Alan writes:
"Adding to what Bren mentioned, won't it be fun to use a device that generates a rich wash of harmonic distortion, AC hum & noise, and begins deteriorating the moment it's turned on?"
Not to put too fine a point on the matter Alan, but are you sure you know what you're talking about? Have you ever listened to an Ah!? I know there're folks on this board who think all CD players are the same, but friends, unless you're hearing impaired, I can tell you that's not the case. The Ah! with standard tubes sounds (Philips Jan 6922 Military Grade NOS tubes) terrific. With upgraded Siemens E288CCs the sound is even better. With the upsampler, well, you're really in audiophile bliss if you can get over any fixed idea you may be stuck on that all CDP's sound the same.
Alan may not like the Ah! but there are many respectable reviewers out there who think the Ah! is something really special. Dick Olsher from Enjoy the Music.com, one of my favorite sites, thinks it "slays every other player I've heard to date in the under $3K price range. At its sub $1K asking price, its price/performance ratio is simply out of this world. The Super Tjoeb gets my vote for digital product of the year." TNT loves it. I've heard it and it is the best sounding CDP I've ever heard.
But hey, you guys are the experts. My ears must not be sensitive enough to hear the hum or the tubes degrading and silly me, what I thought sounded terrific was really just "a rich wash of harmonic distortion" and noise.
Must be the Axioms which make that poor thing sound as good as it does.
