Open sound, easy to listen to, lots of detail

Power cord - would be nice to have socket

I have been a CD-63SE/CD-67SE listener for years and have enjoyed these players. I recently aquired two Jolida integrated amplifiers (the 302B all-tube and the 1501R hybrid), and bought the Jolida 603 tubed CD player. I loved the sound of the 603, but I had numerous tracking problems, including three BRAND NEW CDs that were fresh out of the shrink-wrap. So back the 603 went...

What to do? I loved the sound of the 603! I did some research, and stumbled across the Ah! Tjoeb. After reading about a million satisfied reviews here on Audioreview, I called Kevin at Upscale Audio (http://www.upscaleaudio.com/) and ordered a loaded (clock upg/digital out/noise killer) Tjoeb with a set of Siemens/Philips 7308 tubes. I expected to wait two weeks, but the player arrived in a little over a week. Total cost, including tubes and second-day shipping was $625.00. Not too bad. They even called me with my tracking number when the player shipped.

When the player arrived, I decided to install the new tubes. Opening the player up revealed the high-quality modifications. Impressive! I wish they could install these mods in my CD-67SE!

After the tubes were installed, I burned the player in for 24 hours. It sounded rather good at first, but it continues to open up gradually. I will be playing CDs continuously for the next few days to break in all the components and tubes.

The big difference I notice between my CD-67SE and the Tjoeb is that the Tjoeb has more detail and doesn't sound as "heavy" on the bottom end - bass is tighter and more controlled. Like I said, the player is still breaking in, so I assume that the sound will continue to change and improve.

This is a great player for those who can't spend stratospheric amounts, or who would rather build their music collections than spend several thousand on a CD player. If you have solid-state, the Tjoeb would be a great match and will smooth out the sound of your system (I absolutely love to listen to this player with my hybrid tube/ss - very smooth, detailed sound).

Call Kevin at Upscale Audio and order one immediately!

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD-63SE and CD-67SE, Jolida 603

Dynamics, clarity, lack of digital harshness

flimsy build, especially the remote

How about a third straight review by a John?!

I'd like to first say Kevin at Upscale gave me a free t-shirt when I bought the Ah! Tjoeb without ever mentioning reviews, this or any other site. Frankly, I think he probably was being a bit facetious when offering the t-shirt for a positive review, but I guess a t-shirt might be more valuable to some than others.

Getting back to the player, I won't repeat what's already been written. I've owned the Ah! Tjoeb for five months and have never regretted its purchase. I even bought a Cal Icon to demo against it. In comparison, the Icon sounded lifeless, lacking dynamics and soundstaging. The Tjoeb matches well with my KEF 104.2s and provides excellent separation of instruments and soundstaging without sounding harsh and brittle.

BTW, Kevin let me audition the player at his place on Memorial Day! That, in my book, is pretty decent customer service, seeing as I originally went over only to buy a single tube.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned against Cal Icon MKII for several months

Very lifelike, natural, balanced, dynamic, richly textured, musical

Original power cord, average looks, flimsy cabinet

Are you reading these reviews and wondering how the Tjoeb99 could be as good as everyone is saying and puzzled as to how such an inexpensive player could be so well reviewed ? Are you hesitant to mail order something you haven’t been able to listen to first ? I was in the exact same position a short time back. I couldn’t afford a Meridian 508 and was considering an Arcam Alpha 9 or Musical Fidelity X-Ray or Rotel RCD-991. After searching all over the internet and reading that some owners had preferred the Tjoeb99 to the Arcam and Rotel and that a couple had even preferred it to the Meridian, I figured that even if the Tjoeb wasn’t better than these players it must be very close and for a LOT less money. Hey, if it isn’t that good I haven’t wasted much money and could use it on my second system, or sell it and get most of my money back. Well, let me tell you that it certainly hasn’t made it to my second system and never will (unless Herman and friends come up with something even better – is that possible ?).

The only real criticism of the Tjoeb99 I had read was that "...it can’t handle complex orchestral passages very well ...the sound gets muddy...". The same critics had admitted that, aside from this problem, the Tjoeb99 is incredible. So, imagine if you could fix this problem – you would have a truly incredible player for next to nothing. Here’s a newsflash – I HAVE, AND IT COST ME $2 AND AN AFTERNOON OF MY TIME !! Read on and I’ll tell you how, but first some background.

