tweakable without loosing warranty

See below...

I have owned this unit now for more than 6 months but hesitated to post a review all the time. I have bought the Tjoeb based on the rave reviews of this site and said to myself that if it was a fake some very angry customers would have posted bad reviews. So I bought the Tjoeb with super chrystal and Noise Killer.
From what other reviewers said I expected to hear huge differences compared to other CDPs in roughly the same price range, but honestly I was a bit disappointed. I could hardly hear any difference to a 10 year old Denon CDP (then $300), a bit more life, but I had to listen hard! I tweaked and played with the Tjoeb (new power cord, DIY interconnects, different feet, tar sheet damping) mainly inspired by www.tnt-audio.com, even ordered the “ultimate” SQ-tube upgrade, and the TjoebSjoes.
The biggest difference was achieved with the tar sheet damping (one sheet on the inner side of the cover and 2 little rectangles on the CD mechanism as described on tnt-audio), which made the background quieter and the bass more defined and extended.
The SQ tubes did make a little difference, but maybe not as much as I would have wanted for their price. The same with the TjoebSjoes. For me it was rather not worth the price.
What did make differences though were the Interconnects, I made various types of all kinds of material, coax cable, high quality strain gauge measurement cables, braided wires from CAT5 cables, braided silver plated teflon insulated cables, and finally the TNT X 1,5 interconnect (but only with tin plated wire wrap wire) which was the best sounding cable.
All in all I am not totally convinced that I got the best sounding CD Player at the price, but I am enjoying the music. I will continue to compare the Tjoeb with other equipment and will post another review if I find anything new. Also I’d recommend to read the review of the AH!Tjoeb –again- on tnt-audio!

Associated Equipment:
TNT X 1,5 Interconnects
HK 690 integrated amp
Ortofon SPK 100 speaker cable
Dynaudio Audience 60 speakers

Very clean sound...not as cold and uninviting as most CD players...simple design...very easy to use.

At this point in time...none

Well, first the problem with the Ah!Tjoeb (from my experience) is that you are taking a "leap of faith",
you must purchase the player unseen and unheard.

That a side, what is right with the player is that your faith is rewarded, big time! (again, my experience)
This is one very nice sounding unit, it is nothing special to look at, very plain and simple (!). I have listened to
music from Beau Jocque to Taj to Howlin Wolf to Cubanismo and Buena Vista Social Club to Doug Sahm, and each and everyone of them sounded better than I had ever heard them before! This unit will not cure all of your ills. It won't remove warts, but it will make your music sound better, more alive and enjoyable. (my experience)

I have little doubt that this unit is not comparable to many of the high buck units out there in the audio world today, but, I have little doubt that in this price league,
this is the 800 pound ape. If you get a chance to listen to one, go for it.
If you don't get a chance to listen to one..but you are in the market for a CD player (and you don't want to break the bank) take a leap of faith, (do you feel lucky, well do ya).
I am very happy with the way it makes my music sound!

I use it with a Belles 150a AMP, Parasound 850 PRE-AMP and
OHM G3 Mk-2 Walsh speakers

ps...I got the noise killer and the supercrystal with my unit.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Adcom...all the usual suspects around this price point.

With all the upgrades: Musically, The Ultimate!

Are you kidding?

Whoomp! There it is!
What is there?
The focus! Soundstage is more focussed, and voices are more articulated.
How come?
I've done another upgrade with the TJOEBSJOES!
Whats that?

A few weeks ago Herman(www.hifi-notes.com) has announced another upgrade for the Tjoeb 99. The TjoebSJOES! (Sjoes is dutch phonetic for the englisch word "shoes". Thus far, shoes(feets) for the Tjoeb 99.) So I order the special feets for the Tjoeb 99. I receive them with a manual and have the job done in 15 minutes. So when I hook on the Tjoeb 99 with the Tjoebsjoes and listen to The Floaters "Float on", the first thing that cross my mind was: "Whoomp! There it is!".

I have my Tjoeb 99 almost 9 months. I have written two reviews before.(numbers 11 and 63) The latter was about the ultimate tube upgrade: The Philips E2888CC SQ gold pins.
I have all the Tjoeb 99 upgrades, except the digital output, because I don't need a digital output. I have also do some upgrades myself:
1. I have placed an IEC connector.
2. I have replaced the tubesockets with goldplated ones.

My neighbour who has a Wadia 860x cdplayer and has a problem with the outlook of the Tjoeb 99, is studying on his new project: How to transplant the "Tjoeb99 inside" succesfully into the Wadia 860x body. I wish him succes with his project: The most expensive Tjoeb 99!

Sound quality, simplicity

none worth mentioning

This thing improved my perspective on CD audio substantially. I've been investing more in vinyl lately, but figured i'd try this thing because of the value proposition. I was prepared to spend several thousand bucks on a cdp, and was thinking about Wadia. But with CD audio changing in the very near term, I could'nt justify a $3500 expenditure when sacd or dvd audio might actually happen within the next 12 months or so

This seemed like a practical way to bridge the gap. What I didn't expect was how good the thing really sounds. And it gets better every day. Kevin at upscale audio is a good guy, who tells it like it is and gives practical advice. He is not a starry eyed bithead, but a professional audio person who gets how the world turns.

