the numbers don't lie. this is a great sounding cd player through red dawn nordest flatline the volcals are sharp as razors the horns are realistic [flute on henry thomas' "bulldoze blues"}it does require break-in per instructions.

resonate cabinet

be patient with kevin deal at www.upscaleaudio.com he's a very busy guy. Have your questions written down and in hand.

Similar Products Used:

audio technica

VALUE, sound quality, internal build quality.

The Marantz box.

I suppose I have the good fortune of being within an hour's drive of Kevin Deal's Upscale Audio (www.upscaleaudio.com) in Upland, CA. It's a little out of the way, but you know you've reached your destination when you see the car with the "TUBEGUY" license plate. Well worth the trip, I must say. Kevin is a busy guy but his personal attention to each customer is exemplary. He's not one of those high-pressure types who hover constantly over you. Rather, he sets up the system to your liking and leaves you to do your own critical listening and he gives very honest, straightforward advice. Wish more audio guys were like him.

On with the review. Like many other reviewers, the overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic reviews for the AH! Tjoeb player struck a skeptical chord in me. Which is why I took the opportunity to audition the AH! player for myself. I had to be sure there wasn't some sort of conspiracy regarding this hotrod player and listening is definitely believing. Kevin's sound room is full of high-end tube gear and I believe we hooked up the AH! player (with a full set of options, including the Amperex tubes) to a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 preamp, a tube amp and a pair of speakers that I can't quite recall. The Natalie Merchant CD I brought with me never sounded better -- rich, full, airy, detailed without any harshness or sharp edges. But I couldn't help wondering if that was due to the AH! player or the other high-end equipment (mine is much more mid-fi) so I asked Kevin to hook up a $3000 Cary CD player for comparison purposes. To be honest, the Cary sounded a little mellower, sweeter, darker, but also a little less forward in detail. If price were no object, I'd probably choose the Cary. With my budget, however, the choice was clear: I ended up purchasing my AH! Tjoeb with the full set of options except the Amperex tubes.

When I first hooked up the AH! player to my home system, it was decidedly unspectacular. Not bad, mind you -- just far from great. So I left it on repeat while I headed out for dinner. Upon my return, the sound had completely transformed. No longer compact, the music was forward, open, airy, very detailed and much more pleasing than my old Denon player. I always suspected my Dynaudio speakers were capable of delivering better sound (they sounded more spectacular at the store than in my home), but I never dared to imagine such depth and richness from them. However, it was still obvious that my AH! player needed to much more burn-in time because along with the detail, the openness and the airyness was an annoying and fatiguing brightness to the sound, as well as some occasional harshness at the top end. I was difficult to listen for more than an hour. Now, after about 70 hours of burn-in time, almost all traces of high-frequency harshness and brightness is gone and the sound has mellowed. I've been gradually upgrading and tweaking the components and accessories in my system and the addition of the AH! player has made the most profound enhancement by far. Music comes through with so much more emotion that it's as though I have a brand new CD collection.

Bottom line: this is a very special CD player. It's not the best I've ever heard, but I'd say it gives you 95-97% of what the best players deliver. If you want to spend thousands more to chase that nth degree of air, detail, richness or whatever it is you may be looking for, be my guest. For $500 and change, you can't reasonably ask for more. Sure, the build quality of the Marantz box leaves something (or two) to be desired and the remote is rather basic. But in the end, it's all about the music.

The obligatory system lineup:

Denon AVR-3300 receiver (used as pre/pro for front 3 channels)
Parasound HCA-2003 amplifier
AH! Tjoeb 99 CD player
Mitsubishi DD-2000 DVD player
Dynaudio Audience 8 speakers (front)
Dynaudio Audience Center speaker
Dynaudio Audience 5 speakers (rear)
Dynaudio Audience Sub30A subwoofer
various cables/interconnects (AQ Forest, AQ Ruby, Belden 89259)

Happy listening.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RCD-971 and others in that price range.

Sonics and huge bang for the buck

None considering the price

I admit to being a person who had never really warmed up to digital. I have an Audible Illusions Mod 3A that has an excellent phono stage and most of my listening has been to vinyl. I could not justify spending 5K on a CD player when I have that much in my turntable and cartridge and that's what I use most.

