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
"I believe I asked that very question to either Paul or Brian, can't remember which at this point, and the answer was yes."

Hmmm . . . curious.
M3pilot

I believe that there are 2 seperate circuits, SACD and CD, which need to be broken in. I'm surely not an electrical engineer, so any questions beyond that should be directed to the guys at TRL.

hope this helps
Hey pardales! So you got your unit and are in the process of breaking it in! Looking forward to hearing your opinions on how it compares to the xa777es. Please do let me know. Please let me know if the differences were dramatic or subtle and which you liked more. I am considering the modded sa 14. I hope you will still remember how the xa777es sounded as to still be able to make an informative comparison. That shouldn't be a problem as you used to own one. I think the sony xa777es is a really good machine. I havent owned alot of hi end cd players (I once owned a marantz cd 17)but i have to say the sony is the best i've owned so far. I find it to be a very honest player. It tells you what's there and doesn't sugar coat the original studio recording. Things come through very neutral. Judging it in comparison to reference or world class players (and to be honest , I havent heard any of them but can imagine)I would guess and I realize I'm only guessing but I would say that it is probably a bit cold and a bit harsh. "A bit cold and a bit harsh" relatively speaking, in comparison to the ultra high end cdp's.

Anyways...Happy listening.

Vertigo...

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Pardales-

Chatted with Paul about the break in issue to verify what we talked about months ago.
The answer is yes and no (:>
If the machine was brand new, then more yes as you have to break in both SACD and CD for a period of time.
If the unit was already used, then the DAC needs minimal re-break in and the unit break in overall can be done with either or both.

I think I got this right (:>