Price Paid:  $350.00 from Purchased used

Summary:

I recently upgraded (replaced) my 20-year old stereo system. In the course of doing so, I compared several products, including a comparison of the AH! Nioe Tjoeb 4000 CD player (with upgraded tubes) with the California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD/CD player. I made the comparison first using Tara Labs Prism 3300I interconnects (inexpensive) and then using Tara Labs Decade interconnects (which are discontinued but retailed for about $800 to $900). This review addresses that comparison. I purchased the California Audio Labs player as a demo unit for about 2.3 times the cost of the AH! Tjoeb 4000. At full retail, the CAL CL-20 is almost four times more expensive than the AH! Tjoeb 4000. I also purchased the Tara Labs Decade interconnects (as “demo” interconnects).

I do not have much experience listening to high-end audio equipment. My impressions are those of a relative neophyte in the world of the audiophile.

I first listened to the AH! Tjoeb 4000, then the CAL CL-20, using Tara Labs Prism 3300I interconnects. I then made the comparison again using Tara Labs Decade interconnects. I listened to acoustic jazz. I had little idea whether different CD players would make much of a difference, and was very skeptical that a better interconnect (i.e. wires) could really affect the sound very much.

In the first comparison, using Tara Labs Prism 3300I interconnects, I liked the upper end and midrange of the AH! Tjoeb 4000 better, it was more open, had greater clarity, and better tone. However, I liked the bass extension of the CAL CL-20 better, and it had better soundstage. I had a hard time deciding which player I liked better, but definitely leaned towards the AH! Tjoeb.

In the second comparison, this time using Tara Labs Decade interconnects, both CD players sounded better, but the impact on the CAL CL-20 was more remarkable. The CAL CL-20 opened up. The upper end and midrange no longer sounded closed, the tonality became more realistic, the bass extension deepened, the sound became richer, and the soundstage (how the music fills the room) greater. The upper and midrange of the AH! Tjoeb 4000 gained clarity and better tone, but the AH! Tjoeb could not compete with the bass extension, soundstage, and richness of sound of the CAL CL-20. The CAL-20 is of course, considerably more expensive. Given the price difference, the AH! Tjoeb held up in the comparison quite well.

I learned from the comparison that the interconnects really do make a big difference. I still find it hard to believe. The overall system, it appears, is greatly affected by its weakest link. I am astounded at how much better my new system sounds than my old one.

I would note that neither CD player sounded nearly as good as listening to vinyl records, even using my somewhat antiquated turntable, which I purchased in 1983 for about $350 (excluding the cost of the cartridge).

My System
Cary 280 V12 amp
Cary SLP-2002 preamp
California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD/CD player
Cary PH-30MK I phono stage
Denon turntable w/ Ortofon MC 20 Super MK cartridge
Audio Physic Virgo II speakers
Tara labs Decade interconnects
Custom speaker cables

Similar Products Used:
Tara Labs Prism 3300I

Summary:
I am very critical when it comes to personal auditions of audio equipment, as I believe that a good deal of the industry is hype. I will only purchase items that I am absolutely convinced will make an improvement in my system. I recently replaced my speaker cables, which I thought might be the weak link in my system. I was using "bargain" Audioquest Indigo 2, and replaced it with Tara Decade.
A pretty radical price/quality jump, but the sound improvement was astounding. Low level detail, imaging, soundstage, smoothness, bass articulation all jumped out at me immediately. The improvement was absolute, and I would recommend them highly. I must add, though, that I did not compare them to other high priced cables (Transparent, Cardas, etc.), because I bought them at a good price. I have tested MIT Biwire 2 at the behest of a specialist in cabling, and it degraded the sound in my system compared to the AQ Indigo.

System: Apogee Slant 6es, Threshold SA-3e amp, Aragon Aurum pre, Rega Planar 2/Sumiko Blue Point, Rotel RCD-855 CD player, Audio Alchemy DDE v 3.0 DAC/EDI jitter, McCormack Phono, Magnum Dynalab FT101A tuner, Tara Ref. Gen II interconnects, XLO reference interconnect, Tara Decade speaker cable.