REtrieves tons of detail in good size soundstage

Takes to long to load. No SACD output for future use as a transport for SACD.

I have had my player for a few months now so I am sure it has fully broken in. The reason that I'm guessing this is every time I put on a familiar SACD I hear something new. There is massive amounts of things going on in its wide and deep sounstage. It never becomes boring or fatiguing and the joy of finding something new every time a familiar selection is played is something usually reserved for component upgrades. Yes, it does compete with analog only it is different. It seems to recover information on a par with the best analog but sounds a little to clean and detailed to be as natural sounding. It is similiar to comparing a regular vinyl recording to a Sheffield Labs direct disc. All of a sudden you have all this additional information present in the recording and your electronics are delegated to sorting it all out. This is not a criticism - its just what makes it different from vinyl and traditional CD. It really can't be compared because it is a different animal. I am fascinated by what it does right-detail, ambience retrieval, extended frequency response, and dynamic range. Sounds like a first impression of a Direct Disc-doesn't it? It may have some faults with its soundstage and just a bit of digital sound that plagued early CD. We have come a long way but I think that future players may eventually completely rid these digital artifacts someday. I really like it but my Levinson 36 with Digital Lens comes really close on the right recordings. IT STILL DOESN'T HAVE THAT ALIVENESS OF ANALOG but it is very close. It still seems to be recording dependant. Some of the Sony SACD's are not all that good. Overall, I really do like it and enjoy what it does right but don't like paying extra for SACD recordings some of which sound bad (like Billie Holiday-I think it is - or the Satriani disc). It does work very, very, very well as a CD Transport. My conventional CD never sounded this good with my Theta transport. Just my .02.

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None

Everything it seems to do

Slowish loading, but still looks cool

I work in a busy hifi shop in manchester and have been given the opportunity to try almost every unit on the market over the months, most reviews can be found here.

I'll start by saying that my unit is only a few days old and is not yet run in, although i've had it playing non stop for about 20 hours for run in. I have consequently not yet used any SACD software and cannot comment as there is hardly anything and nothing i like. (yet)

I have only heard this unit with conventional cd's and WOW it keeps getting better, its already the best sounding CD player i've ever heard up to £3000 and it is still running in. I am impressed with the level of detail on offer and the soundstage is simply unreal, bass is awesome and trebble although a bit harsh (running in pains) is sweet and detailed. As a CD player its an absolute bargain, throw in SACD and its a steal.

The slide loading is great, you press the button and you seem to start shaking as the thing smoothly rises and slides silently like something from Star trek. Cool!!

Can't wait for some SACD software to arrise. If anybody knows any sites with more modern music on offer please email me. Anyway this is a safe buy even to buy without listening, youll be stunned, I was.

Mark Perrin

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Everything on the market

Great sound & Built like a tank. Has selectable filter options on DAC. Plays CD-R'S. Has more analogue sound than most.

Slow CD load time(has to fulfill TOC before playing) Limited software availabilty, Price stacks out at a cool $3500

The scd-777es has great potential but needs more software & much more retail availabilty of the current sacd's. Not everyone wants to catalogue shop for sacd's. Two years ago a similar fate happened with DVD'S which are now everywhere. The player has superb sound and the filter options are a plus.It load time is a bit tedious but worthwhile in the end.
Cables used should be at least the Monster 550i's which sound exc. SACD of Choice is Weather Reports "Heavy Weather". This format has a good start let's hope it thrives and gets as much backing ad PC software does. Overall A great Audiophlie Acheivement.

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None actually available in SACD as yet but Marantz and Sony Have annouced new models Sony's is a lesser priced on while the Marantz is their debut at an undisclosed price.

Unbelievable sound reproduction - closest thing to a live performance

none

I used to teach informationt theory. A couple of months ago, I sat down and spent about 3 hours comparing the DVD and SONY SACD formats. In my view, the SACD is CLEARLY superior. Just one simple consideration. SACD has several times more information that even 192/24 DVD. There are other, more complicated. reasons for concluding that SACD is inherently much better than 192/24 DVD, so I purchased a 777ES.

Now after it is broken in, I am ASTONISHED at the sound quality. As I indicated above, I expected it to be superior, but I've never heard anything like this before - it is almost impossible to tell it from a live performance. Compared to the CD, SACD not only has more natural harmonics, but to my surprise a much more natural bass. The bass has more power without being too loud. The sound stage is superb, transients are all there - it is just more ALIVE.

When listening to the better SACD recordings, it seems that you are in the presence of the live performance. It is just simply something that has to be heard to be appreciated. From now on, I will purchase only SACD recordings - no more CD's (which the SACD reveals as very limited) and no more vinyl - I think SACD sounds even better than vinyl!

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California Audio Labs IKON Mk II with Power Boss

Incredible "analogue" sound from CDs. Worth the cost as a CD player alone. Magical sound with SACDs. Looks great. Incredible build - you could probably tie it to the space shuttle and send it into space and it would come back OK!

