TRL Marantz Sa-14

Maybe Jes45 can jump in here.
He has firsthand experience with the TRL 2000 and the TRL modded Marantz SA14. I am not sure which version of the SA14 he has auditioned, I think version 1.
He was extremely impressed and comments from TRL are quite positive on the Marantz SA14 and SA11 units.
Your Sony 2000 is supposed to be a notch better than the TRL Sony 595 which I had. I found the burn in to be all of 500+ hours.
Sound was quite balanced across the spectrum and quite analog like after it settled in. Midrange will come.

La45
I have been interested in the TRL modded machines since reading the reactions of various Agoners who bought the TRL Sony 595. I emailed back and forth to Paul, at TRL, a few times and placed an order...Now, I have an Sa-14 coming from TRL in a few days. According to Paul, in its STOCK form, the Sa-14 is NOT a very good player. BUT, according to Paul, - after they re-work the unit, nothing else compares to it except one of TRL's own $30K
machines! Something tells me, that Paul Weitzel would not make that type of comparison lightly. We'll see soon.

La45
I have been interested in the TRL modded machines since reading the reactions of various Agoners who bought the TRL Sony 595. I emailed back and forth to Paul, at TRL, a few times and placed an order...Now, I have an Sa-14 coming from TRL in a few days. According to Paul, in its STOCK form, the Sa-14 is NOT a very good player. BUT, according to Paul, - after they re-work the unit, nothing else compares to it except one of TRL's own $30K
machines! Something tells me, that Paul Weitzel would not make that type of comparison lightly. We'll see soon.

I too have entertained purchasing the Marantz SA-11S1 and possibly modding it later down the road by TRL. But the TRL posts I've read so far leaves me wondering if the mods are really a significant improvement.

First it all started with the TRL Sony 595 (or the 777es?), then the 2000es, now the Marantz. With each successive modification, I keep on hearing it's almost like the $30k TRL unit. Leave me wondering if all of these units sound essentially the same after the mod - all almost like the $30k unit, a unit no one but Paul, the designer, has heard as far as I could tell. No one on Audiogon knows how the $30k TRL truly sounds as I have yet to hear from a real owner. So what are we really comparing these mods too? Could you really trust the words of the modder who has a vested interest in selling you his mods and tells you his latest mod is the closest to his ultra digital unit? I'm not trying to slam the TRL mods or Paul in any way, as I have not heard a TRL mod. TRL mods may live up to its hype. I just hate hearing the endless talk about the latest mod sounding like a $30k unit that no one seems to have heard. There is no end to it. Who will it be next, the Denons, Esoterics, etc.?

I, for one, will buy my next digital source from a retailer or manufacturer who will allow a home demo and just enjoy my purchase and not worry if my unit sounds like a $30k or $3,000,000 unit I have never heard or will ever own. Then after a week like a true audioholic, I will call Paul, Dan Wright, etc and ask them for their ultmate mod :) Ain't the life of an audiophile a bitch!

Not to be an sa-14 cheerleader, but its redbook was compared to the benchmark dac1 as being very, very close, a dac rated as first rate by every pro reviewer and recording engineer to get there hands on it. John Marks used it as a cornerstone suggested player for $30k'ish systems, if I recall, and there are tons of reviews of the SA-14 suggesting it is superior to anything Sony, denon, philips or most small company offereings under 2-3K. Are you quoting TRL when they say it is "NOT a very good player?" If you are, I'd presonally stay far away from TRL and their mods, as I find the SA-14 quire good and I'd deduce that the TRL house sound is not going to be to my tastes. I know a guy that thinks the SA-14 sounds better then the Esoteric DV-50 on redbook, and plenty of folks have commented that the SA-14 and Esoteric are nearly indestinguishable on SACD. ...ok, I'll put the pom-poms down. I don't own this machine but did at one time and hate to see people that have never listened to it give it a bad shake. I've owned it, among countless $3-5K digital rigs, and its near the top of my list for making music....