I will buy from him again. I was perfectly happy taking a risk on a hot rod audio component and was prepared for it to exhibit strange behavior. It has only done one strange thing (started to fast forward itself on a 4 non blondes cut), but that seemed to be some kind of isolated incident.

So far so good from a reliability standpoint, and the audio quality is fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

various

Soundstage, imaging & price point

For what it affords you for the money nothing significant worth mentioning

Before anything else I think it's only fair that I mention in this forum the tremendous contribution that Kevin Deal of UPSCALE AUDIO have given in furtherance of this product's popularity here in the United States. The man didn't know me from Adam, but took care of my business as if I was a valued repeat customer, took care of all my concerns that would have been to trivial for a mere mortal dealer to address. Safe to say CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ITS BEST! And all these, to think that he's exclusively selling a product that needs no introduction or the least of marketing effort. Thank you sincerely.
Now to the product, I gave it a good 60 hrs burn-in before I started listening to it in earnest, though I have Overture 3s which I find too bright with my other CDPs, the transparency of the AH's soundstage make them sound just a tad short of UNBELIEVABLE! From my own humble experience, nothing in the $ 2,000.00 range can beat the AH for what it gives you for the price. Certainly, there are areas that can be improved in the unit to further make it formidable in its class, but sound wise I really don't know how else you can improve such sweet sounding unit as the AH. But hey let's not count Kevin out in this aspect, he might still have a few tricks left in his hat to take this unit beyond belief! I can count with the fingers of one hand people in the mail order industry that I would trust my business to on a product sight unseen, Kevin Deal of UPSCALE AUDIO is on top of that list.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GCD-750, Rotel 971, & Myryad MC-100

Clarity, warmth, and a nice wide soundstage

Needs good NOS tubes to reveal inherent quality

The Ah! Tjoeb CDP is the best bang for the buck in compact disk playback. It's simple, easy to use and easy to make even better. It is plain fun to experience how this player breaks in and how it gets better and better every day. Add quality NOS tubes and wow, more fun. Still awaiting the power cable update to have some more fun.

If you are a hands on kind of music lover, get this CDP and have some fun!!

Upscale Audio
Sonic Frontiers
Epos
Nordost
Tara Labs
Amperex

Similar Products Used:

ARC, Rega, and Ultech

Smooth mids & highs, deep solid bass. Overall sound quality, in this price range or even much higher, is fantastic!!!

Causes deep regrets (for previously spending so much money and getting an inferior product!!!)

I've had my Tjoeb for about a week and a half now. I still can't beleive what a smooth musical sound it produces. It took aout 3 days of constant playing to settle down but now it is so musical and easy to listen to. The soundstaging is excellent, highs are like silk, mids are open and clean, bass is full and tight with great low frequency response.

I agree the other reviewers that this CDP will renew your interest in some of your long forgotten CD's. It allows you to "rediscover" detail in the music that you missed before.

I am so impressed and satisfied with my Tjoeb. I think that this has to be absolutely THE BEST value in audio today!!!

I purchased mine from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio. Kevin was very helpful and shipped the same day I ordered. It was a great experience to buy such an outstanding product and receive such great service!!! Thanks very much!!!

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planet, Sony

Beautiful dynamic and open sound

Beautiful dynamic and open sound. Compared with my last cd-player, the Marantz CD63KI Signature, an unbelievable improvement. I cannot understand why Marantz is not able or doesn't want to do this themself.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz cd63ki

warm and good soundstage

cheap looking

I guess I'm the first reviewer from Indonesia. It is the best cd player. Thank you Herman, sorry for the inconvenience. 5 star service

The warmest and most live sound I've ever heard come out of a cd player.

The remote is a bit weeny - and the power cord should be upgraded.

I originally heard the Ah! player thru one of my friends and I immediately said...I gotta get one; I have waited for about 10 years to get a decent system - the reason I waited was two fold - cost and I just couldn't find anything I really liked.

I purchased the Ah! through upscale audio (check out their website www.upscaleaudio.com) and received the player 3 days later - amazing! Thanx' upscale - you guys really were quick!

It took basically the weekend to burn in that warm sound I was searching for - i have always been a fan of the tube sound and mating the Marantz cd player with the Ah tube technology has produced the audio enthusiasts dream cd player.

Get this player if you like tube power! Or if you like a live feel - Turn the lights down low, close your eyes and suddenly the Ah! transports you to a live intimate gig of whoever/whatever you are playing.

My system is powered by Cambridge, has Signet speakers, D-Box subwoofer and of course the Ah! Tjoeb 99 player!

Experience music and sound in a whole new way! Go dutch...go ahhhh!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Marantz, Cambridge, etc.