External DAC for Sony SCD-777ES

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?

You've done quite a bit of trading here so why not try some of the popular dacs in your price range and see what you like. As you prefer used you know you can do this with little $ worry. There are numerous options in your price range but if I were to make a specific recommendation I'd say try a used Bel Canto dac2. Very ice for the used price.

Dcaudio

The super clock and superclock power supply are separate mods and depending on your skills can be done by you. I had a local modder RAM (reference audio mods) East install both the clock and power supply in my scd-1(did it free). The superclock will improve both redbook and sacd performance. This is the single most important mod you can do and will exceed the performance gain that the resistor and the cap upgrade made by a large margin. If you only did one mod to yout player the superclock would be it. I can understand now why you said your TT outperformed your 777es. Forget the DAC and get the clock installed. I can not believe Kern would do the resistor and cap upgrade and not the clock knowing full well the improvement the clock makes.

Audiomod know offers the reference clock which is claimed to be a large improvement over the superclock 4. It is very expensive at 795 versus 295 but as I understand is a big improvement over the sc4.

Chuck

I thought about the advice overnight.
1. Investing more into vinyl is an answer, but not the one for me. I am trying to get the CDs and SACDs I have sound better.
2. Superclock 4 sounds interesting. Gets the board into an existing unit. Improved both SACD and CD. However, it does not add any resale value to the player. As I looked at the web there appears to be several mfg of similar boards - LC Audio, Dexa etc.
3. External DAC. Ack!, PS Audio, Bel Canto, Benchmark, Theta. Better second hand value than 2. Only improves CD playback.
4. Buy a dedicated CD player. Basically only use the Sony for SACD. This is an interesting answer. However, I am concerned that $ 1,500 used will get me a CD player that beats the Sony. Remember the Sony is not bad. I am just looking to improve it.
Still thinking.