Sony XA777ES SACD...quick review
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F1nut
Posts: 49,819
IT'S HERE!
After waiting about 3 months for my order to come in, I gave up and purchased a flawless demo unit from a reputable dealer. It really is flawless, not a smudge or anything and came with a full 5 year warranty.
The first disc in was none other than DSOTM in SACD 2 channel. I had listened to the CD layer of the new DSOTM before and was not impressed, in SACD it's awesome. The first thing I noticed was the detail, then the soundstage, then.....bass SLAM.
I've played various SACD's and some redbook's, the SACD's have more weight, air and decay. The redbook CD's all sound better than on my old player, but if the recording was bright to begin with, it still is. I'll add to this review after I log more listening time.
So far, I'm impressed.
After waiting about 3 months for my order to come in, I gave up and purchased a flawless demo unit from a reputable dealer. It really is flawless, not a smudge or anything and came with a full 5 year warranty.
The first disc in was none other than DSOTM in SACD 2 channel. I had listened to the CD layer of the new DSOTM before and was not impressed, in SACD it's awesome. The first thing I noticed was the detail, then the soundstage, then.....bass SLAM.
I've played various SACD's and some redbook's, the SACD's have more weight, air and decay. The redbook CD's all sound better than on my old player, but if the recording was bright to begin with, it still is. I'll add to this review after I log more listening time.So far, I'm impressed.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
Post edited by F1nut on
Comments
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Welcome to the world of SACD! The problem is that there is just not enough good R & R. There is quite a bit of classical and jazz titles available. The DSOTM disc is one of the few SACDs that I really enjoy in multi-channel. I listen mostly to 2 channel. I have around 25 SACDs and the sound quality on most is excellent. I have a copy of Handel's Messiah by FIM that is spectacular. I just hope the format survives and the music keeps coming!"Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
I agree, not enough rock or blues available. If they want it to fly the record companies are going to have to get more selections out there. It is SO MUCH better than redbook cd that they should stop making CD's and issue everything in SACD hybrid. I've got 10 or 12 with a couple on pre-order and now that I've got the player I'll grap some of the SACD only issues. I'll add Handel to my list, thanks.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I'm sure SACD will survive and flourish because Sony is behind it. I read that Billy Joel "The Stranger" is very good on SACD. Check out this review:
http://www.timefordvd.com/sacd/review/Stranger.shtml
I will be rebuilding my classical collection in SACD for the most part, and adding to my r & r with DVD-A and SACD. DSOTM SACD for $14 at Best Buy is a damn good price; can't find it cheaper anywhere.
Doc"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
Director - Technology and Customer Service
SVS -
congrats, bud! you have become the owner of the "reference" player series in SACD! this machine is so hard to get, and it will get more expensive as Sony releasing its new batch of players. Do let us know how it sounds once it's broken in!I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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Dr. Spec,
I have been wearing out my SACD copy of The Stranger. I think it is mixed well, and the old songs from Billy never sounded so good.
To me, this is one terrific SACD.
Danny -
Originally posted by carvinman1
Dr. Spec,
I have been wearing out my SACD copy of The Stranger. I think it is mixed well, and the old songs from Billy never sounded so good.
To me, this is one terrific SACD.
Danny
That endorsement is good enough for me - I'll be buying The Stranger in short order. Thanks.
Doc"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
Director - Technology and Customer Service
SVS -
On going comments, I was listening to a piano solo by John Boswell on regular cd and for the first time I heard the sound of the key moving just before the sound of the note......awesome!
Of interest, I started off using the stock power cord, then I switched to a brand new PS Audio "Statement" pc. With the PS cord the sound became very bright and unpleasant to listen to, so I went back to the stock cord and the sound is great. The PS cord is a $400.00 totl pc, anybody have any thoughts on this???Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
1st off let me say congrads on the finest Sony Player ever built(they did had a killer 2 channel sacd player out when it all started,very high end with top loading )as I like it over all.
