TRL Marantz Sa-14

Jsala - Your point about Paul is excellent. Paul and I have exchanged several emails regarding the Sa-14 I have ordered. He is very modest in his praise of the mods he does. His customers however, according to all the threads, are not as modest as he is about his mods. Paul is very clear in delineating his opinion if his mods from model to model. The Sa-14 and SA 11 earn his highest praise. Seemingly, there is a corellation between the build quality of a machine, and how it will ultimately sound. This, i believe, boads well for those - like me - who are the crazy enough, to buy a unit without ever hearing it.
Paul also communicates extremely well. Never, have I gone 24 hrs. without him responding to my email. He usually responds within 6 hours. TRL seems to turn the machines around quickly as well - within a week! The mods are extremely cost effective as far as mods are concerned these days. $550 for a mod that will bring (hopefully) truly amazing music into a life - is worth it. Next week my Sa-14 will ship.
I just hope MY personal tastes are in line with how the unit will eventually sound. Based on our 'email discussions', Paul seems to think so. So far - he has earned my trust. I'm looking forward to getting it, burning it in for a few days, then giving it a listen. :-)

Yes, Paul and TRL have a longstanding positive reputation in the audio field and he is very conscious of maintaining that rep with each and every customer from the $550 digital mods to the multi-thousand dollar amps he makes. Everybody gets treated respectfully.
He truly knows music-especially from his live audio engineering and recording work, which gives him a background other modders simply do not have. We talk about his "reference" as the $30,000 TRL processor, but actual real live music is also one of their "references".

As an amateur musician/recording hack this is what really got me interested in TRL. They simply know what actual live music performances sound like. Isn't that what we all are seeking in some way? If you have ever heard any of the Fidelis and Diversity recordings - they are quite impressive.

Since getting these mods is often a leap of faith for the end user which cannot compare the units side by side, TRL is a company (and there certainly are other fine ones too) that engender confidence.

OldPet-

Let us know how it turns out for you! I am trying to make up my mind on what unit to have them mod next.

I heard that Paul is pretty hush about what exactly goes into his mods. That really doesn't bother me. But has anyone seen the QUALITY of work that goes into his mods? I've seen the quality of work by some well established modders that looks like a tornado blew through the unit with wires going all over the place and makeshift tack on boards made of wood! If I had a quality built unit like the SA-11, I wouldn't want that kind of work in my player even if the mod improved the sound. I'm not in any way implying Paul does bad work as I have never seen his work. I'm still interested in getting the TRL mod. I'm just asking those who got his mod what the quality is like inside.

Dracule1-
Fair inquiry without a doubt.
I did not pop the hood on mine. Others have done so. I have heard earlier TRL Sony mods used more dampening material than later as they determined what amount was actually effective/needed per specific units. One guy in a thread on AA stated the work looked high quality, but was not specific. Maybe someone who has examined theirs closely can comment.

I have not heard anyone express concern about implementation-but TRL also is not sticking significant aftermarket new or replacement parts into the stock units so there is less likelhood of cramming stuff into space that was not meant for it. If anything, they take stuff out in some places but I don't really know.

Again, my impression from direct comments from Paul, and professional review info without knowing exact specifics is that their approach strengthens the transport, clock, circuitry, and power supply and shortens the signal path. It is more an enhancement than additive/re-engineering deal.

This modding thing is as much voicing skill IMHO as much as parts or wholesale technical changes. Maybe I am full of it, but really parts are not that pricy in the digital world.(I am an authorized computer reseller and builder). Parts are likely not the big expense in mods. The cost is in the hours in the design and creative process and labor.
Now that is not to say that if someone actually builds a proprietary component for a digital unit that they are not going to then charge what the market will bear.

If you are looking for a boatlad of new caps, a proprietary clock, and added tube stages and external power supplies-these guys are not your modders.

Their approach seems to be a marked difference from the additive or re-engineering modding school.
Both are obviously effective for people depending upon what they like and want and also how much they believe in a specific design approach.

Choices for the end user are good as is the market price competiton.

What I was told by another user is that after Paul's mod design on a unit, they use the same technicians that build their multi-thousand dollar preamps/amps and signal processors to actually do the mods.
That would be a good thing if accurate.