AH! Tjoeb `99-CD Player.

Distributor: Upscale Audio, 2504 Spring Terrace, Upland, CA 91784; 909/931-9686; www.upscaleaudio.com

Price: $450. Available options: AH! AC Noise Killer $20, AH! SuperCrystal $50, RCA Digital Output $20. Price as tested: $540.

Source: Distributor Loan

Reviewer: Tom Lyle

"Tjoeb" is Dutch for "tube" (the "j" is silent). The Dutch pronounce "AH!" as "ah-ha." So, all together now: "Ah-ha! Toob ninety-nine." The player is a modified Marantz CD-38 that is manufactured in the Far East, designed and modified in Holland. The CD-38 is a budget player not imported into the USA. I would dare say that this player has been extremely modified, because upon opening the cover of the unit it looks like practically the only things that remain are the transport, display, and cabinet. In actuality, that's not quite true, but almost. The transport used in the CD-38 is a model Philips CDM 12.3 (Marantz is a division of the Dutch conglomerate Philips). The newer models have the Philips VAM transport, which is the same except it will play CD-Rs. The literature from their distributor claims that this is a resonance-free, linear trace laser with a Digital Servo Drive (their capitalization) for "accurate, reliable, operation and rapid track access." But then the fun starts.

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They take the standard op-amp and upgrade it to "the best available" Burr-Brown and make it only responsible for I-U (voltage and current) conversion. They add an extra circuit board to the output stage with two military grade Philips 6922 tubes. The added output stage has its own power supply, which is designed in England. They also remove the standard transistorized muting circuit (they say it has a "negative sonic impact") and install a relay-based muting circuit. Teflon hook-up cable, 2% silver solder, and gold RCA jacks are substituted for the stock parts in key areas. Also, to compensate for preamps that may have too much gain or be susceptible to overload, the unit's output on the player's tube board can be lowered. Conversely, if one wants to use this CD player to drive a preamp with very low gain or use the player passively, the gain can be raised to as much as 4 volts.

Options: A few options are also available, which because of their low cost, I can't imagine anyone passing on. One can have a coaxial digital output installed for a mere $20. It might seem silly to bypass the tube output stage and use this unit only as a transport, but if one wants to make a digital copy of a CD to a DAT or CD-R, for example, it could come in very handy. An AH! AC Noise Killer circuit is available for $20. This, according to the distributor, is so that AC cable will not be able to pick up any "dirt" after filtering. They go on to say that this option will make an improvement even if one uses a power-line conditioner with the CD player. The third option, and the most expensive at $50, is the SuperCrystal upgrade that replaces the standard Marantz oscillating crystal or "clock." It is claimed that this option "is the key to squeezing every last bit of performance out of the machine." It is designed to lower jitter, not be affected by temperature, and it is enclosed in a soft compound to shield against vibration. Greater control of the bass and an increase of the width and depth of the soundstage are also claimed. All three options were installed on the unit I auditioned.

System: Even while it was breaking in I listened to it in my main system. Some other equipment passed through it during the review period, but for most of the time it consisted of an analog front end of a modified Oracle Delphi turntable with a Wheaton Triplaner Via tonearm. The tonearm first sported a Benz-Micro H2.0 cartridge, but I'm currently using a Lyra Clavis DC. Passive listening was done via a Magnum-Dynalab FT-101a FM tuner. The preamplifier was a conrad-johnson PV12a, but later into the review period, I changed to the preamplifier that is now my reference unit, an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A with a gold MC phono board. The amp is a Krell KAV-250a; the speakers, Legacy Classics. The digital front end is usually a Meridian 200/263 combo, but I also had a few other CD and DVD players on hand that were around the same price as the AH! Tjoeb `99 including models from AMC, Pioneer, and Rotel.

Use: I recommend that one take at least a peek inside the player to see what all the fuss is about. To get inside the player one needs a torx #10 screwdriver. The heads of the screws in the cabinet have a star-like pattern, the possible advantage of which I have no idea. The driver only cost a couple of bucks, so it's no big deal.

