Just Ordered an Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000 With Upsampler Tube CD player

[EdwardGein]

I just got an incredible buy on a used in very good condition Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000
Super Mod CD player with upsampler which I got on Audiogon for $850 including shipping, remote & manual. I think this retails for close to $1500 with the modifications & upsampler. If anyone has this player or has heard it, I welcome your comments, positive or negative. The one good thing about buying this used is that it has had ample burn in time (the seller used this for over a year). I'll post my listening comments after it has arrived & I've listened to it for a week. If somehow, I still prefer my Pioneer PD-59 player over this, besides reselling it, I don't think I will look to buy another CD player again based on how I wasn't happy with any of the other solid state ones I tried out (Rotel RCD-1072, Eastsound CD-5, Pioneer PD-65 & others) over my Pioneer Elite PD-59.

[kexodusc]

I've never even heard of this brand, but why on earth would you connect an $850 CD player to a $300 receiver and speakers and speakers that cost less than the player?
I'm sure this is a very interesting cd player, but damn. If you want to really improve your sound, you should sell those Orbs, as good as they are, and upgrade to some higher end, small speakers. Totem Acoustic, makes some very good ones that are made for small rooms. Snarf some of those up used on audiogon and take your system to the next level.
http://www.totemacoustic.com/english/products/bookShelf_rainmaker.htm

[Fergymunster]

I just got an incredible buy on a used in very good condition Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000
Super Mod CD player with upsampler which I got on Audiogon for $850 including shipping, remote & manual. I think this retails for close to $1500 with the modifications & upsampler. If anyone has this player or has heard it, I welcome your comments, positive or negative. The one good thing about buying this used is that it has had ample burn in time (the seller used this for over a year). I'll post my listening comments after it has arrived & I've listened to it for a week. If somehow, I still prefer my Pioneer PD-59 player over this, besides reselling it, I don't think I will look to buy another CD player again based on how I wasn't happy with any of the other solid state ones I tried out (Rotel RCD-1072, Eastsound CD-5, Pioneer PD-65 & others) over my Pioneer Elite PD-59.
You didn't get it from COD by any chance.

[EdwardGein]

The speaker system cost around $900 & the receiver is a $1300 Denon 7.1 receiver that came out a few years ago. In the case of the tube CD player I purchased, the worst thing to happen is I sell it at a profit because the guy sold it to me at too low a price because he just bought a Cary 300 CD player.

[kexodusc]

The speaker system cost around $900 & the receiver is a $1300 Denon 7.1 receiver thatcame out a few years ago. I'd appreciate if you got your facts right before you criticize me.
First, I wasn't criticizing at all...trying to offer a suggestion to help you improve your system.
2nd. You've told us all you paid $300-$400 or for that receiver, regardless what it was worth brand new. And the CD player new would cost more than your speakers, so the mismatch most audiophiles would see still exists. Doesn't seem my facts are off much actually.

You need to mellow out a bit. Not everyone is out to get you.

[shokhead]

I'd love to see those orbs replaced with some B&W 601's or maybe 602's as mains.

[paul_pci]

I'd love to see those orbs replaced with some B&W 601's or maybe 602's as mains.

I would too, but the few times he's played his CDs on my system, he finds the music "muddied" which I attribute to the fuller frequency response of the 601s and that they are more revealing than the Orbs. At the end of the day, the fact that he mostly listens to older, crappier recordings is a legitimate concerns; however, he's compromising DVD and TV sound because of that. He'll be the first to tell you that my system sounds better for DVDs and tv, but, as everyone can tell, CD music is his holy grail.

[EdwardGein]

Pretty accurate statement

[kexodusc]

Well, as long as he's happy, I guess. I genuinely would hate to see him spend a lot of money for subtle improvments, only to discover considerable improvements were available for cheaper. I got enough bad advice from audio dealers and other "audiophiles" when I was starting out for 2 people.

