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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
oldpet
295 posts
 
hi Jack

Concratulations! I'm sure you'll love having such wonderful sound at your finger tips. Who knows - The 14 may even stop your search, for a while. :-)

I love those recordings of paul's they really are a joy to hear. I haven't even begun to play with isolation devices yet. I am using a Signal Cable HC digital power cord on the 14. It works for me. FWIW
jsala
99 posts
 
Paul told me that the SA14 v1 and v2 sound the same after being modded. If so then you basically get the TRL mods for free if you get the v1 instead of the v2.

If the 8260 sounds as good as the SA14 when modded then it would be a great buy since it is several hundred $$$ cheaper (a new 8260 is cheaper than a used SA14 v1). I have not heard if TRL mods the 8260.

I have heard/read (someone should confirm) that the 8260 uses a Sony transport and DSP (and may have reliability problems) whereas the SA14 uses a Sharp transport (which weighs 5 lbs and is made of metal).
reb1208
518 posts
 
I'm not acting anyway about anything. Your the one that directed a post to me. I could care less what you do or say.
jsala
99 posts
 
I'm getting a CRL Silver Series power cord from Paul along with my modded SA14 as he says it will give a more solid low-end and better soundstaging/imaging. I figure I could do worse than follow the recommendation of the designer, in this case of both the mod and the power cord! I'll try the CRL along with my Bolder Cable Nitro and see which one suits me and my system best.

I saw an ad for a CRL Bronze Series power cord here on audiogon. The owner had a TRL modded 595 or 2000ES and it seems that Paul recommends the Bronze series for these players and the upgraded Silver Series for the SA14, which is reasonable given that better players can better take advantage of better power cords.

I have not been able to find information online about the differences among the Bronze, Silver and Gold series of power cords so I am buying based on my trust of Paul.
jes45
293 posts
 
Oldpet (Paul); I'll keep you informed. I have a line on a SA-14 V1 ...

Listening to "Late Tuesday", cut 3 with the baby cry ...

Jack
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