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
Lkdog-

Just an update. Where you position the sheet makes a difference. Under the TRL 2000es is the best location and I also attached a fine silver wire between the sheet and the player and ran it to a metal weight.

Sonic improvement: "Gypsy Soul" track called "Slash" the heavy guitar since it is recorded close miked has less reverb. As a matter of fact I will have to say due to the tweek this resonance all but elimintate from my speakers.

For those who do not have this disc try "Tiny Island" on Opus 3 label track 4 the first 50 seconds is a small instrument that some of you will recognize. Try the before and after test and you will hear what this tweek does.

Jes45-

Yep you are right Jack. Running a wire from the static enclosure to a ground will probably be more effective than what I made up. It removed feedback from the close miked guitar and removed a compressed bass anomaly from the "Gypsy Soul" disc-new flamenco. Everything sounds more vinyl and has an added character that just simply keeps you drawn to the music. The bass got firmer and gutsier and the top end smoothed out. In this Hobby this type of improvement would cost over $200.

The flamenco disc by the way has Jesse Cook, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, Ottmar Liebert etc. In the wrong system the disc is bright and aggressive but when everything is jelling, its very very good. Nice test disc.

Lou
Lou: I tried to get in touch with my computer tech friend over the weekend, but he was probably out enjoying the sun somewhere. What you're describing sounds like something that should interest us all, even those outside the "TRL Family". I've seen various colors used for anti-static bags, maybe I'll try a few different colors and see if that does, and will try a "grounding strap" of sorts to the baggie, too, to see if there's anything there. Who knows?

Like I said before, this is something that benefits us all, and is an incredibly inexpensive tweak. Thanks Lou!
La45-

Tried a large bag/sheet that came with a mobo, but didn't notice a difference in my setup when placed underneath.
Will try again this evening with a different CD.
You never know about these things! Could have something to do with other variables in a specific setup/rack environment.
Thanks.
LKdog-

You are right, this maybe set up or equipment dependent. I really hope Jes45 is able to get some anti-static sheets. I am interested in his input.

Jes45-

This has to do with the "Full Image" pre by the designer.
My hunch about antistatic has to do with Don Smith who told me that one of his design specs is to ground static electricity. For some reason I got to thinking that the cd itself has its own charge and it might affect the sound. Boy if you fellas were here you will hear how this has upgraded my system. The question is will it only work in some situations?
Well, I tried a couple different CDs and different size anti-static sheets and could not hear a difference in my setup.
La45- I have no doubt at all it has made an audible difference in your system.

It may have something to do with the unique and different units/racks, cables, other components, etc.
These SA14's do have a lot of shielding and weight added to them so maybe are less susceptible to environmental electromagnetic stuff. Who knows. This thing weighs 35 lbs or something. I don't know why it is so heavy.
Sure sounds good :)