TRL Marantz Sa-14

I am using a Benz phonostage that TRL moded for me. They also made me a power supply to replace the wall wart it came with.

Guess I have it about 6 weeks now and about 125 hours. Kinda hard to breakin a phonostage.......lots of LP's spinning.

Anyway, I have owned this model phonostage a few times already. So I am very familiar with its sound.

Cleary there was a change as it broke in and the sound without question is different than the stock unit. I have the wall wart too, so I can judge without the better power supply.

My best description of what the TRL mod does is provide a smoother and more even tonal balance. Nothing appears out of place or calls attention to itself. Also, clearly there is MUCH less distortion and noise in the signal. I can hear low level detail more fully fleshed out. And this detail is presented in a tonally "human like" way. In other words, it sound real, not electronic.

About what was actually done is still a secret here. But my best guess is that the transistors in the gain stage have either been replaced with proprietary ones. Or the circuit has been altered to improve upon the stock transistors that came with the unit.

Thata all for now.

Hi Reb,

Thanks for the info on your TRL phono stage. You make a very good observation that all the mods share the same 'characteristcs', lower noise and smoother presentation without sacrificing detail. Very interesting since its anybody's guess what Paul and CO. are doing.

On the Marantz SA-11, I assume a shipment came in and TRL is now shipping out these players.

La45: Hi Lou. I've been out of town on sales calls since Monday, but did get a chance to try a few different anti-static bags. So far, there has been no change. I'm sure that there is something there, but I haven't found the same material as you have. If we consider the rotating mass of a polycarbonate disc with several electric fields below it, it just makes sense that static could be an issue. I've found that my discs sound better after cleaning them with Record Research Labs Shine Ola (made by Brian Weitzel who helps with the TRL mods) even when they were previously cleaned with the same product. I'm assuming this is because the water in the solution is breaking down the static charge. I think that you are onto something, Lou. Unfortunately, I haven't found the same material that you have. I have a few more bags to try over the weekend. I'll let you know.

Hchi: I did get to hear your 9500, Howard, as I stopped by to see the guys at TRL on my return trip. The TRL SA-14 is the best that I've heard so far, so I'll make comparisons to it, directly. Unfortunately, my last experience with the TRL SA-14 is one that is almost fully broken in, so my comparisons aren't really fair in some regard. In my opinion, the 9500 audio is very good. It has a sound very similar to the SA-14, very wide and deep stage, full frequency extension on each end and very analog sounding. It lacks a little detail and resolution, but then again, this will refine upon break in, with my experience of 8 TRL mods. Yours is a very nice looking unit, with a Gold face plate and the nicest gold like paint finish on the top cover. I wish that my black SA-14 looked as nice. I think that over time, once it breaks in, it will sound very close to the SA-14. Paul told me that he was confident that it would have that same TRL/Marantz sound once it is broken in. I didn't have a chance to check out the video quality, so I can't make remarks on that. I haven't heard of a universal player yet that does everything perfectly. Let me know if the 9500 has great video, too. I'd really like to know. By the way, Paul said that your's is a special unit made for the orient. It sure is beautiful.

TRL Family: My SA-14 is going to TRL next week. Brian told me that they have 4 confirmed (with shipping tracking confirmation info) SA-14's coming next week, too. Hopefully, they'll have time to fit me in. I'll let everyone know my initial impressions, once I get it back.

I got to hear the Transistor Research Labs ST-225 which is going to the Northwest Audio Mafia Club meeting at Cain and Cain Loudspeakers, in Walla Walla, Washington tomorrow. There will be a reporter from the Robb Report flying in from Los Angeles for the event. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend. Keep an eye on the various forums, maybe a fellow audiophile who does attend will be so nice as to share info about the event?

TRL makes State of the Art amps and pre-amps, both tube and solid state (Tube Research Labs and Transistor Research Labs). Hybrid SACD's and cd's (Fidelis Records and Diversity Records). High end cables (FIM and Cable Research Labs). Software cleaning products (Record Research Labs). And of course wonderful and affordable digital mods. Geez, what's next?

I've had my SA14 (and a CRL Silver series power cord) for slightly over 3 weeks now, and its been playing continuously for almost th entire time. The sound has been changing. Bass has gotten stronger so I need to adjust my sub down a bit. Top end still needs to smooth out more and the mid doesn't seem as fleshed out and natural as it did earlier. Power cords take a lot of time to break in (and this one has a ton of metal in it, its like wrestling a snake). I guess I need to give the SA14+power cord another 1-2 weeks to break in.

I recently owned the $17,500 CEC TL0 with a 24mxl audiologic tubed DAC with very expensive cable. I've owned the sony 775,595, and 2000, all TRL modded. They all handily overcame my $22,000 combo. All modded by TRL AND NOW I have the gold sa-14v2 that's the end. I no longer need to listen to my pro scully open reel with my more than 1000 professionally recorded 4 & 2 track tapes. I also had the sony 9000es modded by another modder for $2500, big mistake, big shot modder too. This man, Paul Wietzel is the epitomy of integrity. I call him the Norman Rockwell of American audio . Some one asked why would one pay for a mod. Because you simply can't get this level of performance at any cost, corporations simply can't cordinate to this extent, too many personal asperations. I think to spite one's reputation, even by suggestion, is all to common in this industry. If you have not tried it, leave deducing to Sherlock Holmes, no pun intended. For you guys seeking the best period, go with the marantz sa-14v2. I have over 30 years experience in this hobby, with great understanding as to how this community works. I'm not an amature. I submit this humbly. It pays to have a system up to the task of producing Paul's work. My suggestion to mister Wietzel is to raise his price by an order of (10) It will still be worth it, 5,000.00 dollars ? yea. But knowing his integrity, he won't.