General Asylum: REVIEW: AH! Tjoeb 99 CD Player/Recorder by Dennis Dalton

I know that the perception of music is psycho acoustic by it's very nature, and
therefore becomes very subjective. What I perceive as steak others may see as
hamburger. Your ears are a great gift, use them. Following this review all
equipment and music used will be listed. Length of review was approximately
two weeks, with two, three hour sessions per day. Although other audio
components were used , this review is about the strengths and shortcomings of
the Ah! Tjoeb 99' cd player.

Before the Tjoeb arrived at my door in five business days as stated by Mr. Van
Dungen, nicely double boxed. I spent three weeks listening to four very fine cd
players. Cambridge cd-4se, Rotel 971, Arcam 9 and the Rega Planet. They are
listed in reviewers order of preference. All of which are more costly than the
Tjoeb, however considering street prices, the Cambridge comes in a little
lower.

A few notations about my Tjoeb:
It has not exhibited the clicking noise other reviewers have mentioned. It
appears Herman and Frank have rectified this small annoyance.
The Tjoeb is not as lightweight to me, as other reviewers have stated.
The remote is very small, but has a very good axis degree of use. I found
the transport to work smoothly, with no annoying noise. The gold plated
outputs are a nice touch. The build quality of the Marantz 38 is typical
mid-fi. Overall though I was quite pleased with the quality and operating
smoothness of the unit. Afterall In It's basic form it is an entry level player.
My Tjoeb had two options added, the AH! noise killer and a super crystal
replaced the standard Marantz crystal. Vibrapoid Isolators were used
under Tjoeb, Bright Star little rock over. After burn In the unit needs
about a thirty minute warm up for top performance.

From Top To Bottom:
The top end of the Tjoeb is very delicate, with large amounts of finesse.
The highs are always detailed and transparent. Cresendos can become scarry.
Every syllable is clean and clear. No spit, edginess or splash. If I only had
one word to best describe the top end, It would be sparkle as opposed to
dry, recessed, forward, bright, rolled off etc.

Midrange,Oh that glorious midrange:
The upper mids through the highs are detailed, Inviting and liquid. Voices,
I can now hear very minute changes in nuance and expression. The Tjoeb
has an effortless and unfatiguing presentation. There is a realism that makes
you forget you are listening to a cd. Strings are exceptionally smooth. On
timpani's and upper bass you can actually hear the rumbles after
the attack. Piano, one of the hardest instruments to reproduce, has
never sounded better. There is a musical flow to the music that I have
never experienced until now. I found myself constantly tapping my toes,
how do I know this? A couple weeks ago I broke my leg and sometimes the
tapping hurt.

The Bottom:
The bass and lower mids have an Impressive rhythmic drive, that adds more
enjoyment to the music. Even on mundane cds there Is now a quality that
before Tjoeb was missing. The low end has such Impact, Is It live or Is It
Tjoeb. This Is the first player that on my system I could easily enjoy
without a sub. The Tjoeb Is clearly the most dynamic cd player I have ever
heard. Low bass Is tight with abundant bloom. Mid bass slam is to say the
least, most Impressive. Upper bass Is well defined with oddles of oompth.
Maybe the letters In Tjoeb should stand for The Joy Of Every Beat.

Soundstage:
Very large with excellent front to rear depth. I am now able to place soloists
and Instruments much more easily. A little eerie at times, depending on
source material. There Is an abundant amount of soundstage air and Inner
detail. The background is now dead quiet.

A Few Notations:
Searching for musical shortcomings In the Tjoeb brought little return.
But the Tjoeb has a few. I found the Tjoeb somewhat Interconnect
sensitive In my enviorment. After trying five or six pairs, I settled on JPS
Ultraconductors. The Transparent and DH Labs were also very nice.
The Superconductors sounded even better. But considering the Inexpensive
price of the Tjoeb, I found that the Ultras were a better match, strictly
from a cost performance factor. The JPS conveyed what the Tjoeb was
capable of, the others to some extent did not. The Transparent were tonally
off in the low end. The DH were a little edgy with somewhat compressed
dynamics. The Kimber And Cardas I used were In a word ok. Also changes
In Interconnects brought about Instantly reconizable changes In sound
character. When listening to vocals, at times the music seemed to overpower
the vocals. Is this a shortcoming or am I now hearing exactly what is on
the recording? And yes I have a JPS bias. The Tjoeb Is not built like a tank.
Afterall It Is a Marantz based CD-38, with all the good stuff neatly tucked
away inside. If It wasn't for a small Tjoeb sticker on rear panel, you would
never know It was a Tjoeb, until you turned It on. Compared to the mega
buck players, the Tjoeb Is on the light side, making It prone to acoustic
resonance. Therefore some sort of cabinet Isolation is recommended. At
times I could hear a boxy quality In the upper mids, switching to the NHT
It disappeared. Since I live In the country, no neighbors, my second session
was usually late at nite. As I was pondering through my notes before
starting to compose this review, I noticed one strange occurence, the Tjoeb
always sounded better during the late session. Just a little more of
everything. I know this may sound strange to some, but It Is a fact.

