TRL 595-how good is it?

I have read alot of posts here and I see here and there that folks cant believe a mod can out-perform a $20,000 player. One post got a converstaion going that it is a $50.00 unit to produce, instead of asking how a inexpensive unit can sound so good, shouldnt more be asking "what the hell am I thinking paying $20,000 for a player?" Who is more insane? the person who buys a cheaper model and tweaks it for good sound, or the guy who spends a pile of money for a player...and better yet how much does that $20,000 player actually cost to make?, I would bet a FRACTION of the high price.

Chad, Hell! We're all insane, this hobby defines compulsive. I asked what $20k players don't sound as good as the TRL595. It's a reasonable question--I'm only asking that people back up their claims. I notice nobody has answered. I've never heard a $20k player so I wouldn't know, and my guess is that the guys making the claims haven't either. I love high value products. I sold my separates in favor of an integrated that is 35% of the price. Not because it was cheaper, but because I thought it sounded better. Nothing would make me happier than to find a cd source for $700 that would stomp $4000 modded players. Recently, I had a long conversation with a very respected modder and I asked him how close his mod for under $1000 would come to the Exemplar. He said his mod was outstanding, but there was only so much he could do with a certain amount, and that I couldn't realistically expect his mod to be as good as one that cost more than 4 times as much. I appreciated his honesty, and I understand that everything can be made better with money. As to your other point, we might all do better buying a boombox and putting the rest of our money in an income fund, but that is a matter of choice.

Which $20K players/combos are not as good as the TRL/Sony 595? Well, I had a EMM Labs (Meitner) combo in my system for over a month (and it was already broken in). That's not quite $20K, but it isn't too far off. (I have first hand experience. How many nay-sayers can say the same?)

I'm sure that you've already read Speakerarts post above ... how much does a APL Phillips cost?

I've already covered the differences between the two in past posts here at A'Gon. Do a search ...

AMEN!.....P.S. I never said I had my financial future al mapped out lol

Jes45, That's impressive if you think it beat the Meitner. I'll look for the posts where you compare it with the TRL. I must admit that you have me very curious abot the player, and the only way I will ever really know is to hear it in my system. Reasonable people can hear the same components and come to different conclusions, but I find it hard to believe the TRL would be in the same league with Meitner, Exemplar, APL, etc. but it's certainly possible. There is really only 1 way to know.