But I wanted to get into CD's and sought out a few players that did not require me to drop a big wad in case "digititus" would still remain. I tried a couple players from my local dealer who, after seeng there was nothing I was going to buy from him this go-round (he's gotten plenty of my money!) had mentioned the Tjoeb as perhaps something to check out.

I ordered from Upscale Audio and they were (Kevin and the girl who took my order) excellent on the phone. The player arrived as promised.

I work in the automotive parts industry, so I was curious to look inside. You need a Torx T-10 bit, which is a nice touch as they don't strip or slip. Most screwdriver bit sets will have them.

The chassis itself is very lightweight, but I would expect that at this price point. What I did not expect is how impressive the upgrade parts are. It's really something to see, and for the money I have a real feeling of getting something for the money I spent. I got the Supercrystal and Noise Killer options.

Sound: I let it warm up for a while as recommended. In fact I leave it on 24hrs a day. I listened to Stravinsky's Firebird and the player has the desired effect. Mids are really nice without being to recessed. Bass is excellent. I will say the bass was OK initially improved after a few days.

The mids and top end is where it stands out for me. There is a lack of sheen and hardness that I seemed to pick up with other players. The Rega I tried did not have this hardness either, but did not have as much life. A good example of this is Joshua Judges Ruth from Lyle Lovett. The Tjoeb is open and easy at the same time.

I am so pleased with this player I have to hand it to the manufacturer and to the people and Upscale for bringing it to the U.S.

For other non-remote preamp owners: When I asked, Kevin told me the volume control on the remote of the Tjoeb should be considered a convenience and not "audiophile".

But for me it's just fine. I read while listening at times and the remote volume is handy. I would never give up my Modulus, so this is a huge plus.

I have no hesitation in giving this product 5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

AMC, Rega, Jolida and Rotel

Strong bass, smooth voices.

I purchased the AH! Tjoeb from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio after reading all of the glowing reviews on this site. I ordered the noise killer, the super crystal, and changed the tubes to the Amperex 7308 before hearing the factory tubes. It took about three days of burn in before the unit sounded like all the hype I was hearing.

I have to agree with everyone who praised this player. I'm impress at how everyone was so accurate in their descriptions of the player's sound. But I would like to bring up a point no one seems to mention. What interconnect cables have worked best for you?

I've tried three different cable with this player and I got three different sounds, all good. The first was Kimber PBJ. It had a lively sound with a lot of jump in it. But the cymbals were a little thin. Next, I tried a local brand called a Gholsen-Geyer. It mellowed the sound down a bit and open up the soundstage a little more. Finally, I borrowed a pair of Wireworld Eclipse from a friend. This gave a fuller sound, much closer to reality. The sound was relaxed but with incresed depth in the soundstage.

All three gave different sounds and all three were good. It was a question of good, better, still better. Now I don't know just how good this Ah! can go. I would hate to spend more on cables than the player itself. Here is my system:

Audible Illusions Mod 3A
Audio Research Classic 60
Snell E 111 speakers
Project 6.1 Turntable
Monster M1 speaker cable
Inteconnects I mentioned earlier

Strings, brass, piano, organ.

Fast Forward sucks (no fault of the hotrodders'). Will run through a five minute song in under five seconds.

I am not about to write another long-winded, wrist-cramping review on this player. They are here for the reading "in spades".

But I will say this; This player has turned what used to be a boring 1000+ CD collection INTO A NEW PLAYGROUND!!!

I just got this player on 2/14/00 and it is now 2/17/00. It sounded pretty good right out of the box and I had already read the reviews on this site before I purchased it. I hooked it up and fired it up not fifteen minutes after it hit my front door and I haven't turned it off yet.

I first noticed major sonic improvement at around 35 hours and after about 50 or so the thing is unrecognizable from the player that first entered my home. To say that I am phucking tickled to death with this player would be a vast understatement.

