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
La45

Paul has a record lable called Fidelis Records. I think he only has 3 SACDs available right now. (I may be incorrect on this.)
They are recorded (DSD) in live environments such as churches, art museums etc. and are really beautiful. I have all three discs: (provided by Paul)
1. "Violoncello" - excellent
2. "Tchiakovsky 'The Seasons' arranged for piano trio" - also excellent
3. Astor Piazzolla Histoire du Tango - Haven't gotten to this one yet.
If you like well, and I mean well, recorded chamber music, you should really check them out. The staging is amazing. You can really 'see' the players in their places as they perform. I know Paul has MANY copies he would like to move. :-)

Best
paul

Yup, with the TRL SA14 my system is now pumping out a lot of deep, tight and tuneful bass. My system isn't built for bass-heads -- I have an ACI Force sub (little bro of the Titan) and, while my main speakers are running full range and are spec'ed to go down to 33 Hz, there is a limit to the quantity of bass that the Scanspeak Revelator 5.5" woofer can pump out. That said, it is sufficient to produce natural bass that is balanced with the rest of the frequency system. My system is audio-only, so no need to reproduce cannons, T-Rexes, etc.
Jsala-

Jes45 is probably the expert on QuickSilver.
If you go to their website, I think he has his impressions/review of the product posted there.
I did not notice any drawbacks before-only positive changes in presence and focus of the sound presentation.
The science behind it makes sense to me.
If you don't like it-simply wipe it off with alcohol or DeOxit.

It does take most of three days to settle down after application. You won't like it the first two+ days.

As far as the bass on the SA14-my setup has two major things going on right now with the integrated amp burning in and the then also the SA14 unit burning in. The bass is very clean, tight, and musical. I am sure it will fill out with that additional minor increment I am used to in my system when both the amp and SA14 break in.

I listen to all kinds of music, but mostly a lot of late 50's and early 60's jazz ensembles (Miles, Adderley, Coltrane, Monk, Burrell, Brubeck, Smith, etc). So I really am not what one would call a bass afficiando, but I do like to feel the weight of the lower end a bit as long as it is consistent and not out of place with the recording.
Lkdog: Thanks for your praise, but I'm no expert. Quick Silver is an amazing product, period. The only downfall of the prodcut is that in audio applications, the sound will suck (bad) for the first 24 to 36 hours. I just let my player run on repeat for 36 hours, came back and shook my head, the sound improved so much!

I've found that you want to use the least amount possible ... that too much can become a problem. (This can probably be said for the other silver conductive pastes, too.) I'd be happy to answer any question regarding Quick Silver from my experience. Either here or at my e-mail jack_seaton@yahoo.com . Brian Kyle (the manufacturer) answered all of my questions, so he might be a more logical source than me ... I don't make the stuff! In short, it works. I have a customer testimony at the XtremeAV.com web site for those seeking more detail. http://xtremeav.com/TestimonialsQSPage1.htm

BTW, I'm very interested in your and Jsala's opinion of the TRL/SA-14. Is it everything you expected?

Jack
Oldpet,

Thanks for the information on the TRL discs. I will get in touch with Paul next week.