My Tjoeb99 arrived nearly 1 month after I ordered it with the Noise Killer and SuperCystal options. The word is out about this player and it has become very popular causing shipping delays (but this is a good thing as volume will enable Herman to keep the price down and perhaps continue further development of the Tjoeb). At low to medium volumes it sounded fantastic. I was hearing detail, richness, body, palpability, soundstaging I had not heard on my discs before. The sound was very musical and natural. Everything sounded very balanced and real. I found myself much more relaxed when listening to my discs on the Tjoeb – digital hardness which I hadn’t even realised was there, was now gone. BUT, things fell apart when I turned up the volume. The sound, particularly on complex passages, would break up and the music sounded artificially loud. Rather than the music opening up into a lifelike performance as the volume was raised, it became stressed and unbalanced. It was uncomfortable to listen to. After e-mails with Herman (and Adam Gershon of Acurus) we determined that the high 3.5v output voltage of the Tjoeb99 was overloading my Acurus pre-amp. Herman responded quickly by adding a procedure for decreasing the output voltage on the AH! Website. This is a very easy 10 minute job for anyone. All you need is a digital multimeter (I hadn’t even used one before).

Before reducing the output voltage I made another change. I wanted to be able to try different power cords on the Tjoeb so I carefully cut a larger hole in the back of the Tjoeb and installed an IEC chassis connector. I also ran an earth wire from the IEC connector’s earth terminal to the inside of the Tjoeb’s chassis (full procedure detailed below). I don’t yet have any "hifi" power cords (I have a Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler arriving in about 2 weeks) so I just plugged in an ordinary personal computer power cable. I did not expect to hear any difference until my new cord arrived. WRONG !!! Even my girlfriend instantly noticed the change. The background was much quieter, the sound was more open and detailed and there was more air around the instruments and vocalists. The music was more relaxed and "in the room". Bass seemed slightly deeper and tighter as well. When installing the connector I noticed that the original flimsy power cord used by Marantz is severely pinched inside the grommet which prevents it from being pulled out of the chassis. This can’t be good for the flow of power and possibly the sonic stability of the Tjoeb. Most of the improvement was probably due to the earth causing the quieter background. I can’t wait to hear the Tjoeb with the new power cord.

Back to the output voltage reduction. I was confident that it would eliminate the preamp overload but was worried it may cause a slight degredation of sound. I’m happy to say that when I reduced the output to the industry standard 2.0v the preamp overload disappeared altogether and there was no degredation of sound at all. Before the change, orchestral crescendos were breaking up at only 80db SPL’s. Now they are fine to 94+db SPL’s. Last night I played a wide range of "heavy" orchestral music and listened for any muddiness, breakup or loss of detail. Even at reasonably loud levels everything remained detailed with no harshness and the soundstaging remained totally in tact – both left to right and front to back. Even during the canons in the 1812 overture going off at 94db everything else was clear, detailed and distinctly in its correct place in the soundstage. Bass remained very tight and controlled with excellent depth and punch. This is one dynamic player !

I had some success using Vibrapods (smallest size #1’s) under my solid state DVD player but they did not work well under the tubed Tjoeb99. They gave a thick type of sound which lacked life, detail and dynamics. I hit the "pause" button, replaced them with three PolyCrystal Isolators (stubby cones), sat back down and hit "play". Wow !! The improvement was unexpected and staggering. Instantly there was detail, liveliness, openness, a further reduction of digital hardness I hadn’t even realised was there. The soundstage simply opened up and became more balanced and real. It was like the sun coming out from behind a thick grey cloud.

Putting some weight on top of the Tjoeb’s thin shell also adds marginal improvement by relieving a slightly boxed in effect on the sound. But don’t spend huge amounts, rig something up yourself. I currently have 6 drink coasters (marble circles with a felt bottom to prevent scratching) sitting on mine. Might look funny but hey it works. You might also try a small marble or stone slab on top of a mouse pad (the soft type).

As for the relay clicking – it is not loud and I barely notice it even though my Tjoeb is not enclosed in a cabinet. My power amp runs in class A and occasionally makes a similar “click” noise as the chassis expands due to the heat that builds up anyway.

