How can I improve my Sony SCD-777ES for red book


Dear Audiophiles,
I have a Sony SCD777ES and would like to improve on the redbook cd playback but not sure which route to take. Here are my options based on research thus far:
1) Sell it for about $1400.00 and buy a new CD/SACD player for about $3500.00 in the used market.

2) Send the unit in for modifications.

3) Buy a nice DAC for redbook. With is option, can I buy a nice DAC for around 2.5K ? What are your recommendations?

Your help is greatly appreciated.
anthuan
I don't know if SACD is of importance to you or not, but my recommendation is to have the unit modded. You probably won't get $1400 for the 777ES, probably more like $1200. I had mine modded by Warren Gregoire with the Level 5 VSE mod for $1500. Redbook CD was tremendously improved with greatly decreased digititus; SACD improvement was noted but was not as dramatic. If you go the DAC route, you will also have to play around with digital cables (something else I now wish to avoid having already been there). This is just my opinion, however.
I just got mine back from Audiomod. I was asking the same question recently, and came to the conclusion investing in the mods would be far more cost effective than selling and buying something new. If I sold it for $1200 and put an addition $850 (which was the cost of the superclock and the blackgate caps) into the mix, that would give me $2050 for something new. There isn't anything really special in that range. Nothing, anyway that I think is a big jump over the Sony.

The stock SCD 777es is a pretty good unit, and a good foundation on which a person can build. I have had the modded unit running for about 36 hours now. Tonally it has a long way to go, but Richard Kern said it would take about 400 hours to fully break-in.

The first thing I noticed when I got it up and running is that it did not sound as 'digital' as it had. As a word of warning, I greatly prefer vinyl to digital.

There are several people who have asked the same question here, and who ended up using Audiomod. Check out the thread done by Jadem6. He has an SCD 1, which is similar to the original 777, not the bastardized second generation 777!

If you have specific questions about my experience, send me a letter, and I will try to answer them...
Having had the Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player along with a buddy who had his modified, the modified one sounded better then the stock unit. BUT, when he sold the unit, he lost too much money versus what the mods cost him. I went and purchased a used DAC. The DAC I purchased was as good as or better then the modifed unit on Redbook playback. When I sold my Sony, I got close to what I paid for the unit. I still have my DAC and can get what I paid for it used.

So my recommendation is to get a used DAC. Depending if you want SS or tube sound in your system, there are some very nice sounding DACs that easily better the stock Sony on Redbook playback. I had posted a thread on this many years ago but here are some DAC recommendations:

SS DAC Units:
1. Electrocompaniet was the best bang for the buck DAC that I heard at the time.
2. Chord 64 was the best of al the DACs I tried in stock form.

Tube DAC Units:
1. Audio Logic DACs were the best tube DACs I tried. You can find them for around $1500 or less depending on the model.

Email me if you'd like more information.

Happy Listening.
I think you would do well to spend the 2.5K (or less) on a nice DAC. The
question I think you have to ask yourself is, "am I comfortable with
modding my gear?" If you ARE comfortable with modding you would
probably get the most value out of modding. But, For 2K or less you can buy
a DAC that I think would significantly improve your redbook playback. You
already have a great transport in the 777.

Two recommendations for DAC's: there is a Dodson 217MK II-D on sale right
now. Also, the new April Music Stello DAC has gotten impressive reviews for
around $1200.

I know the Sony is very well built, but it is a few years older now and I
(personally) would be concerned about shipping it around and having things
done to it. (I am now expressing my personal aversion to modding, which is
not completely rational, I know).
I have modified my SCD-1 twice and now have all the available mod's from Audiomod (Richard Kern) I generally feel this is far and away the best money spent in that so much of the SCD-1/777ES is beyond anything a similar dollar would buy. In your case however you are straddling the line. First off, your motors and lasers are around five years old and will die in the coming year or so. I had both motors and both laser pick-ups replaced at the same time as my last mod. This was around $500.

Given that cost, and shipping round trip to Portland you are left with only a few mod options in your budget. I would get Superclock 3 and Superclock 3 power supply, about $300 each. I then suggest the op-amps being replaced followed by the power regulators. This is possibly beyond your budget, but that would be the order I would consider.

Now if you feel you could better the level this would produce, then go for it. I guess I still consider the mod route the best though.