Sony 777ES Cleaning

Nocaster, I'm not clear on the part you cleaned. What are you referring to when you say "turntable" and how did you access it? Did you use a cleaning fluid or dry Q-tip?

I no longer have my owner's manual.

thanks

Thanks for the info, Nocaster. I've had my unit for many moons and had it upgraded to the VSE Level 6 and I think it is the cat's meow, but it does show its age. I had the "no disc" display on different occasions and have addressed this my cleaning the lens on the lasers (requires removal of the top cover) with a Q-tip and a little windex. This is the first time I've heard of the "turntable" cleaning. I just did it and it does seem to help. Many thanks.

BTW: I, too, was a vinyl guy. After I had the unit modded by VSE, SACDs compete on par with the vinyl. I no longer miss vinyl when listening to the 777ES...and, the music from RBCD is not too bad either.

Thanks again.

Hi,

The mods were designed by Allen Wright of Vacuum State Electronics (VSE), and have been the subject of numerous reviews and commentary online. There has been a series of reviews on the various mods to the sony line (SCD-1, 777, and 9000) on Positive Feedback. I believe you can link to most reviews on VSE's website---http://www.vacuumstate.com.
VSE has agents on the East and West coasts who install the mods. I believe contact info is also on VSE's website.

Basically, the mods bypass the stock units' DACs and associated electronics with alternative circuits, modify the internal clocking system and power supply, and modify the grounding layout. The results to both SACDs and RBCDs are spectacular. As I mentioned earlier, I don't miss vinyl at all. The perfomance is at such a level that I don't plan on ever replacing the 777---ie, I'll keep nursing it along for as long as possible. Ck out the write-ups online, and there are several reviews posted on Audio Asylum, including one by yours truly. Let me know if you have questions.

I've dealt with both West Coast agents: Warren Gregoire in the San Francisco Bay Area and Jim Ellis in Seattle. Both have a modest supply of spares for the parts that routinely fail like the laser sled and spindle, and could repair the units when they fail. Both would be excellent folk to confer with and gain a perspective on what the mods will do to a stock unit. www.warrengregoire.com and www.sonicperfectionists.com

Regards,

rlxl

Hi,
One other thing: be sure to ask Allen about the "Breath of Life" mod developed by Jim Ellis---I'm not sure if this is counted as the Level 6 mod or just an extra mod, I've lost track of the numbers and the differences. But this is the redesign of the grounding layout of the unit, and is most definitely worthwhile to have done have the unit is in the shop. It, indeed, breathes life into the music.

While I have not heard the latest and greatest and newest, etc. sacd players, my ears and gut tell me that the modded unit sounds like music, so I have to agree with Allen's assessment. As an old vinyl guy who didn't even own a cd player for about 15 yrs (it took me that long to finally breakdown and buy one), this player has really amazed me. BTW: just to give you some perspective when I say "old vinyl guy"---my record collection has about 3-4K albums and my sacd collection is only 3-400 and rbcd is about 1500, but I really don't listen to vinyl anymore. In fact, my TT is not set up at present (I moved 2 yrs ago and have yet gone through the set up for the table.).

Keep me posted.

Regards,

rlxl

Hi,
75% is very tempting. Very. But I agree with you---first priority is the source (and I would include the AC source here---clean pwr gives you clean music). I think you would hear more music given a better source. Another amp will amplify the same sound---perhaps with a little punch like you say, perhaps a little more dynamics, perhaps a little better sound stage, perhaps a little better foundation, but more music??? No, I don't think so. I think you would hear significantly more music and enjoy the results much more so from investing in the source vs the amp.

I'm not saying that a better amp will not make a difference. But a better source will give you significantly more for the money spent. If you could do both, that would be great. But if you have to make a choice, then I would go with the source. Upgrade the amp later. It could be that the sonic benefits of the mods to the 777 would be such that you no longer feel the need to upgrade the amp.

But, again, 75% is tempting---but if it were me, I'd go with the 777 level 6 mod. Your system is very musical now, but think about how it would improve with a better source.

Regards,

rlxl