TRL Marantz Sa-14



After speaking to Paul at TRL I am very curious to hear from those who own this unit what improvements do you hear with the player before and after the mod.

The SA-14 sounds weak in the bass and has no dynamics in comparison to some players like the Sony Scd-1 in stock form. Has anyone compared the TRL Sa-14 to the Sony Scd-1?
la45
La45-

The TRL SA14 is better than anything I have had before including:

-CEC transport/Bel Canto DAC 1.1
-Cary 308
-other various midlevle Pioneer/Sony players.
It is also better than the Sony TRL 595 I had this Spring which was an excellent player in every respect.

My turntable/cartridge/phono stage is in my signature.
The TRL Sa14 does many things better than my modest setup, but analog has it's own character and I would say that there are some recordings I tlike better on my TT setup.
This is depenedent upon the software/or LP also.

Lkdog-

You seem to have had many opportunities to listen before deciding on the TRL. Like others here I went with what was said on this thread in making a decision. It was APL or Exemplar but the TRL is so reasonably priced I could not resist. No regrets at all on my decision.

Not many used SA-14 in the market so I plan on sending my Sony 2000es TRL for an update. Apparently there is no other players that Paul recommend at this time that exceeds the performance of the SA-14.
LA45, could you elaborate on the updates available for the Sony 2000ES TRL? I own the same TRL modified unit and am curious. Is it a small improvement or greater?
La45-

Well, I actually had pretty limited experience in listening to higher end digital. Just my stuff through the years and a friend who actually has had some high end DACs, etc.

I got my first TRL unit (595) without hearing it first. I had talked with some people who had it, a pro reviewer, and of course Paul Weitzel. Really just took a flyer on TRL (as I would have with any modder, really). Guess I just liked what others had to say and Paul was clearly ethical and passionate about audio.
I am sure other modder units are excellent also, but I am very happy with my TRL SA14.
Shuang-

Paul was not very specific about the update but I will report back here the improvements assuming there will be.

LKdog-

Still waiting for one of you to place your TRL SA-14 for sale. So far you guys are "in love". If the person whome I just contacted is reading this, will you please hurry up and get bored of it so that I can make you an offer.

For now I will continue to love my Sony 2000es. Some improvements in the system have up the ante and everything sounds great. Plan on sending Paul this unit in for update sometime next weak.