To change a part of your system and cause it to sound worse,seems like it's musical,tonal properities didn't match the rest of the system.The powercord might work wonders in others systems but doesn't work in yours.Don't give up that easy with powercords.You need to find "THE ONE" that matches your system.
As far as I know Kimber Kable power cords are respected as the best on the market.I'm expecting my 2 power cords soon.I'm getting the PK10 GOLD we shall see how they sound in my system.After talking to everyone in the bussiness I know who has experience and a lenghty conversation with Kimber there selves.I feel this was the best choice.We shall see......
SACD needs to get with the effin program.They have made a statement that all Sony Produced cd's will be Hybrid.....effin WHERE??????I have owned sacd since the first day the Pioneer Elite dv47a came out.I bought it right off our truck when they delivered.I own about 6 SACD"S......and about 4 or 5 dvd audio disc....sucks.I love the high quality sound,2 channel or multichannel,they need to just step the eff up and release all music that is new.Don't get me wrong I think it's awesome how they can take a older recording and re record it in the new formats,but I feel it shines alot better with a brand new release,from the beginning so to speak........I really don't know if these formats will last...with the huge push from MP3????High res audio seems to be a thing of the past...or a dieing art....sad but true.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Originally posted by F1nut
The PS cord is a $400.00 totl pc, anybody have any thoughts on this???
This sounds so strange to me that I am at a complete loss to even try theorizing on the matter.
Do the male/female connection between the Sony and PS cord have the same geometry of connectors? meaning rectangular, square or round type. Ya see what I'm getting at? If the posts don't mate up well there could be a drop large enough across the interface to cause this problem????
Confused and grasping I am!
HBomb***WAREMTAE*** -
F1,
Good to hear you are finally getting your SACD jolly's. Know you've been looking forward to this for a long time.
On one hand, it's possible that the "Statement" needs breaking in. I don't necessarily believe that this is the case, but you could try leaving a disc repeat overnight and see what the 'morrow brings...
Then again, could be that in this case the stock pc is, as Dan puts it, "the one"...
More later,
Tour...
Vox Copuli
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb
"Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
"It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
"There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD -
I haven't let it burn in yet, but unlike other cables I've tried this power cord makes it sound so bad that I can't believe burn in time would help. Quess I should try it anyway, I'll let it play while I'm not around. That way I won't torture my ears.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Now Sony has a new SACD player. Probably not much different from your model though. This new stuff would olny reduce jitter by 20-30 picoseconds from your player's already low 150picoseconds.
Sony's new flagship SACD player, the $3000 SCD-XA9000ES, a multichannel-capable player which features a "frame and beam" chassis, said to reduce resonance, as well as a dual discrete laser pick-up mechanism, which pairs two independent lasers with a single optical lens, providing (Sony claims) "optimum performance for Super Audio CDs and CDs, as well as CD-R/RW discs.""The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." -
jrausch,
Yes, the new player comes out in October. It will have a different face plate and a Fire Wire interface for use with other Fire Wire able gear (other Sony's), which is strictly for multi-channel use, but I didn't know about the reduced picoseconds. Other than that, it's the same unit. Thanks for the info.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
First, let me say that I had been using the wrong term for my problem, instead of bright I should have been saying that I was having a problem with sibilance. This is the hiss that one can hear from S's and T's, especially with female vocals.
After playing around with my gear for the past two days, I have found an interesting solution to the PS "Statement" power cord situation. I had been running my IC's to a direct input connection on the amp, which is suppose to have a cleaner signal path. I moved the IC's to the CD input connection on the amp and on better recordings the sibilance is gone, with poor recordings it's still there, but not nearly as bad. I can't explain it and I thought I would lose something by not using the direct inputs, but the sound is still clean with the added benefits of the PS cord, which adds solidity and space. At this point, I am very impressed by both the XA777ES and the PS power cord, my music has never sounded better.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Nicccccccccce... Oopssssssss... Wrong input...
There that's better... More later,
Tour...
Vox Copuli
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb
"Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
"It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
"There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD -
LOL......yeah, something like that.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
