External DAC for Sony SCD-777ES


My SCD-777ES has the Kern mods. Vishay resistors. Black gate capacitors.
Sounds good and easy to live with. Still far from the performance level of my turntable.
I would like to try an external DAC for red book.
There are many in the $ 500 to $ 1,500 used price range.
Please share with me your experiences.
Happy Holidays
dcaudio
You have done all you can do IMO maybe some power supply mods. Vinyl is obviously your thing so I would put my money there.

Chuck
I don't think you'll find a great dac in that price range or at least one that will overthrow your modded Sony. I used to have an Audio Note 2.1x balanced dac that was better than the redbook section of my xa9000es but that was more than your budget allows.

I agree with Chuck and think that vinyl where may be your best investment...

Happy holidays
you might be able to get some improvement with a power conditioner - my experience has been that CDPs benefit most from it.

otherwise, I'd audition at length before buying an external DAC; the modded Sony is already up there with the best digital (I have a Kern-modded SCD-1)
Your thread doesn't mention if your player has the super clock installed. If it doesn't then this is where you need to put your money. The super clock upgrade is a huge improvement over the stock clocking circuit.
I do not have the Superclock. I believe it is two parts. A circuit board and a power supply for the circuit board. Is this a mod I can do myself or do i have to send it in? Does this upgrade only change redbook or also improve SACD?