Philips LHH 2000
(1984 - 1986)

Rare first generation professional player and first of Philips' Japan-only LHH line of superlative CD players, which comprised Philips-only and Marantz/Philips top-end units from 1984 until the mid 90s.
This player looks very much like a computer which was quite prescient from Philips :)
The original design was based on the CD 303 : LHH 0502.

Sony was at the same time presenting its 2nd generation professional player/remote system (CDP-3000 & CDS-3000), an unfortunately x-rare set as well. The LHH 2000 still fetches very high prices in Japan - whether this is due to "vintage" or quality I wouldn't know but my guess it that it holds a little bit of both and very much so : the 1985 MSRP was 1,500,000¥ and today's 2nd hand tag is... 800,000¥ ! Original units had the CDM-0 drive ; later ones (most) the CDM-1.

A later version was planned, built, but finally not released : its drive part used a loading tray like that of the CD-104 while the electronics remained unchanged in a separate box. Maybe two or three prototypes were made at Eindhoven ; one survived for sure.
I believe the LHH 2000 to have been (market-wise) Japan-only but was also available in the CD pressing plants for checking the CD batches and as reference player.

The image on this page is the cover of the Stereo Sound issue #75 dated summer 1985 ; the other images in this post come from the same SS issue. The radio image comes from a 1985 Philips german catalog. Besides one ad in another Stereo Sound issue, that is all I have - anyone at Philips care to share some of the archives ?

Scroll this page to the right !

A real LHH 2000 at hifi-do.co.jp