My equipment : Tjoeb99 (with Noise Killer & SuperCrystal) connected by Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway mk2 interconnects to an Acurus ACT-3 pre-amp/processor which is connected by Harmonic Technology TruthLink interconnects to a Plinius SA100 mk3 power amp which is bi-wired with 2 runs of Harmonic Technology Pro-11 Plus speaker cable to Jamo Concert 11 speakers. PolyCrystal Isolators (stubby cones) under Tjoeb99 and pre-amp. No power filters are used.

Being a preamp/processor the Acurus ACT3 unfortunately converts incoming analog signals to digital and then back to analog. These unnecessary conversions can’t be good for the sound so the Tjoeb99 may be even better than what I am currently hearing. Sonic nirvana is more a journey than a destination – I never thought I’d actually reach it (neither did my very tolerant girlfriend). But, the sound is so good at the moment (despite the extra conversions) that when I get a high end preamp in the near future and add some good power cords I think I’ll have reached mine. I will be able to sit back, enjoy the music and relax - forgetting about consciously analysing every note – finally ! Not sure if I’ll bother experimenting with different tubes, the Philips tubes sound pretty good to me.

Sorry this review is so long but I wanted to include EVERYTHING I could to help current and potential Tjoeb owners to get the most out of their Tjoebs. My sincere thanks and congratulations to Herman who I bugged mercilessly with daily e-mails for several weeks. The Tjoeb99 truly offers high end performance and the fact that they can provide it for the mere pittance they are asking is amazing. Their patience and willingness to work with customers to get the best from their Tjoebs is also outstanding. For anyone interested I have included below the procedure I used to install the IEC chassis connector. And no, I am not connected with AH! In any way (aside from a passion for listening to beautiful music), I live in Melbourne Australia.

Procedure for installing IEC chassis connector and earth wire :

1- After unplugging the power and removing the Tjoeb cover, remove the tubes with tissues not fingers.
2- Relocate the Noise Killer (if you got this option) to the left of the power pcb board (looking from rear of Tjoeb) to make space for the IEC chassis connector.
3- Cut hole in chassis and drill screw holes for IEC connector (after taping newspaper and tissues in place to prevent any metal shavings entering Tjoeb). I used heavy duty tin snips to cut vertical cuts and drilled a series of small holes for the bottom horizontal cut (the metal will bend to and fro and break across the drill holes. Clean up ragged edge with a fine file.
4- Screw IEC chassis connector in place (I used a normal one with no EMI filtering but the two types share the same hole size and screw holes so you could easily test an EMI filtered connector - I have one and may try it at some stage)
5- Cut the original power cord just inside the rear of the Tjoeb, bare the wires and crimp on female spade connectors to match IEC connector terminals. I used shielded ones.
6- Cut a six inch length of either the neutral or live wire from the original power cord for an earth wire. Crimp on a female connector on one end to match the IEC chassis connector spade terminal. Crimp an eye connector on the other end for earthing.
7- Cover the earth wire in yellow or green electrical tape to indicate it is an earth wire. Connect the eye connector between the chassis and the old transformer mounting and replace screw. Connect all terminals to the IEC chassis connector.
8- Loosely sit the Tjoeb cover in place and mark where you need to cut it around the new IEC chassis connector. The easy way is to make vertical cuts slightly wider than the IEC chassis connector. I chose to make several smaller cuts (again with tin snips) to shape the hole around the connector. Looks much better. Use black electrical tape (or paint) on the chassis around connector so no silver chassis shows through when cover is replaced.
9- Replace tubes, double-check all connectors are secure, replace cover and screw on.
10 - Place the Tjoeb back in your system, attach an IEC power cable (preferably high quality), hit the PLAY button, sit back and smile at the very worthwhile results of your work !!

The End !!!

Detail, smoothness, soundstage, very involving, good clarity, tweakability

needs damping to sound best, (needs good components upstream), CAN'T BE AUDITIONED BEFORE PURCHASE

