Soundstage and bass response!

The display is hard to read from across the room, oh well.

I am a "Best Bang for the Buck" person, so when I decided I needed a new CDP, I did the research and looked for an AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000. I was lucky to locate a slightly used unit on-line, complete with three sets of op-amps, two sets of tubes and a pair of Amperex QP 7308's. I recently purchased the TjoUpsampler from Upscale Audio. The combination of the 7308 tubes and the upsampler has solidly firmed up the bass and increased the soundstage considerably. Me and my 2A3 amplifiers couldn't be happier.

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Nakamichi CD2 changer

Very listenable with superb detail. At the price the sound quality is outstanding.

The box containing the electronics.

I am a vynal lover however I do have a large selection of CD's which I have accumulated over the years more as a result of car audio use. I have also got a Marantz KI signature fully modded with Trichord Clock III, panel damping, sitting aurios with high end cables. This does not come close to the sound quality of the Njoe Tjoeb 4000. Since I installed the TjoUpsampler I have been even more gob-smacked by the sound with a veil being lifted from the music producing more detail depth and more important a long listenable sound quality. I recently visited the Singapore Sound and Vision Show and found that while some cd systems coupled with some very expensive amplification and speaker combinations reveal an initial quality the sustained listening 3-4 tracks wore off and you felt you were having to force yourself to listen to the music. Not so with the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 - thats its strengths.

warm, clean and balance.

no weaknesses.

I purchased the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 a bit ago. It has done nothing but make me smile since. Now I guess it's time to throw my comments up here. In my search I listened or auditioned a variety of players like Rega, Marantz, Meracus, Primare, Roksan, Arcam. (I'm forgetting some in there...) The differences between it and the other players I had listened to were simply astonishing. The female vocals and presentation were simply 'right.' The track actually gave me physical chills (a phenomenon that now gets repeated regularly). The treble or midrange and the bass was tight and controlled. Everything else in my audition selection fared just as well. I fought off the initial purchase urge and did some more auditioning, but nothing surpassed the Njoe Tjoeb. When the Njoe Tjoeb ready for a test run at home the soundstage was broad enough to left speaker physically and make it disappear. One final decision maker was the Njoe Tjoeb reputation for providing upgrade paths. In conclusion, I think may have hit on a really complimentary combination of source and amplification. The Njoe Tjoeb conveys all the detail, and warm in an amazingly musical way. I haven't been fatigued by the player yet, and I find myself listening to even more music than before. I give the Njoe Tjoeb 5 stars and strongly advise anyone looking for a new digital source to give it a listen.

Detail, Sound Stage, Warmth, Dynamics. Customer service

None if you go all the way and buy/do all the mods and upgrades suggested and available

WITH UPSAMPLER, ALL ADD ON MODS AND AMPEREX TUBE UPGRADE There is little to add here to all of the glowing reviews previously posted. I will say that this CD player with full mods, upsampler and upgraded tubes is the way to go. Why screw around? If you are buying this player because of the quality and tube sound you may as well cut to the chase and make it the best sounding player for its price. You won’t be disappointed. I A/B’d this player with the similarly priced Rotel 991 audiophile edition (thank you to the nice folks at Spearit Sound). The Rotel is a fine player no question. I had completely burned in the Rotel and was happy with it. I wanted, however, to give the Ah! a try before a final decision. I called Kevin at Upscale Audio and he offered to send me the Ah! with a generous return option. I received the Ah! a day later (boy that’s service) with all of the upgrades and the upsampler but without the tube upgrade. I really tried not to do a comparison without a proper burn-in. After 48 hours though I could not contain my curiosity. The differences with the Rotel were readily apparent even after 48 hours. The details were much finer with the Ah!. The sound stage slightly wider but the dynamics were sooo much better. I ended the test early even though the Ah! really needs about 250 hours of burn-in (Kevin recommends leaving the Ah! on for at least a week). I did not compare the supplied DACs and only had the comparison between the two with the Ah!’s upsampler so I cannot tell you how that would have turned out. The upsampler seemed to do as promised. That is; move all of the digital artifacts and noise, which is normally just beyond hearing frequency, but may not be completely, to a truly supersonic level. This, it is said, explains the benefit of upsampling even though the 24/192 upsampler does not have any additional information to derive from standard 16/44 red book CD’s. The realism of all types of music was phenomenal. I was not completely satisfied however. I still was bothered by the usual digital “glare” of CDs and digital distortion on “Sss” sounds of female vocals. After consulting with Kevin (at 8:00 PM that evening) about this he suggested warming things up with an Amperex tube upgrade. I received the tubes the next day (how does he do that?). Oh, by the way, Kevin recommends putting a sheet of Dynamat (a damping material obtained from Car Stereo dealers) inside the case to reduce case resonance. After a quick install of the tubes and an hour warm-up I popped in a CD and.... WOW! What a difference. The sound was sooo much warmer and analogue. Record like. The glare was gone. The Ssss problem had almost disappeared. This is a world class player and at about $1000 all-in a great bargain too. Highly recommended. Note: Not to doubt previous reviewers but I cannot imagine why anyone would give this player a rating below a 4 and I noticed someone thought Kevin at Upscale did not do great customer service; that has to be his problem because Kevin is one of the best retailers for customer service I have ever worked with

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Rotel 991 Audiomat Arpege Amp JM Reynaurd Twin MkII speakers Really good interconnects

Very detailed, clean, clear, warm sounding cd player.

