Sony ES DVP-CX777ES 400 disc DVD/SACD changer (1 Viewer)

[Mike_S.]

Been considering one of these. I have a very large DVD collection and want to get into SACD as well.

I know a single disc model will probably give you better quality. Still, this is an "ES" component so I doubt it would be real bad.

Any thoughts or other suggestions in regards to changers.

I am considering one of Sonys new ES receivers as well.

I have the speakers.

(4) Paradigm Titans (v3)
(1) Paradigm CC170 (v3)
(1) Paradigm PDR-10 (sub) (v3)

Thanks guys.

 

[Robert Franklin]

The only complaint that I have heard/read about Sony Megachangers are that they are slow when it comes to switching between discs. I would love to get one of these players if it were in black, but that's another story. Anyway, with a 5-year warranty, you can't go wrong. As far as video and audio quality are concerned you shouldn't be disappointed. I have a 5-disc ES CD/SACD ONLY changer. When compared to a very good sounding Technics 5 discs changer, there was no comparison necessary. The sound stage just opened up dramatically. So, if you want an extremely powerful video DAC, SACD, and the abilty to play multiple formats in one machine with very little effort, I think this may be the machine for you.

 

[Ben Harper]

Mike,

I just plugged in my Sony DVP-CX777ES and it seems to be everything I wanted in a DVD changer. I purchased it for well below MSRP so look around.

My primary concern with a large changer is the indexing system. This appears to be a little more complicated than I would like, but again I just plugged it in. I know the image quality should be the same, but for some reason it appears that the 777 provides a crisper picture than my Sony NS715. Maybe its just new toy excitement.

I'll try to post an in-depth review after a test drive this weekend.

Also picked up a new ES receiver too. Nice unit.

Ben

 

[Yohan Pamudji]

Does it still have the chroma bug like other Sony DVD players? If it doesn't, this player would be very attractive to me. It still does the nifty in-player disc flip, right?

 

[Ben Harper]

I was actually viewing Monsters, Inc. last night and didn't see the chroma bug. But again, Ive had limited viewing with it. I am hopeful that Sony fixed that problem on their newer machines, especially with the ES line.

I will try to run some test flicks and let you know.

 

[TonyTone]

If only this model came with the 2-way LCD remote (like the one for the ES 400-CD only changer) so that you can see indexed CD titles on the remote LCD screen...or does it indeed come with the 2-way? 'Cuz I'd buy this in almost a heartbeat if it did and/or had the 2-way indexing capability.

 

[Phil Tomaskovic]

I got the 555ES carousel instead. Check Oade Bros for a good price. www.oade.com

 

[DerekB]

Ben - I have an older model Sony 400 CD changer (not ES), and I just about died when the power went out in my house once and my three hours of work inputting CD titles went into the toilet. I can't believe these puppies don't have any sort of on-board memory. Do you know if the 777ES will retain this information if unplugged or if there is a power outage? Like Mike, I havd a large DVD collection and I really want to get into SACDs, so this might be the right player.

 

[Simon Ngan]

Derek,

That's strange about the memory of your CD Changer. I have the 300 disc version and if I unplug the power, I don't seem to lose anything and if memory serves, it'll retain information for about a month before it loses.

I have the 985 (400 disc DVD changer) and I have moved it 2nd time and I don't recall any problem as far as losing information.

Does anyone find the sub output of the changer is very low when listening to SACD?

Simon

 

[Howard Williams]

Opps....nevermind

 

[Lam Nguyen]

Simon,
The low sub output level is normal with sony sacd players, I was confuse why I could not hear bass from my sony scd-c555es player until I learned that the bass management in sacd players (not just sony's)has major design flaws. The sacd signal has to pass through the players PCM domain in order to do bass management, the signal is corrupted and you don't get a true SACD signal. You must bypass the players bass management altogether, to do this set your player to DIRECT mode. If you want bass check out Outlaw ICBM (outlawaudio.com) this unit does analog bass management unless your receiver has multi-channel analog bass management which is rare.
I'm not 100% sure this is the case with the sony 985, but very likely. The majority of sacd players out there still has bass management issues. Sorry for the bad news, you should look more into this.

 

[Simon Ngan]

Lam,

Thanks for your information about bass management on the SACD issue, much appreciated.

I might get a Denon 5900 for SACD/DVD-A playback, I believe this player has more options for routing the bass.

I can't confirm whether my process has bass management on analog multi-channel input or not - Primare SP31.7.

Thanks,

Simon

 

[Lam Nguyen]

I heard that the Denon 2900, has the BM issue worked out. The 5900 would be great.

 

[JackS]

I might be wrong but it has been my undrstanding all along that bass mgt for SACD was never intended. Now that bass mgt is appearing in players is sorta suprising. I was under the impression that any minipulation applied to an SACD disk would be by definition of the format, illegal. Since players really do have some ablity to manage bass ,I guess the question now is- "are we really hearing a true SACD recording"?

 

[Eric F]

Hey, I'd love to have a sub as much as the next guy, but I live in an apt, hence (yes, I said hence) the need for bass management.

That said, I'll probably buy the 985 and not even use the SACD feature so much because my receiver already has my HTPC going into the 7.1 inputs. Blah.

 

[Dana Bisbee]

The Sony DVP-CX777ES has the same lame menu system as the older 300+1 units. You might want to save a some $$$ and look at the DVP-CX895V 400 disk unit it is not an ES unit so it does not have the 5 year warranty but looks the same with the same controls. One thing the ES does have is a RS-232 port for future expansion the manual says. I wish I could get the codes for this so I could interface it to a PC. The CX895V goes for $399 retail.

BTW: The latest Sony 400 disk changers including the ES do not flip the disk over. Why would Sony keep the same lame menu system and remove a feature so cool??? Got me.

 

[Eric F]

The 777 has double the DAC and the S-Link/RS232, but the rest of it looks exactly the same as the 895.

As for removing the flip-disc feature, the rumour is that it was problematic and caused jamming. Probably just a cost cutting feature. Odd they'ld remove it now, just as double-sided writable DVDs are coming out.

I'll be buying the 895 when the price drops to the $300 range. Shouldn't be long since the MSRP was reduced to $399.

What I really don't understand is why they don't they make the interface more intuitive? Things like this make me wonder if anyone other than engineers take them home to test them.

 

[Kenny_H]

I have a question for 777ES & 985 owners. Do these units have the shuffle play feature that the older 860/870/875 players??? I have noticed that there are no buttons for shuffle play on the remote or the front panel of the newer units. And on the 875 player, you have to activate the shuffle play from the front panel instead of the remote. Any assistance would be helpful.

 

[Dana Bisbee]

Regarding the 777ES. Yes according to the manual as I have not used this feature yet. "You can have the player "shuffle" titles, chapters, or tracks. Subsequent "shuffling" may produce a different playing order. By selecting All Disks mode you can shuffle all of the disks in the player." The manual procedes to explain how to do this with the remote and the onscreen menus. There is not a shuffle button on the remote or player. You access this feature by pressing the display button twice then selecting the on screen menu option.

 

[Eric F]

I'm wondering if the different DACs in the 777 are really that much better than the 895s? Is it really worth the $200+ difference?