoe Tjoeb 4000...I really bought it on a hunch. I have been doing this a long time and everything I heard about the 99's told me I should really give it a try. I had bought some tubes from Kevin Deal at Upscale and he was unique in his knowledge and also a great help in getting me an original KT-88 of the exact same vintage as the ones in my MC-75's. So I ordered one last December and even got in on the early pricing.
When I came home this evening I had an email from Kevin telling me to expect the unit today or tomorrow and also a UPS box delivered to my door. opened it up...plugged it in...put on some Diana Krall and...wow!!
I thought you had to break in this unit...perhaps but I can honestly say that right out of the box you can taste the magic...it is a pure musical pleasure. Rhythmic, tonal with sufficient air and space to just suck you in to the music. In my system there is a synergy that I never expected from a digital source. Listened further to a little Lyle Lovitt and the big band and then moved on to Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth. It's now midnight and I am doing some Haydn symphonies and will end the evening with Horowitz in Moscow. I'll leave a good burn in cd running all night and see what happens tomorrow. I haven't done this in years...thank you Kevin...thank you AH!...what fun!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GCD-700 5 disc changer

Sounds Great on all types of Music

None so far

I thought all CD players were the same (not so). I read reviews about this player that said it was the best under $1500 player available so I took a chance and ordered one unheard and it seems that is very good and worth the money I spent. When I first heard it, it was a little distored at times on some rock numbers that I played. But after I let it break in for fifty hours it all seemed to come together and than after one hundered hours of break in WOW!. It seems to be at its best on digital remastered classic rock CD's, it just seems to open these CD's up. It has a lively bright sound, not harsh and tinny sounding like cheaper solid state CD players.When I did a A and B test with my Toshiba SD 2200 DVD player and the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 it was like a blanket was taken off the front of the speakers, everthing just seemed clearer and more alive sounding. This CD player has made a big improvement with my all tube audio system. I went with the Sieman 7380 tube and the Njoe Tjoeb shoe upgrades that seems to been a good choice. I must thank Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio for having the forethought in bringing this great CD player to the USA from Holland so we could all get in on the fun of haveing one. A real bargain for the pretty sounds it makes. I wish I could give it more stars, five just doesn't seem like enough for this great sounding bargain.

Similar Products Used:

Sony (cheap $100 CD player )

Musical and detailed. Enjoyable to listen to.

Soundstage not as localized as some of the competition.

below is a copy of my review posted on audioasylum:


I've been searching for a CD player to replace my hard sounding (but convenient) changer. I've gone through a Rotel RCD971 and the AH Njoe Tjoeb in recent weeks, and much of this review will be a comparison between the two players, along with my Adcom GCD700 of course. But first thing's first: I'd like to thank Kevin Deal from Upscale Audio for his generosity with lending the player to me, especially considering it isn't imported yet. In case you didn't know already, he's an excellent dealer.

Details about the player can be found on the above website, and I'm sure the majority of you are familiar with the '99 and '98 versions, so I won't get into technical information here. It should be said though that it is a nice looking player, very easy to use (but what CD player isn't...) and seems well built. The remote is flimsy but isn't a hinderance.

After 48 hours of breakin, with the supplied military Phillips ECG 6922s, the player sounded very laid back. The soundstage was much too recessed for my taste (from the speakers back), and in truth the presentation lacked any excitement. I didn't hear the attack of the Rotel, and the decay of instruments didn't sound convincing. Perfect example is Dave Matthews' Band's "Crush" (from Before These Crowded Streets) - the track usually has me rocking out in my listening chair, but here I got bored quick. Lou Reed's newest, Ecstacy, is another album I love listening to, but on the AH I only liked it.

