Sony SCDXA777ES vs Sony SCD1 ?

Thank you all very much for your input.

IMHO, they are both very good and they are both very different. Some may prefer the sound of the SCD1 while others will certainly enjoy the XA777ES to a far greater degree.

For those who never heard SACD before and listening to a SCD1 for the first time - it is truly a shocking almost breath-taking experience. The "amount" of sound produced by the SCD1 on SACD is amazing. The detail is amazing. Highs bounce all over the soundstage in a carnival of excitement. I believe as Czbbcl stated above - this was indeed created as a statement piece and designed by Sony to grab the attention of the world and enlighten them to what Sony hoped was the future....SACD.

Many people were captivated by the SCD1 (and still are) but I found over extended listening, it wasn't fun, relaxing or enjoyable. The unit has a "matter of fact" quality to it and subjects a listener to the music more than drawing one in emotionally. Sitting in a room with the SCD1 - and its detail - was similar to sitting in a room with ants crawling
over my body... it was a sort of organized rhythmic chaos made up of unanticipated notes & sounds which initially sounded spectacularly interesting but ultimately grew fatiguing.

I feel the XA777ES is an attempt by Sony to take a step back and prove that SACD is not an "in your face" format designed for detail freaks or those who love to hear that which has never before been heard on a recording. While the XA777ES is certainly detailed - it does it with a certain ease (and sonic signature) never before available from Sony. Additionally the XA777ES seems to be have an alive-ness, is less sterile, and a certain degree of warmth that is non-existant in most digital gear in general - especially under $5,000.

The SCD1 takes a looooong time to load a CD. Some like that "feature" (others don't)... but it gave me plenty of time to get from the rack to the seat before the CD began to play. The XA777ES loads much faster.

To me, multi-channel is annoying and I cannot understand what all the "hype" is regarding the format. But.. if you must have it, the XA777ES is the unit to own.

The front loading XA777ES is very convenient but certainly not as cool looking as the previous 777 or the SCD1.

I can't find it on the Sony web site.

Drubin:
No the XA777ES is a completely different model than the 777ES. I think most will agree the XA is just a superior player. XA is also a front loader which some folks need...

Is the SCD-XA777ES the same as the SCD 777ES, which is discontinued?

I have discussed this topic with several modders and retailers while some prefered the xa most agreed the scd-1 was the better player for two channel; better parts and simpler circuit. However, in the end it is personnel preference and the size of ones pocket book as well as system matching.

I'll agree to disagree with Czbbcl. You might want to check with Dan Wright at modwright.com about the differences between the players and get his advice. He's quite knowledgeable about both, and I bet he'll tell you to go with the XA-777ES. I've been very impressed with his mods, although I'd take CD 12 over the modded SCD-1 if I had the 20 grand to spend on a CD player.

'nuff said.

The SCD-1 is better on both redbook and scad handsdown. The scd-1 was constructed as a statement piece and as such is untouchable by sonys lower level players. And is even untouchable by many esoteric interpolation cd players.

However if you want multi-channel you must go with the XA if you want two channel then the scd-1 is simply the best sony offers. And modded it is considered the equal of the 20k machines on redbook or sacd.

There are many threads on this supject; simple do a search.

As I understand, the SCD-1 does not have the the triple paralleled DACS as does the XA-777ES, because the SCD-1 is a two channel only machine having only one DAC per channel. The XA-777ES also has newer more advanced DACs than the SCD-1. In multichannel mode, the XA-777ES uses one DAC per channel, but in two channel mode, it puts three DACs per channel in parallel. I've owned both, although not at the same time. I think that on SACD they're about equal, but on redbook CDs the XA-777ES wins hands down. Both are heavy and well-built, but the refinement of a second generation machine is obvious in the XA-777ES.