Thanks for starting this thread. I have "coveted" this piece of gear since Art Dudley reviewed it in February or March of 2012. I even arranged to audition one back then, but then changed my mind when I realized that if I loved it, I would be unable to wrangle up the purchase price. I am a vinyl aficionado and have bared used my twelve year old Classe CDP.5 in the past three years despite it being a very smooth glare and edge free CDP and despite having hundreds of cds.
By chance, when I was not really looking for one, I found a mint condition used one on A-gon for just over half-price. It was black when I preferred the look of the silver but I was happy to see when it arrived that it was indeed mint, right down to still having the protective plastic over the info screen. Mine was billed as having approx 200 hrs of use, and if anything that would seem an over-estimate. Now that it is in my system, it is still well under 300 so the burn-in continues.
If anyone is interested in this unit, you really need to read one of the better reviews (and I think Dudley's is the best) and visit AMR's website to appreciate the technology involved. The Cliffnote edition with my own editorial is this; ever since Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio came up with his "Streamlength" algorithm most current DAC's have USB optimized over S/PDIF. The AMR's BNC 75ohm input is engineered to be as good or better as the USB input, using (naturally) entirely different circuitry and techniques for each.
Someone else in this thread claimed that the CD-77 is "better" than the DP-777. I think the answer to that is "yes" and "no". Yes, the CD-77 belongs to AMR's upper line of gear whereas the DP-777 is in the second, lower price point/tier, but that is relative to other CDPs. In other words, comparison of the CD-77 to the DP-777 as a DAC is not fair-TO THE CD-77! At shows, the US importer, Darren Censullo uses the CD-77 as a transport and leaves DAC duty to the DP-777. Sure, this is partially to show off as much gear as possible, but this is also to get the best possible sound.
And speaking of Darren, you will never find a more enthusiastic, engaging, and generous source of info on a product than Darren. Call him and and have a big cup of coffee at the ready, maybe a pot, just to keep up with Darren's stream of things he will want you to know. Anyone who has ever talked to him in person or on the phone knows of what I speak.
On a completely different topic-the DP-777's pre-amp; one can not underestimate just how good the built-in pre-amp is. My stand-alone pre-amp is one of the best ever made. A bold statement, but one I will stand by. I won't go into details there, but it is tubed, has a huge outboard PS, umbilical to the separate pre-amp thick as a fire hose, dual stepped attenuators, etc. etc. For the moment, I have taken the stand-alone pre-amp off my rack and I am running my two turntables and phono stages right into the DP-777's two sets of analogue inputs. The sound is different, but equal to the stand-alone. My criticism of the unit as a pre-amp is that it would be nice to have a tape loop. I can't hook my Violectric V200 up to it unless there is some work-around I can't think of.
I will report further about the burn-in process and my related impressions. I am busy ripping about four hundred CDs to a music server which is taking up much of my time that would otherwise be spent listening.