[teledynepost]

So can spekers really have good high end and transient response if all they have is a 3" driver? I thought that was one of the problems with Bose Acoustimass systems.

[EdwardGein]

Well Orb certainly isn't Bose & I say that in a good way. While alot of people on this forum aren't into the idea of Orb & prefer bookshelf or bigger speakers, one interesting thing about Orb is almost every one of their customers is very happy with their product which is while they're rarely listed on Ebay.

[drseid]

Well Orb certainly isn't Bose & I say that in a good way. While alot of people on this forum aren't into the idea of Orb & prefer bookshelf or bigger speakers, one interesting thing about Orb is almost every one of their customers is very happy with their product which is while they're rarely listed on Ebay.

I don't think anyone is implying Orb is, or sounds like Bose. I think the point is that no matter how good a speaker's implementation is, if it uses a single 3 inch driver it has certain limitations that cannot be overcome regardless of the design (as do all other designs).

For example, I bought my brother-in-law some Norh 3.0 speakers for $99 a pair several years ago and they used a pretty high quality 3 inch driver in a innovative design. For what they were, and for the money, they were (and are) an excellent value... But he switched to some other larger mini-monitors from Legacy Audio that I gave him later on when I switched to Tyler, due to what he quickly realized were their superior capabilities... It wasn't that the 3.0s were a bad design or he was disatisfied, but rather he knew the 3.0s were limited by the the 3 inch driver.

As others have said, speakers have a larger impact on sound than CD players (and the improvements made by changing CD players can also be limited by speaker choice depending on how revealing the speakers are). I am in no way trying to slam Orb as I have heard that the brand offers excellent value, and if I were shopping for a "Lifestyle-like" or space saving sub/sat system (the market Orb is after) I might very well buy too. That said, even if Orb is the best of the Lifestyle-like sub/sats on the market (and they very well may be), it is tough to compete with larger speakers that don't have the same driver limits. Just like anything else, speakers are all about tradeoffs... The little Orbs may have maximized their performance within their size limitations, but if you check out some different speakers you may be surprised at what a larger speaker can do with a good design too (and your CD player swapping may also reveal different results at that time)...

Good luck,

---Dave

[shokhead]

Its not hard to figure out whats better. Everything coming out of one speaker or highs out of a single speaker and mids/bass out of another single speaker and bass/LFE out of a seperate unit.

[EdwardGein]

As Paul PCI said, for the music I like to play, 60/70's recordings that lacked alot of todays modern recordings technologies, the Orb speakers & Sub, when coupled with the Pioneer PD-59, when connected by optic cable as opposed to analog cable to my Denon 3801 receiver, seem to give off the right sound for me. I tried a few much more expensive CD players with this & it didn't sound as good.by either analog or digital connections. Paul PCI I think implied that he thinks that is because the Orbs aren't as revealing in displaying badly recorded sound as say bigger speakers. Right now with the Pioneer PD-59 & this combo, I get the best musical tones from my CD's- everything sounds perfect & the guitar is biting but just so right. With the other solid state players I tried, the sound was too dry & analytical & didn't have any balls. I originally used my Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player for CDs & thought the sound was pretty good but upon hearing the Pioneer PD-59, I realized the sound was too bright for CDs from the HK 31. The DVD & Home Theater Sound from these speakers & receiver is very good for my ears & I'm totally satisfied with that. I never heard a tube CD player & thought at the price offered, the Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with the modifications is worth trying & if I don't hear this "three dimensional sound I'm reading about" will immediately sell it, probably at a profit because the selling price to me was
an excellent price & then just give up on experimenting with CD players in the future.

[paul_pci]

Let's not discourage this man from trying out every CD player on the market because I get free auditions!

[EdwardGein]

Dude if you want to come over, its arriving June 2 & with my track record, I'll probably sell it within a week. Bring your sub.

[paul_pci]

Dude, okay dude.