This player is a pleasure to use, but not with the supplied remote control. The generic remote that comes with the Tjoeb does not take advantage of all the functions of this player. The Tjoeb (I'll call it this henceforth for the sake of brevity) is a modified Marantz after all, and one thing good about their line is that they are packed with features. One could use a remote from another player, since the Marantz's remote sensor is of the standard Philips configuration. Its read-out is easy to read from quite a distance. It displays the track and either time elapsed on the track, the time remaining on the track, or the time remaining on the disc. The player displays messages such as "wrong track," "go to play," "no disc," "error," "open," "close," and "read," and there are probably other messages I have not yet seen. Of course like most modern CD players the tracks are programmable, they can be played in a random order, and there is a scan function that plays the first eight seconds of each.

There is a volume control that is operated by the remote, the relative volume being displayed as it is changed. The supplied remote thankfully has scan, repeat, volume, shuffle, and a numeric keypad. Although it does not have separate track search controls, instead opting for dual function search/next track. Plus, it is missing the program, A-B, time display change, and door open/close controls.

In the Tjoeb literature, they say that the player's power should be left on during the first week, so that's what I did when I let the player break-in. They go on to say that since the tubes supplied to the player are not too expensive, nor are they pushed very hard, one might consider leaving the power on all the time.

Listening: I've heard that the skeptics have been talking about me behind my back. It seems I'm known to quite a few of them as the guy who writes for The Sensible Sound who hears a difference between similarly priced CD players. I'll reserve my comments about that for another time. However, there have been a few CD players I've reviewed that undeniably sound different. It was not because I perceived (or thought I perceived) things caused by minute variations in transport design, single bit vs. multi-bit, or any of the other design idiosyncrasies that a team of engineers dreamed up -- it was because vacuum tubes powered the output stage of these players. I must admit, however, that the not all these differences in sound were positive. Still, audiophiles are drawn to the sound of tubes and many have been buying these CD players sight unseen solely for the fact that the units have valves. Most of these players appear to be basically a redesign of an ordinary player with the addition of a tube output stage. As described above, the player that is the subject of this review is a bit different.

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In all the affordable CD players with tubes that I've heard, there were aspects of the sound that were very attractive. The mids and highs sounded sweeter and more natural than I was used to hearing through non-tubed CD players. But most of all, I liked the way they all made CDs less harsh-sounding. This was because they decreased the aggressive character that many CDs have in the upper midrange and lower treble. This made longer listening sessions possible, and made all CDs sound more natural. This was especially true of CDs that had music played by acoustic instruments. There was also a separation of instruments, especially when these instruments are playing at the same time with different volumes, or "dynamic distance", as I have termed it. A very subjective observation was that this lush, warm, non-fatiguing sound gave the impression that the music played through it was a representation of the performance rather than the recording.

But this sweet non-fatiguing sound came with a price. The loss of transparency, transient response, and both treble and bass extension were hard not to notice. But still, many others and I were willing to overlook these shortcomings in order to revel in what could only be described as their very alluring tube sound.

The Tjoeb, for the most part, retains the positive and discards the negative sonic aspects of these players. It wasn't as detailed as many listeners would probably prefer, but it did not have nearly as much of a loss of transparency as the other tube-based players I've tried.

One of the first things I noticed about the Tjoeb was its excellent bass response. While the other players' bass was markedly warm and lacking in depth, the Tjoeb's bass reached nearly as deep as the recording demanded. Also, it had a tautness that the other players could not even begin to approach. One of my favorite drum and bass CDs is Breakbeats Vol. 2 on the Metalheadz label. This compilation has many artists probably unfamiliar to most, but they are performing works that are quite creative given that they are working in a subgenre that is very narrowly defined. The bass on this CD is obviously very important, but is not only of the subterranean variety. It ranges throughout the low frequency range and as a result demonstrated the Tjoeb's ability to reproduce the low end with the tautness and authority that the other players couldn't approach.

