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

Guess whose coming to Dinner?

Over the weekend here is the lineup:

Mark Levinson 380s, Mactone preamp, Meitner Switchman II,
Full Image preamp. The total retail is $40,000 when new.

Guess what was in front of all these great preamps?

No one laid any criticism on the Sony 2000es. Considering these guys have over 15 years in this hobby, I feel good that the Sony presentation was lucid for all to enjoy.

As for the pre shootout, each pre had a define sonic signature albeit there was a problem with the Levinson not having suitable warm up time (1 day) for it to smooth out.

Overall an enjoyable day for the 6 of us in my listening room. In my opinion the clear winner is the Sony and a CDR disc burned from an original LP copy of the "Modern Jazz Quartet Live at Carnegie Hall".
Hello guys,
It is good to see a bunch of TRL users grouped here to share and discuss. I just have a Gold Color DV9500 FedEx to Paul for mod. Yes, it is an Asian Version rather than the black US version. Hopefully it will be ready by next week or so.

By the way, what SACDs and CDs do you guys use to burn in your player?

Thanks,
-Howard
Howard -
Just use anything loud with a large frequency spectrum.....or just LOUD! :-)

enjoy your player when it comes.

paul
Hi Howard,

I think you will be pleased with the results. I also have an Asian Marantz 9500 (220v) and I am not at all happy with the sound on redbook or SACD, or as a transport. I find the high frequency lacking in refinement and the overall is not very coherent. And this is in spite of having the very latest Crystal dacs and updated HDAM output circuits.

My TRL SA14 is still breaking in but it is already a much better player and transport. While it needs to further settle in, it is quite dynamic and natural. Play a well recorded CD or SACD (those those of Paul) and it will sound very analog.

Let us know how your 9500 turns out!
Oldpet,
Thanks for the suggestion. I have a couple performing CD's that have frequency ranging the whole spectrum with very dynamic rhythm and transient. However, I have more difficulty finding the similar's in SACD. Most likely I will burn-in the SACD (preferrably m-ch) with some large scale orchestral works as the last resort.

Jsala,
I have no doubt it will beat the crap out of my Ah! CDP that I am using now. However, that would not be enough. I was in Taiwan last year and listened to numerous high-end systems at friends' places both in digital and analog. I trully look forward to how well this player is going to perform.
Originally I wanted to sign-up the TRL11 from Paul. But due to the short supply, I just couldn't wait. While contemplating between SA-14 and DV9500, I chose to go the 9500 route because of its newer 4398 DAC, updated HDAM output circuits, and m-ch support. Regarding the transport, I believe its transport should be similar or even identical to the one used in Denon3910 as they both source from D&M Professional. So far, Paul is liking what he sees in term of built quality, while the sound is still the 'typical' Marantz house sound. Knowing Paul's team is a bunch of miracle workers, I am hoping that the player could reach the league to be with the big boys such as TRL11 and 14. I can't wait to receive the player.

By the way, what IC and PC are people using with their players? I am getting the Silver PC from Paul as well. Any recommendation for ICs?

Thanks,
-Howard