This is my second review about the AH!Tjoeb, and my first was certainly one of the more critical ones. Nevertheless I have made additional experiences since then and would like to pass them on.
I have said that I compared the Tjoeb against some CD Players in the its price range without hearing a clear difference. That’s true. But I now found out that the preamp section of my HK 690 integrated had to take the blame!
Two weeks ago I had a listening session at a Hifi shop where the best setup (for MY taste and a budget of $ 4000) turned out to be a Myryad MCD 100 (app. $1300), Myryad MI 120 (app. $1000) and Dynaudio Contour 1.3 MK II. The sound was full, detailed, warm (but not lifeless!), emotional, powerful with a VERY good soundstage. You could „see“ the Chicago orchestra hall in Mahler’s 1st symphony (Deutsche Grammophon recording, Claudio Abbado and Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra), I could clearly hear little noises from individual people in the auditorium, and so on. My parents raised their budget for their system after hearing this setup.
Back at home I played the same music through my system, comprising AH!Tjoeb (tweaked), HK 690 integrated and Dynaudio Audience 60s and was quite disappointed. The soundstage was collapsed, the detail buried in music that seemed to have lost it’s order. Yes there was more power but I compared it to the raw power of a lumberjack singing a song compared to a Baritone with finesse and skill.
Well, yesterday I tried to hear a difference when lowering the output of the AH!Tjoeb with its volume control (as described by other reviewers) and had the idea of plugging it directly into the power amp input of my HK 690. And there it was. Not all that sweet and detailed as the Myryad setup, but MUCH closer. The soundstage was there and also most of the detail, and I am not sure if my speakers are now the limiting factor.
Anyway, for the first time since I have bought the Tjoeb almost a year ago I am confident that I have got a great source. Thanks Herman.
And I would like to add one more thing: in my opinion magazines are no more than a help for putting together short lists, but listen to the stuff before you buy! Personal preferences make a HUGE difference. As an example I clearly preferred the Dynaudio Contour 1.3 MK II (at ATS 27.000) to the Vienna Acoustics Mozart (ATS 20.000) which received much better ratings and are on the stereophile list of recommended components.
Off course this is the biggest weakness of the Tjoeb, you have to buy it unheard unless you live in the Netherlands. But if you like to tweak and your budget is in the range of the Tjoeb and you don’t want to spend much more I think you can’t go much wrong with this unit. If looks, solid build and a bullet proof buy is your goal look elsewhere but prepare to pay (much) more.

Similar Products Used:

Myryad MCD 100
NAD, Yamaha and other players at higher/lower price

precise soundstage, musicality
precise soundstage, musicality

???? Lack of "slam"

This is a very difficult product to review (pardon my typos, have broken 3rd finger) as the sound is not easily characterizable. The source disc is all-important. Sheffield Drum and Track recording is extremely life-like, cymbals are right there, and the various drums are fixed and locatable in space, great transients---you can hear the sticks hit the membrane, but the sound is not overly analytical. I do not own this unit, my friend bought it and have been listening closely as it breaks in.
He has the Zen amp and smallish Tannoy 2-way speakers, so deep bass may be rolled off. I have Snell C's and Amber 70 SS amp, bass is deep, full and gutty.
The Tjoeb does not seem to have a clearly defined "signature"---whatever is on the disc seems to come out front for evaluation. Maybe this is the hallmark of a great component---one which only reveals the source material. I dunno, as I say it is very hard to define things about the sound of the player, as opposed to speaker limitations, preamp hum, etc. Phil drives his Zen directly from the output of the Tjoeb, I ran it thru my PS Audio 4.5 in "straightwire" mode. There is a little more noise with my Amber amp than his Zen.

If any one thing stands out in our (admittedly short, only 2 days) testing, it is the precisely focused nature of the soundstage---I love the impression of instruments very solidly located in space, instead of just part of a general wall of sound. I have not listened to the Mahler 2nd with Gilbert Kaplan yet, it is a very well-recorded piece that is pretty ruthless in its demands on the entire sound system. More later, as the unit 'burns in' and we get more acquainted with it. It does seem to like discs that have a higher recorded level, but perhaps this is more due to the limitations of the Zen amp.

A friend has a 10K$ high-end setup with Linn speakers, Levinson amp and Eagle amp driving 3K subwoofer, $700 interconnects, Cal Audio CD, separate analog/digital decoder, etc etc and this little unit holds its own. In fact, we are now thinking---mebbe less is more.

We intend to build cabs for Lowther drivers, to see if these ultra-high efficient speakers will reveal more of whatever is that makes us love the sound of Zen/Tjoeb so much. Even though it is hard to characterize the sound of the unit (maybe because it has no sound of its own) we love the player for what it does to music--brings it to life in the living room.'

Similar Products Used:

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