tube CD player recommendation

[shaunly]

I'm looking into buying a tube Cd player. What do you guys recommend. My price range is up to $800 US if that's possible. I'm very new at this so not sure what to look for. I demo my friends setup which is off a tube cd player aswell and I really like the sound, so I would like to try one for my setup myself. I'm currently running a 2-way DIY bookshelf, using Scanspeak 18W/4531G and LCY 110 ribbons off a Denon PMA-2000R. Thank you for all the help.

-shaun

 

[KP11520]

Hi Shaun,

You might want to research the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb or Super Tjoeb CD Player. You can usually find them around $600 to 700 used. (Go with the Super if you have a choice)

I don't know if there is anything better for the money. Maybe the others can shed some light on that!

Good luck!

Regards//Keith

 

[spock]

What player does your friend use that you like the sound of?

 

[poynton]

One of the old Luxman range, around $250 on Ebay.

 

[silica]

Look for California Audio Labs (CAL) Alpha or Sigma DACs. This is only a DAC, you will need a CD transport, too. e.g. CAL Delta. An advantage is that you can feed three digital sources (DVD, Satelite TV, etc) into this DAC.

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/digital-sources/dacs/california-audio-labs/PRD_116822_2738crx.aspx

Beware that this company has been out of business for many years, so service options are limited. DIY is one, another is www.approvedaudioservice.com. Other owners and myself have had problems with the aging Delta. See my posts about changing the Delta transport's laser mechanism.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26009

CAL also made a player combining transport and DAC in one box - the Icon.

Hope this helps!

 

[shaunly]

thanks guys. I saw a couple of tube DAC on ebay for around 450 shipped too but I think i rather go with a dedicated tube cd player. I'm going to do some more research and probably just gamble on one.

 

[KP11520]

So did you investigate the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb or Super Tjoeb?

I don't get the feeling you did.... If you did you would know that it is no gamble.

Don't shoot blindly in the dark, gambling without some sense of wisdom (like a big following and rave reviews) is throwing money away.

Do a search on Google and here on DIY about it. It is a hopped up Marantz that somehow has the right recipe!

If I was in your shoes, it would be the one I would buy! Probably no mods even needed ever, except to try new tubes.

Even if you don't get this one.... research and find something that has all the ingredients that make it a success from magazines to DIYers (including everything in between) and then your ears.

Good luck again!

Regards//Keith

 

[cuibono]

you could diy a tube output into a cd player for a lot less money, and end up with something better without gambling. Just look around here, there should be a number of people who've done it.

If using your computer for audio is an option, I would definitely put my money there.

 

[Nanook]

you could even just buy a tube buffer....

a shameless plug:

Grant Fidelity "283" tube buffer. Not much $$$$. However PLEASE read my disclaimer in my signature.

There are others out there as well, even a tube buffer "kit" someplace. Musical Fidelity had the original "X-can" tube buffer some years ago. These may be available on "upay" , I've never done a search.


stew

 

[zacster]

You could build a tube DAC for very little money if that's what you want, or you can get lucky and find one for sale that someone else built like I did. Just feed it a signal from whatever you already have. As I posted in the digital forum just a few minutes ago, I fed my 16/44.1 DAC a 24/96 signal and it played. The 24/96 PCM stream was created off LP on my Mac.