I've never done one of these so I'm not sure where to start, but here goes.....
First, wear a back brace, man this thing is HEAVY! 55lbs!
It's like placing a turntable. It has to be on a open top shelf because it's a top loader. Sexy smooth door moves up and to the right to reveal the " bay" where the disc goes. As is usual for the high end Sony units, there is a weight for the top of the disc, it's gold plated!
The unit isn't for the impatient. It takes quite a while to read the TOC (table of contents), 15-30 seconds depending on the disc. The longer times occur when reading a CD-R. It however plays these without problems.
The remote is unremarkable but adequate.
The sound however is glorious. This is what digital should sound like, warm, rich, detailed, and engaging.
There are 5 different filtering modes for regular CD's. These allow one to " tailor" the sound to one's personal taste. The different filters control the roll-off type and rate. The choices are " standard" ie normal sharp roll-off or 4 different slow roll-off choices. #1-clear, #2-plain, #3-fine, and #4-silky. The owners manual lists " types" of music recommended for each type of filter. I prefer filter #3.
I was quite surprised how much better my old regular CD's sounded. Much better bass transients, more open and natural sound stage.
The SACD's are certainly a treat. Although very limited in number, somewhere around 50+. I purchased 3 so far, my favorite is the Yo-Yo Ma " Solo" . This is a glorious recording it's like having a private concert. The soundstage is enormous.
There are no filter options for SACD playback.
There are separate lasers for CD and SACD playback.
All in all I'm most pleased with this player. Anyone considering a CD player purchase in the $1700+ range should audition one of these. Nothing I've heard in this or any higher price range is it's equal.
The differences between the 777ES and the top of the line SCD-1 are primarily cosmetic. I haven't heard a SCD-1, but I find it difficult to believe it could sound twice as good, that's the cost differential. The 777ES hasn't sold well and current pricing is less than 1/2 of " list" . This is probably because it lacks the " panache" of the SCD-1.
There will be lower priced units coming and Marantz has a SACD player. The newer low priced Sony and the Marantz player do not have the " fixed laser" system. And IMO the " fixed laser system" is responsible for alot of the excellent sonic characteristics of the current Sony SACD/CD players
theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio
First, wear a back brace, man this thing is HEAVY! 55lbs!
It's like placing a turntable. It has to be on a open top shelf because it's a top loader. Sexy smooth door moves up and to the right to reveal the " bay" where the disc goes. As is usual for the high end Sony units, there is a weight for the top of the disc, it's gold plated!
The unit isn't for the impatient. It takes quite a while to read the TOC (table of contents), 15-30 seconds depending on the disc. The longer times occur when reading a CD-R. It however plays these without problems.
The remote is unremarkable but adequate.
The sound however is glorious. This is what digital should sound like, warm, rich, detailed, and engaging.
There are 5 different filtering modes for regular CD's. These allow one to " tailor" the sound to one's personal taste. The different filters control the roll-off type and rate. The choices are " standard" ie normal sharp roll-off or 4 different slow roll-off choices. #1-clear, #2-plain, #3-fine, and #4-silky. The owners manual lists " types" of music recommended for each type of filter. I prefer filter #3.
I was quite surprised how much better my old regular CD's sounded. Much better bass transients, more open and natural sound stage.
The SACD's are certainly a treat. Although very limited in number, somewhere around 50+. I purchased 3 so far, my favorite is the Yo-Yo Ma " Solo" . This is a glorious recording it's like having a private concert. The soundstage is enormous.
There are no filter options for SACD playback.
There are separate lasers for CD and SACD playback.
All in all I'm most pleased with this player. Anyone considering a CD player purchase in the $1700+ range should audition one of these. Nothing I've heard in this or any higher price range is it's equal.
The differences between the 777ES and the top of the line SCD-1 are primarily cosmetic. I haven't heard a SCD-1, but I find it difficult to believe it could sound twice as good, that's the cost differential. The 777ES hasn't sold well and current pricing is less than 1/2 of " list" . This is probably because it lacks the " panache" of the SCD-1.
There will be lower priced units coming and Marantz has a SACD player. The newer low priced Sony and the Marantz player do not have the " fixed laser" system. And IMO the " fixed laser system" is responsible for alot of the excellent sonic characteristics of the current Sony SACD/CD players
theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio
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