If you have $545 burning a hole in your pocket this is exactly what to do with it. Go to www.upscaleaudio.com and order one of these from Kevin Deal, the proprietor. He will have the player out to you the same day shipped 2nd day air for the above price with the AC noise killer and Super Crystal upgrades.

Associated Equipment:

Sim Audio P-4001 Class A linestage w/external power supply.
Ah! Tjoeb 99'
Mesa Baron tri-tube modded w/Gold Aero E34L's
Von Scweikert VR-4's
Audioquest interconnects
Discovery power cables

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Dynaco CDVPRO

musicallity and natural sound

For two months now I own the Tjoeb 99. I bought it together with a Krell 300i. It's an understatement to say that it's an enormous improvement compared to my old 'stuff'.
What can be addressed to the Tjoeb 99 is hard to say because I purchased both components at the same time. Still I can say something. Assuming the Krell to be good and therefore passing everything through neutrally, the Tjoeb '99 is the main factor for what can be heared. Well, that is a lot.

My musical interest mainly goes to classical. The first thing that comes in mind is musicallity and natural sound: the sound has depth, instruments are well-located in the soundstage and even depending on the recording (not on the CD-player) you can hear the environment where the recording is done.

It's a discovery while going through my CD collection: with Haydn's cello-concerts you suddenly hear the difference between the solist and the orchestra. Listening to organ music shows the position of the different positivs very well. You'll hear the backpositiv very easy in front of the headwork. After two months of regular listening I am still amazed: how beautiful a music-recording can be!

natural sound

???

I heard the Tjoeb '99 for the first time in Tilburg with a Krell 500i and ProAc Response -if I am right- 3.5 speakers and it hit me immediately. Nothing but Music.

Nothing drew attention to the system. It was music with drive, swing and a large open soundstage. The sound was neutral, naturally and free.

Now after playing for a few months, I can only reconfirm this. This product offers the highest price/quality level and I am curious about the future AH!/Huismerk products.

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Sony CDP555

transparency

none until now at, certainly considering the price

While listening in De Hifiwinkel Beek, I immediately noticed the qualities of the Tjoeb, compared to the Marantz 63IIKI, especially on transparency. It's like a curtain is taken away from the loudspeaker. It also had a nice soundstage and remarkable detail. Coming home, I wasn't satisfied with my Marantz 63IIKI anymore. So the decision was quickly made and I immediately ordered a Tjoeb. After connecting the Tjoeb at home, it was immediately clear that the Tjoeb was real high quality, despite the fact that it wasn't burnt-in yet. The Tjoeb '99 is the first cd-player I listen to with 100% satisfaction. Conclusion: a solid-performer for a friendly price. I advice everyone who's looking for a cd-player to go out and buy a Tjoeb.

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marantz cd63ki

Clean sound

Sometimes a relay click between tracks

We are very satisfied with our Tjoeb '99. A perfect clean, pure sound! The only (minor) point we still have to get used to, is the small click between the tracks. We would very much appreciate if we can be kept updated on all developments around the Tjoeb '99 and follow-up models if these become available.

Similar Products Used:

None. Tjoeb is UNIQUE!

Very musical
Very good price

None after reduce output

The serial number of my tjoeb 99 is VE039928046356. I'm having this CDP during October last year. The happier choice I ever made in my 30 years of hi fi history. I don't have to repeat all the nice things being mentioned in the numbers of review. But one thing mentioned by Darren K. from Melbourne that 3.5V output was too high is right. I think every owner must try to find out the right output that fits your own system if you are capable of doing it. It is not a very difficult job when you have the right tools and follow instruction. This will guide you from a very good (5 star) to an excellent outstanding CDP (6 star).
I did tried 3.5v 3v 2.5v 2.75v 3v again, 3.05v 2.97v 3v again, 3.01v and finally with my system 3v is the best. Try to tune the L and R channel in exactly the same readings because the Fluke meter running up and down in a range of numbers before stay put. Try to have the range of numbers as similar as possible.

My system:
Pre/power Amp: Graaf 13.5II / GM-200
CDP: Tjobe 99 with actual output reading 2.960-2.959v
Speaker: Lowther Fidelio DX4 drive unit