[radrd]

Crutchfield and J&R are authorized dealers, which means they have to sell it for pretty much whatever Sony tells them to. If you buy from an unauthorized place, there might be problems with the warranty (depending on how Sony handles such things).

 

[Calanctus]

For buying an XA777, check out Oade Brothers .

 

[dparrish]

I can vouch for the XA777ES. I bought the player HOPING to get decent CD performance as well as great SACD. The CD performance has EXCEEDED my expectations--neutral, smooth/balanced, detailed without being overly bright. I've compared it to the upper end Meridian and Arcam players and found its CD playback to be in the same league. Kal Rubinson, in his Stereophile review, hinted that the XA777 may use some form of upsampling in its CD playback. I think he may be right, for the player has a certain smoothness and non-digital nature that has quite frankly surprised me--it's better than I expected. I've actually been able to listen to and enjoy early-80s CDs that sounded horribly bright and unlistenable on other players. Of course, SACD playback is outstanding. For the money, the XA777ES is definately worth it, especially if you're wanting great SACD playback.

I haven't heard any of the Marantz players, which are well-liked by some (and evidently have a bit of a different sound from the Sony's). I would recommend that you audition these, as well as the Phillips players, before making a decision (if this is possible for you--it WASN'T possible for me at the time--I just read the reviews and then ordered one for $2000 from Oade Bros.

).

Good luck!

David

 

[Gergor]

Thanks a lot, guys. So Oade Brothers is reliable? I have seen it mentioned numerous times on forums regarding Sony. So people pick it for best price or good service?

 

[NathanJM]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gergor Thanks a lot, guys. So Oade Brothers is reliable? I have seen it mentioned numerous times on forums regarding Sony. So people pick it for best price or good service?

For me, both. Ordering is incredibly easy, although you cannot do it online (unless via email). When I ordered my C555ES, they were definitely the cheapest option, and I received it 3 days from the order date (ordered on a monday, on the doorstep on that thursday).

They will send you an email notification when your order ships and will also give you a tracking number so you can follow the order. I believe they ship FedEx, if I recall.

 

[Calanctus]

Mmm...perhaps I should add my one caveat concerning the Sony XA777ES: reliability. My player broke down after having it for about 3 months: it would not read CDs with more than about 10 tracks, simply spinning and spinning until it ejected the disk. I posted on AA and learned that others have had similar problems with it. So I sent it away for warranty repair, which took several weeks. When I finally got it back, the problem was fixed--but now the transport motor makes a strange grinding noise that it never did before.

FWIW I think the sound quality of the XA777 is excellent, but I really wish Sony had put a little more effort into BUILD quality.

 

[dparrish]

Calanctus,

I'm very sorry to hear of your problem with the XA777ES

However, I participate in AA as well, and I know that although a few have had problems with the XA777ES's reliability, many, many more have not.

I think it is safe to say that there are very few, if any audio manufacterers that have a perfect record in this regard. I LOVE my Classe SSP-25 pre/pro, and have had NO problems with it. One or two folks posted that they had a problem with their unit (which received excellent service, by the way). Yet, I 've not had one in 21/2 years of service.

My point is that a potential buyer shouldn't base their buying decision on one or even several bad units, but on the overall record compared to others. In this regard, I doubt that Sony fairs any worse than most manufacturers, and you can have a bit more confidence at least in that fact that the company will probably be there to service it in the future

 

[Orpheus]

hey guys, i have a question, but it's not entirely on-topic, so started another thread:

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=28518

but i see a lot of you guys are suggesting to use DACs with SACD players. this doesn't make sense to me... (when i say DAC, i mean the standard DAC with using sampling rate and bit depth) please let me know on the new thread.... thanks.

 

[Calanctus]

Quote:

Originally posted by dparrish My point is that a potential buyer shouldn't base their buying decision on one or even several bad units, but on the overall record compared to others. In this regard, I doubt that Sony fairs any worse than most manufacturers

dparrish, what do you base this on--besides reports on AA? Is there any reliability information available for high-end audio manufacturers, similar to the PC Magazine ratings for computer manufacturers? I'm not aware of any.

 

[dparrish]

Calanctus,

This is based on a number of threads on AA dealing with this same issue. A couple of inmates complained about a problem with their Sony, and were answered by a great host chiming in to say they had no problem whatsoever.

It's also based on my own observations about my own equipment and the equipment of others I know or have read about. That's all

I REALLY wouldn't worry about getting an XA777. Kelly and I both have one and we haven't had a single problem. Plus, you have Sony's 5 year ES warranty.

 

[Dan H]

I bought a Phillips SACD1000 from Oade Brothers late last year. I highly recommend Oade.
The Philips SACD1000 Redbook playback is slightly better than a P-3A and much better than a MSB LIK III in my system. The SACD playback of the Philips is outstanding. It’s a good DVD player as well.
I auditioned the Sony XA777ES, Lynn and Meridian before buying the Philips. To my ears the Meridian was best at Redbook the Sony best SACD. I think the Lynn I heard in a high-end salon was new or not setup correctly because it SUCKED, dry, dead and boring.
After many hours of listening to my Philips I’m very happy with it. I have the Philips plugged into a PS Audio P300. This combo is outstanding.
There have been several times the transport was noisy. I removed the CD or DVD and restarted it with no problem. I don’t think a player in this price range should have a problem like that. It makes me wonder long term if this will fail.
If price were no object I would have bought the Sony XA777ES for SACD.

 

[Calanctus]

Of course, anecdotal reports are just that--mine included. Basing a buying decision on the overall record, in any kind of objective way, is not possible without an actual overall record beyond anecdotes. The fact that I'm not currently inclined to buy Sony again for any high-end gear should not, by itself, deter anyone else from buying their stuff.