Hi Rbirke,
I feel your pain. I too have a Modwright modded XA-777. It began having your problem years ago. At first only occasionally, then more often. I've put 2 new lasers in it then sent it to Dan for repair. He is very busy and it took a long time, but he replaced the laser again then found a damaged ribbon cable inside. We thought that was the problem, and it IS working better, but I still have to "prime" it with a CD before playing an SACD, and some of my SACDs still won't play at all. I wish I had just abandoned it and bought one of Dan's newer efforts, either the XA-5400 or the BDP-83. If you find the solution to our problem, please let me know!
I feel your pain. I too have a Modwright modded XA-777. It began having your problem years ago. At first only occasionally, then more often. I've put 2 new lasers in it then sent it to Dan for repair. He is very busy and it took a long time, but he replaced the laser again then found a damaged ribbon cable inside. We thought that was the problem, and it IS working better, but I still have to "prime" it with a CD before playing an SACD, and some of my SACDs still won't play at all. I wish I had just abandoned it and bought one of Dan's newer efforts, either the XA-5400 or the BDP-83. If you find the solution to our problem, please let me know!