TRL Marantz Sa-14

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.

Shayne.

I currently own a TRL Sony 2000ES. TRL purchased the new unit for me, modded it, then shipped it to me in Canada.

Are they in a position to purchase new SA-8260s like the Sony 2000ES?

Like others, I am really hoping the SA-14 younger sibling is an over achiever. I really like my 2000ES but the thought of getting near SA-14 performance at an SA-8260 price makes me drool.

PS: How much did you/TRL pay for the new SA-8260 unit?

Hey TRL Gang

Just wondering if any of you have heard the TRL 225 watt per channel SS integrated? I understand it to be pretty special.

Don't mean to steer this thread down another street. Just curious.

paul

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.

Sbayne-

Let us know how it turns out as it breaks in. I am guessing it will be similar to the SA14 in many ways.
Break in takes time-they seem to see the 500 hour mark as pretty standard on their mods. My expereince with two TRL digital mods is that it pretty much is changing a lot for the first 300 hours. After that it is more incremental changes. I do think they use some of the wire internally to the IEC connection that they also use in their High End power cords that Jsala has mentioned. The break in on that wire alone is long from what I hear-hence part of the 500 hour process.

Shuang -

They do have the ability to order new units from Marnatz. You could check with them about pricing on an 8260 and get their opinion on how it compares to the Sony 2000 which is a very special unit in it's own right.

Oldpet-

I will be seeing and hearing the ST-225 integrated solid state amp next week. My friend here in Agon (tmoore) is trying it out with his Soundlabs. He gets it tomorrow.
I have talked to someone who has one. He is very very impressed. Claims it may be the best he has ever heard and he has been doing this hobby for 3 decades. I may get to try it out in my system also when my friend has evaluated if it works in his setup.