Entire audible frequency range. The player is a fantastic all rounder in sonic terms.
The build quality is fantastic.

I sometimes have the feeling that player lacks aggressiveness. Maybe too polite on symphonic music for example

Before purchasing the SCD-777ES I had the opportunity to listen to both the SCD-777ES and SCD-1 at great lenght. (2 weeks in my listening room)
My opinion is that both players sound exactly the same through the RCA plugs while I think the SCD-1 sounded a bit better through the XLR plugs rather than the RCA plugs.
I eventually bought the SCD-777ES but I am experiencing a problem which is very bothering.
The player makes approx. 2 cracking sounds (like metal expanding or contracting) an hour. I have had various reports from audiophiles (through this site) who are experiencing the same problem with the SCD-777ES.
I am just wondering if the SCD-1 also has the same problem before going for a trade-in.
Any reports??
I used the SCD-1 with the following equipment:
ARC Ref1 preamp
ARC VT130 amp
Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage
Interconnects are ARC and Monster and speaker cableis ARC.

The price reflects the ammount it was offered to me for.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Ken

Similar Products Used:

Roksan CDP-1
Sony SCD-777ES

Inner detail in CD and SACD performance, ergonomics, build quality

none

I have had this unit in my system only a few days with a total of about 25 hours on it. As it burns in it will probably open up a bit more, but it already has improved the sound of my system (VAC Avatar integrated amp, B&W N802 speakers, Goertz MI2 biwire speaker cable, Goertz Silver Sapphire interconnects) to the extent I can give it my highest rating. With other disc players, my system sounded anemic and thin. Quality players like Wadia and Linn sound very good, but I could not justify spending that kind of money to play discs that use old technology. Really the coup d'egras of the SCD-1 is that it will play SACDs which sound much more musical than regular CDs.

One reviewer below said he hears more air around the instruments, but I think the real strength of the SCD-1 is the effortless way in which it reveals inner detail. You can get a sense of the lungs behind the horns and woodwinds, the fingers on the fretboard, the hands on the piano. Especially in SACD which really provides more colors for the audio palatte and lends itself to tonal realism and nuances, even in going from extremes, e.g., wah-wah effects (Head Hunters by Hancock) and crescendos and diminuendos are especially satisfying compared to CDs.

The SCD-1 is a phenomenal CD player by any comparison and so I feel confident that it is a wise choice even should SACD not become accepted outside the Sony/Legacy/Epic/Columbia record lables. Someone below said the weight and bulk of the unit is a weakness, but I think it is clearly part of its strength. The bracing and heft of the chassis have cut out resonances and the heavy power supply is probably a large part of the overall sound. It is a crowning achievement from Sony and I doubt the company will offer a disc player of this quality ever again. Most of Sony's audio gear is chintzy by comparison to the SCD-1. Sony engineers must have had free reign to design the ultimate disc player.

What I love about this unit is that I can finally quit focusing on my system and the music is the focus instead. My feet start tapping and I forget to listen for details--they are articulated so well that they are part of the attack and speed of my system. Listening to the Blonde on Blonde SACD (Dylan), his harmonica sounds correct, not harsh or glassy like the CD remasters, the instruments are tonally accurate, and for the first time in 15 years I am captured emotionally by the songs.

I think the most astonishing SACD to show off the capabilities of the SCD-1 is the solo Yo Yo Ma cello recording. Very dramatic music with tones and inner detail that will instantly set it above and beyond CD's capabilities. From deep sustained bowing to high pizzicato, to the occassional percussive sounds of striking the body of the cello, the range of sounds on display and the realism with which the music is reproduced is staggering.

This disc machine is a crowning achievement by any manufacturer's standards (including Wadia, BAT, Linn, etc.) and I can heartily recommend it. The SCD-1 compares favorably with other $5k units. I got it for $3.4k and that puts it in the highest value rating I can give.

Similar Products Used:

Sony SCD-777ES, Marantz SA-1

Transcendent sound quality; superb construction and user interface

Costly, huge, heavy and, of course, limited software in the SACD realm.

