Philips LHH1000 CD player Review System

Sidebar 1: Review System

The primary system used to audition the LHH1000 was comprised of the following: all CD sources sat on AudioQuest Sorbothane isolating feet and were powered from an Inouye line conditioner. They fed a Mod Squad Line Drive Deluxe AGT passive control center, fitted with the new acrylic top cover. (This is conventional in having unbalanced inputs and outputs; I was unable to audition the LHH1000 from its balanced outputs, therefore.)

For comparisons, the Sony DAS-R1 decoder was driven from the Philips LHH1001 transport via coaxial cable, and the levels of all CD sources were matched at 1kHz using a test disc. Power amplifier was a 1986 Krell KSA-50 used to drive Celestion SL700 loudspeakers sitting on their dedicated stands, which were spiked to the tile-on-concrete floor beneath the carpet. A pair of Vandersteen 2Ci loudspeakers also saw some service during this period.

Interconnect was 1m lengths of Monster Cable M1000 (all CD players to Line Drive) and and a 1m run of AudioQuest Lapis (Line Drive to power amplifier). The Celestions were bi-wired with two 15' runs of AudioQuest Clear speaker cable. Though bulky and unwieldy—and how!—this is at the time of writing the best cable I have tried in that it combines exceptional midrange clarity with deep, tight low frequencies. It simply has the least editorial effect on the overall sound that I have experienced.—John Atkinson

COMPANY INFO
Philips Consumer Electronics Company
One Philips Drive, P.O. Box 14810
Knoxville, TN 37914-1810
(615) 521-4316
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COMMENTS
millenium's picture

The Philips LHH1000 DAC, did not come with a TDA1541A S1 single crown chip. Philips units had the TDA1541A chip.
For some reason, Philips also claimed their model 960,a single cd player, also had this same chip.
I had the Philips 960 and called Philips about the chip. They sent me the correct chip, a TDA1541A S1 single crown, after pointing it out in a review.
I still have the review of the Lhh1000 in Stereophile,June 1989,Vol.12 No.6
I also have both the Marantz CD 12 transport/dac and the Philips Lhh1000 transport/dac. The flip down cover at the bottom of each dac, shows exactly what chip is used.

amblin's picture

Yes, for some unknown reason, under the filp down cover, it said  TDA 1541A ,but in fact the chips used in the lhh1000 dac IS the S1 version.  I recently opened the cover and checked.

And despite its age, it's still quite capable, and it is now the oldest digital product in my home and it's still working flawlessly...

Big Ear's picture

I have a Extemely Rare DAC/Transport Combo from Cambridge Audio. The DAC 3D/A Converter ( It´s NOT the normaly DAC 3 from Cambridge audio!) and the CD3M Transport The DAC uses 4 TDA1541A S1 Chips in paralell Syncron Mode.

it is  THE BEST sounding Cmbo I have heard to date. And by a wide margin.
I'm very curious which system sounds better. Has anyone experiences with it?

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