However, detail was excellent, I played all of Radiohead's Kid A and transients just jumped out. The opening track, "Everything In It's Right Place", is really a collection of electronic parts kind of haphazardly slapped together, and the AH player let it all out. This wasn't something I was expecting from a CD player with tubes, but there it was. The Rotel is, of course, known for it's ability to dig out the subtleties of a recording. In my system though, it was more offensive than revealing. In other words, subtle equalled obvious. With the AH!, subtle sounds are subtle. Kid A's next track is the title song... once you get there with the AH!, you start losing interest again.

After a few hours of this I swapped out the Tara Labs Air 3 cables I was using in favor of the Synergistic Research Alpha Sterlings I had on hand. The soundstage moved forward about half a foot, and suddenly the player became much more enjoyable. There was air around instruments, and the top end sounded more extended. This, of course, made the player sound slightly more exciting, and lead to higher perceived detail. I decided to hook up the player directly to my power amp (it has a variable volume control - more on this later) figuring that one less component in the signal chain should be a good thing. While the soundstage moved to where I wanted it (about a foot in front of me), the player sounded a bit too grainy. Back went the preamp.

At this point I was ready to return the player. While I liked what it did right, I didn't think it fit my system very well. It was musical, more so than the Rotel. The problem was, everyone sounded so far away that I really didn't care what they were playing. The RCD971 (and my Adcom) bring the players closer to me, and through that lets me hear farther into a recording. This, to me, is paramount. So I packed up the player, called Kevin, and told him I'd be dropping by to return it. He asked my impressions of the player, I told him, and I said I'd love to hear it with different tubes. There were some Phillips 7308 tubes in the box (I got one of the demo units for CES) and he suggested I pop them in, let it run for a day, and give it another listen. I also had three more days to re-evaluate the player. So, round 2 begins...

It could be that the player got another 24 hours to break in, or it could be the tubes, but suddenly everything came together. The top end really became extended and the soundstage was as deep as I've heard. Everyone took a big step toward me, and the player shined. I spent at least ten hours straight listening to favorite CD's, at one point even pulling out Wyclef Jean's The Carnival (a rap album, but good anyway) for a spin. Instead of listening to tracks of albums, I was listening to entire albums with joy, foot tapping and all. Before this, I was leaning towards the Rotel, but not anymore.

Not to say the player is perfect. In my system, the soundstage, while deep and wide, wasn't as specific as I'd like. The image of each supporting player on most recordings (Clapton's Unplugged, Joni's Blue, and the new Essential Bob Dylan to name a few) wasn't specific, creating something close to a wall of sound. I had a stable center image, but everyone else kind of fuzzed out. Well not that bad, but not as good as the Rotel. Yes, I did play with speaker placement. And that volume control... I realise my preamp cleans some of that grain out (or at least it's not as audible to my ears), but I don't like knowing it's there. I would have much rather have had a fixed output. On something as tweeked out as this player, why leave a volume control in the signal path? I also only spent about five minutes listening to the supplied headphone jack, after which it became obvious my preamp's is superior.

All in all a nice player. I decided to purchase the unit and get in on the preorder special Kevin's got going on right now. I'm looking forward to trying out a few more tubes to get the sound exactly where I want it, and that's what I think is the best thing about the player. With the 7308's it's ahead of the more expensive Rotel in most regards, the most important one being enjoyability. I loved listening to music on this thing, and after a while I stopped caring about comparisons. As I understand it, the player'll be in within the next few weeks... I can't wait.


System:

Adcom GCD700 (Tenderfeet cones, mass loaded, Radio shack RF chokes)
Anthem Pre1L (NOS 60's Phillips "Made in Holland" e88ccs, NOS 70's Sovtek 6922, Vibrapods, TNT Merlino Power Cord)
Conrad-Johnson's Sonographe SA-250
PSB Stratus Bronze
Tara Labs RSC Air 3 and Ref Generation 2 interconnects
ChrisVH Cat5 biwired speaker cable
Monster HTS2500 Line Conditioner

Similar Products Used:

Store Auditions: Rotel RCD991 and RCD951, Adcom GCD750,Cal Delta

Home Audition: Rotel RCD971, Sony xa20es

Have owned: Adcom GCD700, Harman Kardon fl8350, Nad c540 and c520

Kevin Deal at Audio Advisor

Ok, this is a quick update my experiance with the AH! 4000.
I was so excited to let people know about this find that I just had to write a review. The morning after my review my unit died. Kevin at Upscale Audio gave me such excellent
service, I must tell you.