In the ten years or so I've been afflicted with the audio bug, I've gone through countless changes to my rig in our shared quest for sonic perfection. Solid state (raw power and hybrid finesse), tubes (single ended and push-pull), turntables (Linn, VPI Aries), speakers (ESS, Dahlquist, Infinity, Genesis, Martin Logan, Wilson, back to Martin Logan), cables (MIT, Kimber, Transparent, back to Kimber, Powersnakes), basically you name it. In all those iterations, with all those upgrades and (who knew?) downgrades, I have never, I say without any hesitation, experienced a greater and more instantly recognizable leap forward in the reproduction of musical realism than since I added the SCD-1. The SACD discs are great. The redbook discs are absolutely wonderful. The thing is a joy to use. It simply exceeds expectations in every facet of the audio experience. All I can say is forget the hype, forget the naysayers, forget doubts about the viability of the SACD format. Do yourself a favor and add this player to your life. Your ears, and your musical soul, will love you for it.

Similar Products Used:

Linn Ikemi, Linn Karik/Numerik, Wadia, Marantz cd63

solid sound, total silence of background, detail, not a shred of harshness, richness and on the SACD discs a whole new world of sound

slow to get going after the buttons are pressed--totally unimportant; could do with a tad more air on regular CDs, a bit more space maybe.

I have had this just over a day, but even so must enter a brief review. Having broken it in with Cardas Cables attached to a deadly silent passive pre amp and then to a Sunfire Amp feeding Legacy Focus speakers, I then sat back to listen to the 2 SACDs it came with--I just ordered 5 from Sony. The sound is like nothing that has ever ben heard from Cds or lps. It is totally enveloping, grand spacious and rich in a way that only a concert experience offers. In fact it is a hyper concert experience--so totally immersed is one in sound that is open, clean, rich, and detailed coming from the blackest of silent holes. Even the normal Cds sound very fine. There is no SONY glare or brightness at the tope end. Detail is abundant without ear bleeding screechiness. The Prokofiev Scythian Suite with Doarti on Mercury has the sharpest beginiing of anything on record. As a regula CD through this machine every note of the metalic instrument being played is heard without spit or congestion--that represents one hell of a leap into reality.
I hope that each record will reveal more of its individuality than it did heretofore. That is the sign of electronic perfection. So far that perfection has translated into sonic splendor for the SACDs and excellent reproduction of the regular CDs.

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nothing like it

Beautifuly built. solid all the way throug. Dynamic sound with extreme detail.

slow loading,

This sacd player is awsome. the build construction is second to none, and the sound is wonderful. This player has the capability to render lots of detail. I guess there is now an upgrade available for this unit. Some of the reviews on this sight are discussing it, and it sounds like the upgrade is very positive.

If your in the market for a sacd player, or even just a excellent cd player the scd-1 is top performer.

equipment,
krell krc-3
krell kav-250a
Veritas 2.8
harmonictech, pro-silway xlr's
harmonictech, magic woofer, and magic tweeter speaker cables
monsterpower, avs2000 voltage stablizer
monsterpower, mp3500 surge and lineconditioner

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krell, wadia

Comprehensively superior to all but reference Levinson,dcs or Linn.

None.

Screw SACD, the CD section of this thing is unbelievable. This is truly a steal and will probably be replaced with an inferior updated model eventually. My highest praise is that I am using it as the front end of my reference system:

Levinson No.336 amp
Levinson No.32 Pre-amp
Wilson Watt/Puppy V6's
Transparent reference Cabling


Music, Music, Music!!!

Similar Products Used:

Wadia860x, Levinson No.39, BAT VK-D5, AR CD-2

huge sound stage, clarity, superb stereo imaging

none

This format should take hold. If it doesn't, it would be a great loss to the audio world. You only need to compare a hybrid CD/SACD and do a A/B comparasion. Your ears will hear that the CD format is flat, sounds are not genuine, stereo imaging is not optimal. The same material at the SACD format sounds more, much more alive, real, and with great stereo imaging. It is really like listening to the master tape.

Comparing the SACD to VPI TNT Turntable with12" JMW Tonearm and Grado reference Platinum Cartridge I must say (again the same music)its is very close. A friend of mine who writes for an audio magazine thought that he liked the SACD better, I thought that the LP format was warmer, but the SACD had more musical information...like you would hear the breathing of Goerge Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra conducting wagner or Strauss before he attacked a passage, or Billy Hollidays heavy gin and cigarette smoked breathing in Lady in Satin.

Thank you Sony. But please give us more titles and give us more music on each sacd. Please be aware that the only way this format can be widely available is if you can sell the SACD's for the same price of CD's and use the new technologies advantage of more music on SACD.

You build a tank of a player. And at $3400. incl. tax for the top of the line SACD player, which is also agreat CD player(I really have a hard time to listen or buy new CD's anymore)I find it a bargain. I cannot imagine a better technology in the next 30 years.

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none