Best SACD player for the money - Marantz SA-11S1

Dcaudio, you forget that your 555ES is a much cheaper player than all of the players that have been mentioned. A lot has happened since 2001, but that has nothing to do with how good the 555ES is. There isn't a stock player that goes for the same price as the 555ES did back then that beats the 555ES in every aspect. The 555ES has one of the best transports available on changers. You won't find the level of build quality then nor now for the same price. It was a good value back then and still is a good value now. But most people bought the 555ES either because they wanted a changer or they couldn't afford/didn't think it's worth the difference for the XA777ES. And even back then we were talking about a couple hundred dollars more.

DCaudio, I'm not necessarily saying that the mods would be better. In fact, it depends on how much you believe in the work of the individual modders. If say the TRL mods are as good as some people like Lkdog claims it is, then modding your 555ES will surely bring you close to the Marantz if not better. I was close to trying out TRL but have not since I haven't bought into the raves yet. Everyone who has modded their players seems to think their modded players are pretty much the very best. I myself am looking for a player in the midrange as well but have so far been sitting on the fence.

Lkdog, I've talked to Paul in the past about my 555ES. It's not that I don't trust his work, but at first he told me that he knows the 555ES and that the 595 would be better, which I find it hard to believe since presumably the same mods are done and I know for a fact that the 555 has superior transport. What is left is whether the chips are better in the 595 or whether the way the 555 is configured inside makes it not a good player to mod. He couldn't tell me. All he could say is that the 595 is really good. After a few days of questioning he backtracks and tells me he just modded a 555ES and that was by far the best player he's ever heard because it has a superior transport. Now I'm not sure if it was the 555ES he modded but rather the 2000ES. All I know is that if he's recommending a player, it's because it's widely available and probably not a bad value. Then again, he probably has had a lot more players that have come around since then so he might have better knowledge now than before.

I know that some players are simply not good candidates for modding. But that aside, it's hard to believe that the same modder can't possibly be capable of doing more with a better built player unless there are specific reasons for it. TRL to me offers the best price and probably the best value, but he's the only modder I know who pays very little attention/have very little belief in the importance of a better transport. When he was pushing the 595, Paul was claiming that that's pretty much the best player you can get. He tells you that even if you sent him a better player with a better transport it would come short of the 595. I just can't accept that and think that it's simply because he has had success with the 595.

DCaudio, that's EXACTLY what I am talking about. Again, I do not doubt TRL's abilities or Paul's knowledge. Nor do I doubt the value of his mods. Perhaps Paul doesn't mod every player but he can/will mod many players, especially Sony models. Like I said, outside of something that completely makes the model not a good unit to mod, TRL can mod it and improve it.

What threw me off is that he told me he can mod my the 555ES yet didn't know it was a changer. When told that it was a changer he simply said "yes right". My idea is that he doesn't really know the exact unit that I'm talking about, but that's probably because it wouldn't matter to him because he would be able to mod it and improve it anyways. The question is in terms of absolute performance, what would be the best player to mod? It can't possibly be the 595 as he would have me believe before he found the Marantz. So my concern is that he initially told me the 595 would end up being better, which meant I might as well sell my player. But later when he told me that no he just modded a 555ES and was the best he has heard, I have to start wondering.

My belief is that TRL has had a lot of players come their way, and has learned a lot since the past few months. The thing is that TRL unlike many respected modders out there, is not selective. Which is great for us who want to keep their units but want to improve its performance for a modest price. But for those looking to rank players based on price, you won't get the type of answers that buyers generally seek out of TRL.

Let me clarify what I'm saying so you TRL fans don't attack me. I contacted Paul about 3 months ago, when they just finished the 595 mod. At that time, Paul considered the unit to be pretty much the best unit to mod. Like you said Lkdog, "the [595] modded players already get you in the major leagues. There are not huge leaps from there." From speaking to Paul, his idea is that the improvements in modding a better player than the 595 is supposedly so incremental (or didn't exist at that time), that he himself doesn't normally recommend it. We talk a lot about incremental improvements here on the board, but those increments are generally perceived as bigger than what you'll supposedly get by sending a few thousand dollars worth of a better player than the 595 to mod.

I guess I sort of am puzzled as to your comments that imply they are either confused about what they like and have tested-or that it changes from day to day.

Since they first finished modifying the 775, they now have a few other players that they consider to be even better. Now realistically, how long has it been since they first declared the 775 or even 595 to be the best to mod? How many units are now supposedly better? I am not implying that Paul is confused about what he likes, he is not. What I do believe is that he doesn't know many units out there (which is understandeable but yes his knowledge base is under constant improvement as he's exposed to more and more players) and so when he comes around to modding something better, he would declare that it is the about the best he's ever heard (afterall he modded it and even the 775 supposedly sounds like >22K). And I honestly don't see anything wrong with their opinions changing either as Paul did about the 555ES. Before he modified the unit he told me the 595 was the best. After he modified a 555ES, he told me his opinion changed and thinks the 555ES is the best. Now that they've modified other units, it's understandable that they're even better. Every unit that they mod is suppose to now be in the elite class of players. At with more players coming out, why am I the only one surprised that he would declare a player to be pretty much the best he's every heard, even if it's only for a day?

I don't mean to confuse at all. I was about to send my unit in and may still do so. I believe that for $550, there's nothing better. I was looking for something better than the 595 and was prepared to send in a more expensive player. But Paul discouraged it because at that time he didn't really have any idea what would be better than the 595. But if you are looking to have the best digital source and believe TRL does the best work, then why not send in the player with the very best chips (which are probably found in cheaper players) and the very best transport (which won't be found on cheaper players). That was my intention. I was going to pay $550 regardless, and I wanted to make sure I'm sending in the best player I can afford to mod. I had a hard time believing a $150 player was the best at that time. Honestly, how many people would be excited about sending a thousand dollar player when after the mods, it'll only be marginally better than the 595?

I like the idea of sending my player to someone who can make a $150 player sound like a $22K player. I don't like the idea of sending my player to someone who would turn my couple thousand dollar player into a $22,250 player when I could send him a $150 player and have him turn it into $22K player. That's what I'm trying to say.