Price

Great sound! This is a very nice cd player. All you have to do is open the chassis on it to see that it actually has quality components in it. The soundstage opened up so much so with this cd player that I thought I had new speakers. Vocals and instruments are very lifelike and clear. I actually can hear things on my cd's I have never heard before, which I could not believe. I would recommend purchasing the Ac Direkt power cord upgrade with the cd player. I listened to the cd player with the original power cable and with the upgraded one it even sounds better.

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Marantz Cd players, Jvc Cd players

Silky smooth and great dynamics. Big and wide soundstage, superb midrange, tight and articulate bass, sizzling and smooth highs.

Tjoeupsampler pretty tricky to install LCD Display too small and dark

You have to buy the Tjoeupsampler ! the OPA 627 was already a big improvement, the upsampler makes you say: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! The sound is size XXL, the dynamics are lifelike, even at moderate volume. I find I can listen with the volume dial at 9:30 instead of at 11:00, it is like if the amplifier had suddenly twice as much power as before the upsampler. Voices sound so real it's scary. drums and cymbals simmer like they do live... Classical music is at last listenable on CDs. Jazz has twice more swing as before. I takes a few days of listening before the Tjoeupsampler really shines. But then, you are hooked ! Oh yes, you have to give it those Siltech G3 cables, to make it really sing, and of course, a good tube amplifier.

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Heart CD 6000

better than a similar priced Sony DVD Easy to sell (mine went in 5 min. of posting)

sounds like a cheap CDP

I don't understand all the hype. This is a fairly mediocre unit at best. I had all the upgrades, inc. Siemens tubes, the 'shoes' and the OPA-627 Op-amps. The op-amp upgrade did help. Trounced by the norh CD1 both stand alone and as transport.(I don't own a CD1, BTW) Hey its not junk....its just not the giant killer everyone claims.

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norh CD1/Rotel/Sonographe/Accuphase/Stan Warren MSB-Aiwa transport

Smooth midband, coherence bottom-top (deep bass authority is better in far more expensive players)

Low frequency authority

I've upgraded from a Tjoeb 99 to a Njoe Tjoeb 4000 last year: full options, e.g. Siemens E288CC nos tubes (the best!!), AH AC cable, Tjoeb shoes. Recently I added the new TjoUpsampler 24 bits / 192 KHz dac-upsampler board (about $ 350). This is now a € 1325 CD player, but still a tremendous bargain. The upsampler is the most expensive upgrade yet, but worth every cent. You thought this machine sounds smooth, almost analog. Think again. It's getting better and better. System: AVM Evolution V3 preamp + M4 monoblock amp Audio Physic Virgo II Siltech and MIT cables

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Krell, Arcam, Copland, Mededian

Great midrange, better dynamics and pacing, fantastic soundstage.

None at this price!

Wow, I was knocked out by this player. Using it with a linn Majic/Tukan setup and I am very pleased. This replaced a DVD player and a Sony ES model that I was using for CD playback before. Like night & day! To be honest, it has not even been really broken in yet, but the improvment in sound is so much better. If you are looking to sneak into the higher-end at a bargin price, this is your player!

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NAD Player, Sony ES, Pioner DVD

Super smooth, detailed but not over the top and analytical. Neither is it dark sounding. Much more dynamic sounding than my Panasonic portable. Great with headphones!! I really like the idea that you can play with the sound by swapping tubes and op amps.

Light construction, kettle drum cover, Output doesn't go low enough for Grado phones without resorting to the solder iron.

I just discovered how great valves could make CDs sound recently while auditioning three CD players at home against each other. My system comprises: Plinius 8200 Integrated Amp Thiel CS.5 speakers Kimber VS4 cable 3M long Kimber PBJ interconnect My room, which measures 3.6 x 3.9 M influenced the speaker selection so I decided to choose the CDP on a similar basis. I auditioned three players in the system back to back. First off was the Rega Planet 2000. This player was approx 1 year old and for sale at USD450. I really wanted to like this player but found it very subdued. It was better than the Marantz 6000KI which was second up. At USD900 I was really disappointed at how buzzy this player sounded. The third player was an AMC8a-5404as (valve output) This player sounded so smooth that I just about bought it. A bit of web surfing later and I came across the AH Njoe Tjoeb CD4000. I read every review I could find and finally took the plunge and ordered it from Kevin at Upscale Audio, unheard. I ordered the super model with a set of Siemens 7308 tubes and Op amp upgrades. What really sold me was the fact that the CDP had a headphone output that I now use regularly with my Grado SR125 headphones and second Simon Brown and two of his mates at Audioenz (NZ audio site)purchased CD4000 players and wrote complementary reviews on them. I've had the player over six weeks now and listen to mainly female jazz singers like Patricia Barber, Lisa Ekdahl, Holly Cole, Dave's True Story, and have yet to swap tubes or opamps. I'm very happy with its performance straight out of the box and only intend to fiddle when I get bored. I’m really pleased it's got a headphone socket. I did experience one problem with a faulty fuse but found a local replacement and since then it's been great. The only other niggle is that the headphone volume doesn’t go low enough so I’ll need to get the soldering iron out to change to the lower 1.25V output. Other than that the sound is not tiring and can be played for long periods, extremely loudly without tiring. The delivery from Upscale was great. New Zealand is some distance from the US but the CDP box arrived in the county within three days. Thanks to Kevin for such prompt service.

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