Heavy. Slow loading can be irritating. Limited SACD software at the moment and some SACD titles are not as well recorded as others. For example the SACD "Louis Armstrong Plays W C Handy" is made using a combination of mastertapes and an old vinyl pressing (as the original masters were lost and the only remaining backups were very slightly different in words etc. to the originals. It is very obvious on this SACD where the vinyl pressing has been used and where the mastertapes have been used. The mastertape bits are joy to listen to but the constatnt switching between the 2 as well as the reduction in quality that comes from using a record as as master make the SACD pretty much unlistenable. I can understand the producer wanting to get as close as possible to the orginal release version, but what's the point of using the high quality of SACD when one of the sources you are using is woefully inadequate. I would have preffered a better quality release even if it meant deviating slightly from the original versions.
Compare this with something like "Mingus - Ah Uhm" which is a fabulous SACD, even though this was recorded decades ago, it feels like you're there.

A CDP bargain even if it didn't have SACD playback. The variable filter allows more "analogue" like settings with regular CDs and IMO are better than the standard sharp roll off CD filter. I prefer settings 2 and 3.
Even if SACD fails you'll still have an excellent CDP with an amazing transport.

If it succeeds you have somthing so far beyond CD its not funny. As always try before you buy. It may not be suited in your system.

Overall I think this will go down as one of the bargains of the decade.

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Sony SCD-1 - looks nicer IMO than SCD777ES. Sounded identical to 777ES in my system (not surprising as they are basically the CDP in different cases) and I didn't need balanced outputs so I went with the 777ES and save myself £1000. In fact to my ears the 777ES sounded slightly better than the sCD-1 with regular CDs (although this may have been due to different degrees of running in).
I also had a listen to some regular CD players up to the £3K. I was struck by how good the CD playback of the SACD player was. It was approached by some of the players at the price, but none was able to better it. Again I have to stress this was testing with the same compents I use at home. SACD playback on the other hand made CDs sound like a joke. For comparison asked to compare the dealers most expensive CD set up (A 2 box megabuck Wadia setup) with the SACD output of the 777ES. The SACD won hands down. The difference was not slight it was huge, like night and day. Yes the megabuck set-up mate marginal improvements over the cheaper integrated CDPs but IMO they did not justify paying four times the price and didn't even come close to the superior SACD format.

Build quality. Sound on SACD.

Sound on normal CD's.

I bought this player because I wanted to experience the sound of SACD myself, in my home environment. I have a few SACD's, most of the listening is therefore done with normal cd's.

Kind of Blue of Miles Davis sounds quite different from the normal cd, I think is concerns different tapes that are used. The SACD version is clearly the better one, though I miss some warmth of the more rude cd-version that I own.

I didn't expect that the SCD-777ES did outperform my aged and golden X777ES (sounds similar to the 77ES, see reviews) an indeed it didn't (a pity though!). The newer version of the 777 sounds more clinical, thinner and misses some 'round' harmonics, is less airy than the old one. I think the old 777 is one of the finest players ever made by any company (later versions in the same price bracket made by Sony, such as the 779ES, do sound more ordinary, nothing special there to be found).

So I really hope that SACD will deliver some more titles, because for my normal cd's I will keep using my old 777ES.

My advice: if you have to buy a new player altogether the new 777ES is an option, especially I you want the highest quality of the new format. If you use old cd's mainly, get yourself a used 777ES or 77ES.

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Sony X777ES. X779ES.

SACDs sound great, doubles as an exceptional CD player, build quality is top notch (even for Sony!)

Same friggin delay everybody has mentioned when you first put the disc in (although that gives my tubes time to warm up, hehe) - a bit bass heavy, in typical Japanese style

Well first a few notes on the player itself. It's built like a tank - great build quality. Speaks well of Sony. They did this unit right. Everything down to the CD stabilizer and cheater to remove the ground for the AC cord has been taken into consideration. It looks and sounds wonderful.

For my tastes both SACDs and CDs sound a bit bass heavy on this unit but I must confess that I have bassy speakers (PSB Stratus Goldi - they go down low). The bass isn't incredibly obnoxious or anything, just a touch excessive.

Otherwise I must say that CDs have never sounded so good to my ears. I am very impressed at CD playback. The soundstage is dramatically improved. I haven't yet tried using my CAL Alpha tubed DAC with it to see how it compares witih the internal DAC on the Sony, but I will be curious to see.

Now a quick note on SACD... I think the format shows enormous potential. The discs I have sound incredible. This is digital done right, finally. But for those vinyl junkies out there (and I am a big one my friends) do not be fooled. SACD is not going to sound like vinyl. I have a very expensive analog setup for vinyl playback and I would still rather throw an LP on than a SACD, at least based on the comparisons I've run so far. For example, Dave Brubeck's Time Out sounds better on the Classic Records reissue LP than on the SACD I have - at least to my ears. I like the warmer sound of the vinyl, and I am using a tubed phono stage which no doubt influences the sound (although my pre-amp is also tubed so that should warm up the SACD too). I'm not saying SACD isn't wonderful, I am just trying to clarify for those vinyl addicts out there. I am sure that SACD is more neutral and accurate than vinyl playback, but that isn't always what matters to some folks.

