TRL Marantz Sa-14

Wow, great thread! I just sent a Marantz SA-8260 off to TRL. Paul recommended it over the Sonys mostly because of the transport and output stage. Can't afford a SA-14. I should get it back in about a week. The anti-static paper is an interesting tweek which I intend to try. Anyone try ERS sheets from Stillpoints under or on top of their CDP? The sheets help with EMI/RFI problems. I bet the ERS would really help the AH! player mentioned.

I've applied the ERS that has adhesive under the cover of my CDP and a piece over the transformer in the CDP and my amp. Noise floor seemed to drop and each note is a little more fleshed-out. A combination of ERS and anti-static paper may be the ticket. Paul indicated this will be his second SA-8260 he has done so if the person who has the other TRL 8260 is out there please chime in! I will keep you guys updated.

Does anybody know why TRL mods take 500 hours to break-in? Thats 21 straight days of playing! What is it they do that requires this? I'm not really complaining because mine is sounding better every day - I'm just wondering.

Got my Marantz SA-8260 back from TRL today. There was a car accident wherein a number of TRL's employees were injuried so their turn around time has been slower than normal. Will start burn-in tonight and hopefully post some comments in a week or so. A number of you have emailed me about my 8260 since I had posted about it earlier. I just wanted to let you know the status.

I purchased the unit used for $550 on Audiogon. There is one for sale right now for $495 on Audiogon which is a great deal. I'm surprised its lasted this long. I don't think TRL sells new units for modding. Initial impressions are the low bass is greatly improved but the mids and highs need to settle down - they aren't bad but just not what I expected. I'll let you know more later.

Lkdog - We certainly wish Brian well. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm approaching 150 hours on my TRL. You would have to have a pretty low end system to not hear the differences between the straight out of the box player and how this player currently sounds. The soundstage has gone from flat to extending one to two feet outside of each speaker and to about 5 feet behind the speakers. I'll just let it keep playing.....

No 500 hours break-in isn't normal. I've had a number of mods done by other companies on amps, preamps, cds, etc and after a couple hundred hours they usually reach their potential. The caps and transformers should be fully cooked by that time. I'm guessing they use a special kind of solder or leads.

You are misunderstanding my question. I know TRL mods take up to 500 hours to break-in: but why? Other mods I have had done by companies such as Musical Concepts and SACDMods didn't take that long. I am guessing TRL uses special solder or leads that require the long break-in.

I agree the whole break-in discussion is a little mysterious especially with TRL claiming 500 hours is necessary when other companies say 100 hours is enough. All I can say is my system is sounding better every day. My son even commented the sound is getting "wider and deeper". I'll just let it keep playing.....

Cjenest - Distortion in the midrange and treble are not normal. I don't have your exact player but based on my experience at some where between 100 to 150 hours the TRL mod really starts to flesh the sound out with lot of air around the instruments and no hard sounding treble. Your player may have been damaged. Does it sound like the transport is rubbing or anything of that nature?

I would wait and put the McIntosh in your system and let it play for a few days. My guess is the "shhh..." you described is not distortion but what I have described as "air" around the instruments which the Denon is not fully presenting. Just IMHO.

I posted a while back that I sent Paul a SA-8260 for modding. Thanks to everyone who requested updates over the past few months. It has taken a while because one of Paul's key employees was injured in a car accident and he has had a lot of players coming in for modding. After getting it back the break-in period has taken a very long time. I’ve lost count of the hours but my best guess is it has 550 to 575 hours on it.

Fresh back from the mod, the player sounded much more dynamic than the stock unit. The bass was deeper but the mids and highs may have been even a little more shouty. I am guessing he uses some type of silver solder or wire because in the past I’ve heard the same thing when using silver cables that were not fully broken-in. The soundstage opened up at about the 200 hour point. Images fleshed-out well in front of the speakers, 2 or 3 feet wider than the speakers and at least 5 feet behind the speakers – all with a very nice center fill. If you are getting a flat soundstage with your TRL player either its not broken-in or there is a weak link some where in your system, because its not the player.

The mod sounds fine but I’m a little concerned about the microdynamics in the midrange and treble. I’m not talking about hearing detail but having a real and relaxed sound. This is hard for me to describe but the one area of playback I always listen for is a sense there is no strain in the system and the musicians are simply making music. My wife is a professional musician and I enjoy making music (I’m no pro though!) and if I hear sounds that are over emphasized I immediately think something is not right. I know my recordings very well and I’ve owned/heard some very good players, dacs and transports over the years. I can just “feel” if the midrange/treble microdynamics are right. If you spend any significant time around live acoustic music you know what I’m talking about.

The TRL 8260 is very good and its getting better as more time is put on the player. Everything is “there” but it just hasn’t relaxed yet. To put it another way, if I were to break down every aspect of this modded player I would say the midrange has clarity, the treble is smooth yet detailed, the soundstaging is huge, the bass is tight and the background is black. However, all those great attributes have not melted together into one very believable sound. I still know I’m listening to a CD.

The answer may be to move-up the food chain. A SA-14 maybe on the horizon. Before I go that route, I’m just going to let the 8260 keep playing – I think its capable of better sound. So even this “review” is still a work in progress. I’ll report back in about another month or so.

Brouch - based on my listening the TRL mod is worthy of recommendation as it stands now. I'm just trying to squeeze that last drop of performance out of it. I should mention I've got it sitting on Mapleshade footers with heavyhats. The power cord is a ZCable Red Lighting. So if you consider the total cost I have in this player the $500 TRL mod is well worth it on a cost/benefit basis even if the player doesn't improve with even more break-in (IMHO of course).

Great thread. Still on topic after all this time. Just want to say my TRL SA-8260 really likes to be isolated from vibration. I personally use mapleshade cones into a maple rack with heavyhats on top. I mention this because its a cheap tweek and the TRL mod takes these players to a level where such things are "noticeably audioable"(are those words?).

Update on my TRL Marantz SA-8260. The sound hasn't changed in the last month so I think its fully broken-in. I have some where around 650 hours on the mod. It still sounds a little "hyped" in the midrange/treble areas. Its not bright or forward it just isn't relaxed and coherent like I have heard in other players. But let’s put it in perspective. A new SA-8260 modded by TRL is about $1,500 depending on how much you pay for the player. If you buy a used player and have it modded the cost goes down to about $1,000 total. So the question is how does the TRL SA-8260 match-up in its price range? - IMHO nothing can touch it. The best SACD player I've heard is the Sony SCD-1 which is still about $2,000 used and the TRL SA-8260 easily beats it.(Please no flames. I readily admit this is based on memory after having a SCD-1 in my system for only a few days over a year ago) I have not heard a TRL SA-14 but I assume that will be my next purchase based on what others have said in this thread. Thanks again to all who sent private emails concerning the progress of my player.

Jsala - I'm using a ZCable Red Lightning with an Ultra ZSleeve. I will check out the VenHaus Airsine.

Pardales - How much do you want for the TRL SA-14 v.2? I'm being serious. Sometimes,like you say, equipment is not someone's "cup of tea."