Thoughts:
What I seemed to notice most about listening to the Tjoeb, was the way I
was drawn In to the performance. There Is something very appealing the
way valves recreate air, space and tonal color. Is the Tjoeb the best
sounding cd player? I think not. When compared to the current state of the
art players, the Tjoeb falls short. It lacks the last degree of resolution,air
weight, extension, harmonic richness and that ultimate smoothness. Is the
Tjoeb the best sounding cd player under 2,000.00? maybe. Take from this
review what It Is. Let your ears be the final judge. It Is your money, your
system, and the total enjoyment you receive from your cd player purchase will
be yours alone. As for the other four players, before Tjoeb I could have lived
with any of them and been content. Many times on different recordings I
preferred one over the other. Once the Tjoeb was burned In, I was totally
hooked. Just more dynamic and musical. For around five Ben Franklin's
there Is nothing better on planet Earth Galaxy Five. And with a little
additional tweaking, tubes, Isolators, Interconnects and power cords, maybe
we can make this 38 sound like a big bore magnum. I am totally satisfied with
the present sound of the Tjoeb. As of this writing I believe I am the only one
to review the Tjoeb with the AH! noise killer and Super Crystal installed.

Final Thoughts:
During the better than two weeks of listening, I noticed that I was listening at
lower levels compared to the other players. The great dynamics allow the music
to breathe at lower levels. However on the cd Rainbows, last track, Prisim,
and on a few other selections on other cds, at high volume with sub in.
Herman and Frank might want to consider another option for the Tjoeb,
a diaper. As you may lose control of your bodily functions. The Tjoeb Is
an unqualified success, and I can not Imagine It not making you as happy
as It has me. The Tjoeb just might be my final stop on my pilgrimage to
musical nirvana. It just portrays the music. Like one other reviewer stated,
you better get your Tjoeb fast before the Dutch come to their senses and
price the Tjoeb accordingly. The Tjoeb Is truly for the music lover.

In Closing:
I would like to personally thank Herman and Frank for bringing to this
country such a wonderful music player at such a wonderful price. Like
Beethoven on piano, the Dutch have labored to produce a great sounding,
cost effective cd player. And Indeed did they produce. I will acknowledge
that If a US company put this unit on the market, and after a few cosmetic
changes there would be another digit added to the price. My entire system
Is Home Theater based although 90% of my listening Is analog stereo.
As for the Krell and NHT 2.5i, both great products, however the NHTs
were not my cup of tea. My wife listened for a couple of hours during
one session. Her comments were, everything is cleaner more lively, yet
smooth, more like music. It's as If the Tjoeb adds a little soul to the music.
Anyone stating that the Tjoeb does not sound all that great, should check
a few things. Proper burn in, Isolators, Interconnects, possible bad tube or
tubes, other associated equipment and connections. And maybe a good
quality Q tip would not hurt either.

Parting Comment:
Good things do not come easily. No you cannot run down to your local
dealer and purchase a Tjoeb. Considering what you receive, a couple of
E-mails and a six day wait seem trivial. If you purchase one, then you can
do one of two things. Write me and tell me how much enjoyment you are
receiving from your purchase or write and tell me what a putz I am or
worse.
ENJOY THE MUSIC
Associated Equipment: * Indicates loaner
Krell KAV 300i* ATI-1505 Sony TA-E9000ES NHT2.5i*
PSB Silvers Bag End Infra Sub Above 4 cd players*
Audiotruth Midnight 3 Double runs Kimber 8TC BI Wire*
Cardas Micro 300B* Kimber Hero* Transparent Music Link Plus*
DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1* JPS Supers& Ultras
Monster 351 sub Interconnect RPG Room Treatment, Rear Walls
Room 25x17x8 Speakers firing down long wall toward four foot high
brick fireplace and wall.

Music Used:
Famous Blue Raincoat-Jennifer Warnes Chet Baker- Chet
Rainbows-Ron Cooley Daydreams- Ron Cooley
Massenet- Ballet Music Center Stage- Wilson Audiophile
Nojima Plays Ravel The Hunter- Jennifer Warnes
John Tavener- Eternitys Sunrise Duets- Jennifer Warnes
Winds Of War And Peace- Wilson Audiophile
Surfacing- Sarah McLaughlan
Numerous Big Band, Opera, Light Jazz, Pop, Country, Classical, Organ,
New Age, Choir, Hip- Hop, In fact I threw everything at the
Tjoeb I could find even ABBA

REVIEW: AH! Tjoeb 99 CD Player/Recorder Review by Dennis Dalton at Audio Asylum