This unit isn't exactly cheap - but considering that you can spend more on CD players, or especially on separate transports and DACs, and probably not get better results without spending far more, it gets a four star value rating. I hope SACD takes off and that players become more affordable, and ideally universal players (CD, HDCD, SACD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, etc.) come to the states soon (they are in Japan now for about $5k) and drop in price.

From my understanding this unit is every bit as good as the overpriced SCD-1 except that it is black instead of silver aluminum, lacks XLR Balanced outputs, and is three pounds lighter. In other words there seems to be no reason to go with the SCD-1 unless you really want XLR.

Enjoy the music,

--Ev

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No other SACD player exists at the moment as far as I know. Comapred to NAD, CAL CD players.

Not Sure dur to limited audition.

Very mediocre sound playing CD's

I heard this unit at Ebers's in SF. They had no available SACD's to audition, So I briefly auditioned the unit with regular CD's that I brought.

I was very dissapointed. This unit produced sound no better than most "mid-fi" cd players. It was not in the same league as my Wadia 830, nor my brother-in-laws BAT.
Bass was soft, dynamics were restricted, soundstage was
rather small.

They're system (Sony ES amp and pre driving NHT 3.3)
Was a fairly descent system. So the rather poor sound coming from the 777es can't be blamed on the system.

This unit is obviously not a replacement for a good CD
player. Since I was not able to evaluate the sound of a SACD, my rating is provisional until I hear it properly.
I give it a 3 for sound strictly playing regular CD's and a 1 for value.

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Dynamic, high resolution sound.
Fast,articulate and powerfull bas.
Transparent and pure midrange.
Treble dynamic but maybe to forward.

See above.

I compared it with the Wadia 861 of one of my friends as a CD player.
The Sony won in the following:
Dynamics, articulation, low level informations, size of soundstage, bas punch, and ''you are there realism'', despite using a passiv preamp on the Sony and the variable output on the Wadia, directly into the power amp.
The Wadia won in the department of treble, wich where more natural and pleasent.
The sound of the Sony as SACD is better than the CD on most recordings that I have, but not all! Maybe wich master that was used have something to do with it.
By it for its CD, its a good player.

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Clear Sound as a CD player. Great entry to new technology SACD

Slow operation

After reading reviews here and other places I decided to give it a try. Robert Lang (read his review on the SCD-1) invited me to listen to his SCD-1 at his home. After a few minuted of listening it was clear to me that this new technology (SACD) is superior than 16 bits CD's.

This machine was created with quality as a primer concern. I doubt Sony will make a machine like this any time soon. Sony engineers had free hands to design and build this player. It is heavy and all the functions feel well designed. Marantz just got a player out that is 3 times the price of this player.

I have a few SACDs. The best of them in my opinion is Monty Alexander, Stir it Up, the music of Bob Marley, made by Telarc. My second best is by Paul Dukas the Sorcerer's Apprentice, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jesus Lopez-Cobos, this one also made by Telarc. A third is Piano Trios by the Florestan Trio, made by Hyperion. Next month Chesky is releasing in SACD the Latino Grammy winner, Tropicana Nights by Paquito D'Rivera. So the SACDs are coming.

About the sound, it is difficult to explain with words the feeling. I think that the definition of SACD is superior to CD's. Sometimes I feel that I am playing a brand new LP, before it starting to get scracthes. You know that feeling when the LP is brand new and you crank the volume all the way up ejoyning while it last, pure sound no damaged to the LP yet. Even the hiss is some of the old recordings reissued on SACD, like Kind of Blue seems better. Detail that gets missing in the CD transfer are there. I made a comparasion between the Monty Alexander, No Woman no Cry, because this SACD is a hybrid, and because it came with the Telarc sampler that comes with the SACD player. I played the CD in my Marantz CD player and the SACD in the Sony 777. I was with my neighbor Vijay who was helping me by being the judge. It was our conclusion that the piano on SACD hangs longer while the CD is sharper, I mean just ends there. The SACD sounded more like the sound of a real piano in a room with the echo hanging there for a while.

As a SACD this player is outstanding. I do not think there is any difference between the SCD-777 and Sony's more expensive player the SCD-1. On playing CD's the 777 is a very good player. I have way over a 1000's CD's so any new toy has to be good with CD's. I heard a Wadia just once, so my experience with high end cd players is some how limited. Nevertheless, I would risk my credibility by saying that this machine is not far from the Wadia likes. And then it plays SACD where there is absolutely no comparision. SACD are way better, while the Wadia likes cost way more than what I paid for this player.

I bought this player based just in a gut feeling. My dealer recommended against it because of the lack of software and the likeness of failure of this new technology. Well, I took a risk. It seems like the reviews on this product on this site stoped last month. It may be because of the news of a new low cost player already introduced in the UK so people are waiting to see if Sony releases it soon here in the US. Or it may be based in the long delayed introduction of DVD Audio. Well, history will say if I was a fool or a visionary. In the mean time I am happy as a clam with my new toy.

My toys:
McIntosh MSD4 as preamp
McIntosh 7270 amp
B&W 802 Matrix III
Kimber Kables

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