Cost effective mods for a Sony SCD-777ES

Dgarretson, I believe we are essentially members of the same camp.

However, I don't believe a different "flavor" necessarily entails compromise. I simply believe three SOTA digital players will sound differently. I have the sense that you are suggesting that three players...maxed with mods...will sound similar. Perhaps I misunderstand. If this is your position, it is one I cannot accept based on my listening.

IMO, the bottom line regarding modding is that other than user reports, reviews, or personal auditioning of a similar player, it is impossible to know how a digital player will sound after all the mods are complete. There is no doubt in my mind that it's tonality, or "house sound" will be changed. I have heard this in an Electrocompaniet EMC 1-UP SE that I had modded to the max. After mods, it had no semblance of the Electro house sound. It sounded very good, but it was no longer an Electro.

There are enough owners of Kern modded Sony SCD-777ES players that one can probably get some idea of the sound of the player post-mods by communicating with other owners, but once the mods are done, they're done. There's no going back, and recouping the cost of the mods upon resale will be impossible.

I write this as an owner and past owner of seven modded digital players. Do I believe in modding? Yes. Am I considerably more cautious than I was after selling number six? You bet.

Tvad

I agree with your assesment that the house sound, as you call it, if sony has a house sound, is changed; no doubt. And also agree that once modded you probably can not go back; depending on the mods performed.

My modded SCD-1 is so far beyond where it started it isn't even close in comparision. I put about $1800 in mods and feel it was well worth it. I do not feel I could ever achieve this level of performance by simply adding a DAC; although I could be wrong. I wasn't willing to add another component in the food chain as I believe in less is more or simplicity over complexity.

The sony is an inexpensive player and the mods are inexpensive (IMO) especially given the performance gains. The resale value while always a consideration wasn't as much of a factor for me as I was searching for the best sonic improvements for the dollar. This becomes even more evident to me when I compare the performance of my player relative to what a competitive player costs. In most cases the depreciation of those players is more than what I paid for the mods and the player. Good discussion though as everyone here has valid points.

Chuck

12-28-06: Czbbcl
Tvad

I agree with your assesment that the house sound, as you call it, if sony has a house sound, is changed; no doubt. And also agree that once modded you probably can not go back; depending on the mods performed.

My modded SCD-1 is so far beyond where it started it isn't even close in comparision. I put about $1800 in mods and feel it was well worth it.

Chuck, I have no doubt your SCD-1 sounds far beyond where it started, and if yours was purchased used, then it certainly has proven to be a good value.

I'm simply pointing out some pros and cons to modding from my experience.

One's satisfaction is all that matters.

Chuck hits the mark that if the cost of the mule plus the mods produces a player that matches commercial offers costing 2-3 times as much, the mod has been justified financially & also in terms of personal satisfaction, regardless of resale issues.

Tvad, yes I am generally in your camp, but when I look inside a hi-end player and see parts-bin compromises like the cheapest varieties of op amps, one-chip clock oscillators, and three-pin voltage regulators rather than discrete regulation circuits, I just can't rationalize the result as "house sound" or "flavor." These are simply shortcomings.

Having owned modified statement digital sources from Modwright, Exemplar Audio and APL, I can readily identify a "house sound" with these players, and they all use high grade parts. In the case of Exemplar Audio and APL, I have owned two models from each...Exemplar Denon 2900 and Denon 3910, APL Philips SACD1000 and Denon 3910. In both cases, the Exemplar modded Denons and the APL modded Philips and Denon each had recognizable sounds distinct to Exemplar Audio and APL.

I find this very interesting. It cannot be attributed to cheap and inferior parts, but rather to the specific design of each modification and the superior parts selected by both designers.