The unit stands alone on the music magic that it reveals from your cds. With the integrity and service Upscale Audio provides as back up, you owe it to yourself and your hard earned $ dollars to not miss this opportunity to truly own one fine piece of Audiophile equipment when your ready to buy your next CD player.

Sound,ease of use,can be upgraded

none

I was real sceptical about buying this unit without hearing it first and this is a real stretch for my limited budget at this time.

I wasn't home when the box arrived. My wife immediatly called me at work inquiring what could be in the package.(I have been upgrading my system for a few months now and the little lady thinks the system doesnt sound much better than our old one.) I assured her I would reveal the contents in time and hung up hoping this unit was as good as the reviews seem to say here.

Upon arrival home the box was sitting directly in the middle of the room obviously in good condition and still tightly sealed. Again the wife and kids anxiously asked what was in the box. I chuckeled and said not to worry and quickly changed the subject to my 6 month old son. Inside myself I could't wait to open the contents and slide in a disc to see if this unit is what they say.

Now, I have a wonderful wife and three lovely children. They just dont't seem to have the same passion for this stereo as I do. Yes, I admit that all I was going to do is buy a set of speakers for my 17 year old Yamaha system and did. Next came expensive speaker wires and interconnects using this site. Rearranging the furniture for best soundstage.Some new CD's and finally the conclusion that the old reciver needed an upgrade..............................................
Well, now the wife is concerned because everything sounds great to her. I assure her the new reciever I picked out would be the only and last thing needed to create perfection.

After carefull review of this site and listening to units within in my now extended budget an integrated amp was chosen. Arriving home with this my new treasure the excitement continued to build inside me as each cable and wire was connected. Upon the completion of all hook ups it was now time to power up . "Listen to the clean sounds of this miricle" I asked my wife. She said "Sorry I can't tell the differance." I knew I could hear better music, why can't she I asked myself. A week went by and once again I came to the conclusion another upgrade was needed. A new CD player!

Enter AH! Njoe Tjoeb. These reviews just seemed to stand out among all the others I was reading. One- because of the over whelmingly possitive things being said. and Two- the degree and level of intellegance and experiance the people saying these things seem to have. After a few weeks of hesitation because of the price and not having auditioned this unit, I took the plunge and orderd it.

I waited till after all had gone to bed before attempting to open the package. Inside the large box protected by styrofoam peanuts was another box marked by Upscale Audio and the Marantz logos all over. Opening this box revealed a white AH! logoed box whitch contained the tubes ,remote ,a special tool, a package containing some screws with a metal plate, some rubber dampaning rings and the instructions.

It took about thirty minuets to open the player unit, install the tubes, screw the transport clamp on, apply the dampaning rings, look over the inside components, and reassemble. Another five minutes for hook up to my system and the unit was ready to be turned on.

Immediatly I had to turn the volume control down. WOW! I had
inserted a Garth Brooks CD we had been listening to earlier and right away noticed a big differance in the background sound of the CD. The sizzle of a cymbal strike sounded like it was right in the room with me. The bass was definately changed for the better. The guitar was being plucked by fingers you could hear slip across the strings. I was shocked at how much music was comming through my system at such a low volume setting. The reviews noted that this unit should have 100 hrs burn in to reveal its true potential so it was left on for the night and I went to bed.

The next morning my wife had turned the stereo off and made a comment that she thought she had turned the unit off before we went to bed. She hadn't noticed the new CD player in the rack. I turned it back on at a low volume and let it play while the house was empty hoping to get more burn in time before the wife would need an audition.

