[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 I'm just curious what would happen if we also threw in a Arcam CD23 FMJ among those other two players... The CD23 is supposed to have the world's best DAC bar none after all...the DAC alone is supposedly worth $12,000 without a transport. Stereophile wondered why it even still had digital outputs, as it plainly didn't need them with the DAC its got.

The Arcam FMJ CD23 does incorporates what I believe is a co-developed version of dCS's Ring DAC. Alone, this isn't worth $12,000. I think you're thinking of dCS's $12,000 Elgar Plus, which is a 24/192, DSD D/A Converter -- a product that also has dCS's Ring DAC.

 

[jaskin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 I'm just curious what would happen if we also threw in a Arcam CD23 FMJ among those other two players... The CD23 is supposed to have the world's best DAC bar none after all...the DAC alone is supposedly worth $12,000 without a transport. Stereophile wondered why it even still had digital outputs, as it plainly didn't need them with the DAC its got. And, what's with the 777/SCD-1's 30 second loading time?!? I'm sure that missle silo door is cool and all, but I think I'd personally avoid them just for that load time!

Hi Vert,

My Alpha 9 also has the ringDAC but well, it still isn't as good as the Jupiter IMO.

Cheers
J

 

[squirt]

VKA,
the 777 weighs 55 lbs? shewt thats just about the same as the SCD-1...It looks like the new version 777 has a drawer type loading mechanism instead of top loading so hopefully Sony sped up the load cycle time some...by the way my mentioning the SCD-1 having a class B red book performance was purely for the sake of an example. i would bet its a solid class A for red book. So far $3000.00 seems to be the going price on the new version 777. Has anyone seen a lower price online?

 

[Vka]

You can get the XA-777ES for $2000 at Oade Bros. I have considered in getting the XA-777ES, but after seeing that the BUILD is not even close to the build of the SCD-1 (about 40lbs), I decided otherwise. Not only that, the XA-777ES looks plain ugly compared to SCD-1. Personally, I think the Japanese and European Champangne Gold versions of 777ES are very cool looking as oppose to the ugly black version of the US version.
And, yes the 30 sec load time is kinda annoying at firsts. But once I hear how good the player is, I rather wait for the 30 secs knowing kickass music in waiting. It kinda adds the overall suspense if you know what I mean. Afterall, its the sound we care about right?

"I have not heard the Jupiter, but it has been described to me by a prominent Stereophile reviewer as "something special" and clearly the best CDP at its price."
One thing you gotta think about is the 777ES retails for $3500 and is comparable to the $5000 SCD-1 (about 98-99% or so) whereas Jupiter 2000 retails for under $2000. So the questions is although the Jupiter may be a good CDP at its price, can it actually compete with players that costs more than $3,000?

 

[squirt]

VKA,
i presume when you mention the build of the SCD-1 being superior to the XA777ES your refering to the exterior cosmetics of the SCD-1 being much more "fancy" not that the 777 is poorly constructed?

I too would like to have a Champagne Gold player...makes me wonder how Sony decided us Americans only want black 777s

 

[Neruda]

Quote:

Originally posted by squirt The new Sony SCD-XA777ES is currently retailing for about $3000.00. I'm seriously considering getting it to replace my aging XA20ES.

Squirt, can you tell me what you think of the XA20ES? I sort of want to get one when/if I set up a home system.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Regarding build quality, I guess it's almost a Japan vs. British/Europe thing. Most hi-fi Japanese CDPs are built like a tank, while most of the British ones leave quite a bit to be desired. But honestly, I wouldn't care that much about build quality myself...as long as it doesn't blow off my desk when a wind comes through my window, I'd be happy with just about any build quality. If it's built extra heavy, that's just dandy...but if not, I think I could live with it. It IS the music that matters the most after all, right?

 

[jaghouse]

The only quality control issue that worries me is transport noise. Sitting close to the player with open headphones may allow you to hear the buzz or ticking of a loud transport. My Onkyo DVD player is bad... you can hear it hum and tick throughout movies. But Sony transports are supposedly top notch... so that probably wouldnt be a problem. Thankfully my CD player is super quiet. Build quality is impresive... made in Thailand.

 

[squirt]

Neruda,
unfortunately i don't have a reference to compare the XA20ES with so i can't really say how it would compare to say a decent european player but i've always been completely satisfied with the sound quality the XA20ES produces...too me its never had any offensive characteristics and is very dynamic with very good bass response...so far all the reviews i've read on it, both "profesional" and consumer have been very good to excellent and the price is really low now days but this model has been out for a few years now so i would suspect Sony will discontinue it before long...The XA20ES has had a long production life compared to other Sony ES players including its big brother XA7ES so i presume it must be a very popular model for a good reason...i like Sony's idea of having a knob that allows you to very quickly cycle to the desired song but maybe thats just because i'm a lazy american but it does work well...