Added to this very noticeable quality was that the Tjoeb's overall sound was appreciably more transparent. Also, there was an increase in its transient response that was obvious on any CD that it spun.

When this player was in the system I frequently listened to be Mahler's First Symphony on Telarc with the Atlanta Symphony conducted by Yoel Levi. Since the majority of classical labels are releasing quite decent recordings, it might be easy to forget that Telarc started out as a specialty audiophile label. Yet this version of the Mahler First is one of the best digital orchestral recording I have ever heard. Coupled with the fact that this is one of the best versions of this symphony makes it quite a treat. Through the Tjoeb it was superb. The soundstage was extremely deep and wide. The strings were particularly natural sounding, whether in groups or during solos. The ease to which the wind and horns flowed from the recording to the speakers set themselves apart from the rest of the orchestra. This wasn't because of increased detail but from sounding more like the instruments themselves; their individual characteristics were more pronounced. In summary, through the Tjoeb this recording was the most "analog-like" I've ever heard it. That's not to say that this CD doesn't sound good through a more conventional player. It does. It's just when played on the Tjoeb there is a warmth that brought about a very listenable sound, and it reproduces the extremely deep bass, sparkling highs, and transparency that are hallmarks of this recording.

The superiority of this player over its tubed brethren is obvious. I'm not sure if it is better than every player in its price range is, because its sound is too idiosyncratic. But it seems to combine the benefits of the tube output stage with what one would expect from just a good affordable CD player.

This "tube-sound" character of its sound, although much better than the others of its ilk, some might not find as enjoyable as others might. Its sound does not have the same degree of resolution as even the most modestly priced non-tube CD players. And because of this some system matching might be called for. Those with solid-state systems who want to enjoy some softening of the digital sheen will have nothing to complain about. Although those who want to hear everything that's on the CD in very minute detail might be best served by looking elsewhere.

For a short time while I was between preamplifiers I borrowed a solid-state unit. I found that to be a better match for the Tjoeb in my system than when I was using a tube preamp. There was a loss of focus and a roll-off in the treble that seemed to be accentuated when using either the c-j or Audible Illusions preamps.

The Tjoeb's bass, although much, much better than the other tube players I've had in my system was still not as tight and otherwise commanding as "normal" CD players. I don't want to make too much of this, though. It sounded very good even in my warmer sounding and surprisingly good in my system when using a tube preamp, yet I often craved more detail. I ultimately preferred my Meridian combination. This is more because it wasn't the perfect CD player to use in combination with my tubed preamplifiers, especially when playing the hostile rock and electronic music that I often favor.

I have a couple more nits to pick about this player. Chief among them is that there was a relatively loud "click" when the number of the tracks changed on the display. "Where is this noise coming from?" I thought. It wasn't coming through the speakers; nor was it emanating from the display itself. It originated from the innards of the CD player. Upon inquiring if this noise was an anomaly the distributor said it was from the relay-based muting circuit that Tjoeb substitutes for the stock part. This substitution (and thus the click), they said, is well worth the sonic benefit it brings about. This clicking sound took a while to get used to, and on some CDs I never got used to it. It didn't occur all the time, for example, when track numbers changed in the middle of a symphonic movement. Yet between tracks of a pop or jazz album it was quite obvious. When the music began at the same time when the track was displayed, and the music was not too loud, it was rather irritating. Though in other cases I stopped noticing it as much.

Secondly, was its poor performance when testing the accuracy of its transport using the CD-Check disc by Digital Recordings. It could not get passed the first track without skipping. The Meridian transport I use can read all tracks faultlessly except for the last (track 5), and it was manufactured in the mid-1990s. Although, I can't say with any accuracy what part of its sound this poor performance affected, it was troubling.

Conclusion: Above I discuss the many benefits this player has over other "affordable" CD players with a tube output stage. However, its greatest asset is its price. Many are drawn to CD players that use tubes, and this player is the one to get if spending a great deal of money is not an option. --TL