That afternoon I arrived home and proceeded to play with my new toy. When my wife entered the room I asked "Now do you hear a differance?" To my amazement she said "It sounds so much clearer! How much did you spend?" I told her the price and she just smiled calmly.

People, I am not an expert,I am not sure I would buy another product before auditioning it again. I like all music from classical to country to jazz and rock. This unit does it all well. The truth is what I like may not be what you like. I do like watching peoples faces as they hear my system play. I know this player will be in my home for a long time.
Anybody that can spend $650 to buy a CD player would not regret this purchase. I know this because my wife isn't divorcing me. Yours won't either.

Similar Products Used:

all kinds of "mass marketed" units.Yamaha,Pioneer,ect....

Beautiful sound

None

The AH! New Tube 4000 is an amazing piece of equipment, as was the '99, but the 4000 is better for a number of reasons.
First, I ended up selling my '99 because I could not get past the anoying little clicks between tracks. With the 4000, these are gone. Clicks only occur when you start, stop or pause. Also, the clicks on my 4000 are much quieter than on my previous '99 (?).
Second, the looks are sleeker/cooler. Not a big issue but a major complaint of the '99 was the cheap looks. Not so much with the 4000.
Third, the sound. Even more revealing than the '99 but still an amazingly warm performer. My system is all tube but you couldn't possible describe the 4000 as dark or mushy. Very detailed, yet easy to listen to.
There are a number of other differences that I am not equipped to discuss but a quick rundown can be found at upscaleaudio.com.
The bottom line is that the AH! New Tube 4000 is the best value out there if you're looking for a (fairly) low cost CD player. I've had numerous CD players in the $300 to $1000 dollar range and the AH! 4000 outclasses them all. I have compared it directly to the Jolida 603 & the Dynaco CDV-2 (both tube-based players), which I own, and with everything taken into consideration, the 4000 is the winner. An added bonus is the fact that Kevin at Upscale seems to be a real straight shooter. I feel comfortable in trusting his advice. No regrets whatsoever!

Similar Products Used:

Dynaco CDV-2

Just flat out lovely to listen to.

None at this price.

I don't think I can be trusted. How can you expect a guy who has purchased three Ah! Tjoebs to be, shall we say, unbiased. I love my Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and my two 99's. When I got the 4000 a few months back, it was "almost" as good as my two spectacular Ah! Tjoeb 99's. But I knew why. However, I waited and let my stock tubes burn in for 100 hours, then 200 hours.

Then I called Kevin Deal (Upscale Audio) and said "Please send me some Amperex 7308's to replace the standard 6922's". They arrived and were installed. I then heard a bit of heaven, then more, then the whole celestial enchilada.

All my Tjoebs are running Amperex 7308's. They are wonderful tubes. Combined with the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 they are magnificent.

The 4000 is a superior experience versus the prior 99's but subtly so. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade in or sell a model 99 if you asked me to. The inter-track clicks of the Ah! Tjoeb 99 never bothered me,...actually I got to like them. But the 4000 is better. But even as I say that, I'm relunctant to try to put this assertion of improvement into gorgeous sounding nouns and adjectives. Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself in your own audio setting with your own stuff. But I highly recommend the experiment. (There's that darn bias again...)

With the Tjoebs in my main and satellite systems, I am now moving on to weaker links. The only CD-related experiment left will be a fun comparison between the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and my old Denon CD transport once I trade in my basic MSB Link DAC III for a Full Nelson MSB Link DAC with P1000 power supply and fed through a Sonic Frontiers (Assemblage) Jitter-Bug. You know what? I bet the experiment will simply show that the mighty and smooth Njoe Tjoeb 4000 will be the clear audio winner. We'll see. And even if the two were pretty close, the Tjoeb would be around one third the price of the other and no doubt a warmer performer.

Did someone say "value for money"? Answer: "Big Time"!

Similar Products Used:

Ah! Tjoeb 99; Denon Transport + MSB Link DAC