TRL Marantz Sa-14

Shayne.

I currently own a TRL Sony 2000ES. TRL purchased the new unit for me, modded it, then shipped it to me in Canada.

Are they in a position to purchase new SA-8260s like the Sony 2000ES?

Like others, I am really hoping the SA-14 younger sibling is an over achiever. I really like my 2000ES but the thought of getting near SA-14 performance at an SA-8260 price makes me drool.

PS: How much did you/TRL pay for the new SA-8260 unit?

La45, could you go into more specifics about the TRL 2000 tweaks?

Other than putting the unit on a DIY Symposium Ultra style isolation platform and mating it with a very good power cord I have so far resisted the temptation to open up the unit. Also using QuickSilver as recommended by other TRL fans.

I have tweaked lesser units with Dynamat Xtreme for damping, Stillpoints ERS for EMI/RFI attenuation, Auricap across the IEC inlet for AC noise filtering.

Although I haven't looked inside the unit, I am guessing that they already employ ERS in the mod. Scroll down to the bottom of this link and you will see TubeResearchLabs/CableResearchLabs as users of the ERS product.

http://www.stillpoints.us/1Pages/ers_products.html

LA45, could you elaborate on the updates available for the Sony 2000ES TRL? I own the same TRL modified unit and am curious. Is it a small improvement or greater?

There is a Marantz SA-1 listed for $2350. It would be really interesting for someone to pick up this unit and get it modded by TRL. Since people mention that the stock SA-1 is an outstanding machine, it would be interesting to see what Paul and company could improve.

I picked up a used Black Marantz SA-14 v1 last week. I sent it off to Paul @ TRL yesterday.

I currently own a TRL Sony 2000ES, which I have been quite happy with, but have been watching this discussion thread for the last 8 months enviously. In a recent burst of upgrade-itis, I also picked up a used Conrad-Johnson 17LS preamplifier as well.

Paul said that the Marantz SA-14 should be quite a step up from the Sony. Looking forward the improvement in my system.

I did a brief comparison of the SA-14 in its stock form versus the TRL Sony 2000ES, before I sent it out. No more than one hour switching between the two units.

The SACD performance of the SA-14 was OK, good detail but a different sound than the 2000ES. Didn't form a conclusive opinion but probably gave the nod to the 2000ES.

The Redbook performance of the SA-14 was another matter. I found it to be thin and definitely less musical than the 2000ES. Not that I expected the SA-14 Redbook performance (in stock form) to be anything to write home about.

So now the wait, shipping from Canada to US, modification, shipping back to Canada, 500 hour burn in. If all goes well, I should be able to celebrate the New Year in style!

Will provide an update once I get the Marantz unit back from TRL.

ERS may be part of their tweak toolchest, but it alone cannot explain the dramatic improvements they can obtain on typical units. I have used ERS extensively in my own tweaking activities, but I could never get my old CD players to sound like my TRL Sony 2000ES.

Quicksilver only takes 72 hours to settle in so it is not a major contributor to the long break-in period.

My now modified Marantz SA-14 unit is being shipped back to me this week from TRL. I may pop the cover out of curiosity to see what it looks like inside, but in the end my interest is to just enjoy the music, so I won't obsess about what they actually did to the unit.