[krayzie]

Wow, my second ever Discman, first one being a D-EJ815 which sounded quite nasty, bought it at Sony Outlet and eventually sold it after three years with less than 10 times usage... But just WOW!!! I just got the D-777 at my doorsteps this afternoon and only using it for 15 mins and I'm already sooooo impressed!

As many here may have described the great sound quality time after time before, I'll just give a general review of the physical design... (Note that I just ordered the remote from Sony Parts for $112 CAD OUCH! cuz the owner replaced it with a crappy eyeball remote and miniplug MDR-E838 earphones, too add more to injury, I only paid $115 CAD for the machine, so effectively it's costing me $227 CAD, pretty steep for a used machine but oh well)...

The machine is 3rd hand, previous owner bought it for $50 CAD and I missed the chance so I offered him double to get it... but still in absolute pristine condition with virtually no scratches on the top and a few nicks on the bottom but nothing that can be seen unless under really bright lighting...

Now for the little stuff I liked about the design... there is a total of 3 LEDs on the machine itself, one for charging, one for playing, but get this: one for the hold switch where once it's activated, hitting any other button would cause the hold switch to blink... that's so wicked! The top is made out of Carbon Fiber if I remember correctly, but for some reason I think the bottom is no plastic... feels rubbery like some kinda bio-cellouse material... overall the machine is really really light which I like alot... This machine is thin! Even only a mere 2mm thinner than my previous 815, it feels much much thinner on the hand.

Compare to the 815, the 777 is much warmer sounding and really closed to my tape Walkmans, but with the absolute clarity of CD, and much stronger bass than my R90 Digital Mega Bass. This one has the old Mega Bass, although less powerful than the Japanese DBB, still it's very well done as I'm not a heavy bass fanatic... and is this thing loud or what?!? I'm using my AIWA HP-D9 straight from the jack on the machine and it can never set it pass 2 without thinking of blowing apart my ears... what's the amp power output rating for this thing anyways?!?

I'm so happy right now, still spinning the bonus CD off the New Order Retro Boxset... so far so good!

Truly a remarkable 10th Anniversary Discman!

So am I admitted to the D-777 Team finally?!?!?

Edit: I can truly confirmed that it is a Carbon Fiber lid, look at the underside and you can see the part number PA-CF-40... I guess CF stands for Carbon Fiber then...

 

[Duncan]

Congrats Krayzie

I never actually realised that the D777 was a 10th anniversary model

Wahoo, that means in... erm, 2005 ~ that there'll be a 20th anniversary model...

Hmm...

 

[redshifter]

congrats, i've had mine for many years and it still sounds wonderful. i have experience repairing the remote and the discman's laser trandport and cleaning it if you ever need any help.

try the line out with a jmt amp and some markertec cables. and also try the headphone out with the sony v6, they are a good match.

personally i only use the remote for a controller, i don't like the adapter cable for micro to mini plug. if i'm using the headphone out i eschew the remote altogether.

 

[krayzie]

Yes Duncan, it should be the 10th Anniversary model (even though not advertised by Sony at all) since the D-50 came out in 1985 and the D-777 in 1995... From Sony's track record with tape and MD Walkmans, they always try to push the limits of technology every 5 years with some killer machine... I can only guess that either the D-Z555 or D-J50 or D-515 is the 5th Anniversary model... most likely the D-J50 due to its stupidly thin physical profile...

Hey redshifter, I don't know if it's my machine or my earphones... but everytime I use the D-777 I can hear background hiss like tapes... and it's there obviously no matter which sound mode I choose... I cleaned the jacks with rubbing alcohol already... could it be my earphones?? (5-30,000kHz freq. response)... at first the volume dial gives interference at certain levels but as I turned it back and forth it seemed to have dissappeared (probably dust)...

Nevertheless, I got so used to background hiss from tapes that I don't get bothered by it much, the sound of a Discman is still far cleaner than the best tape...

 

[Andrew Pielet]

So, you coining it a 10th anniversary model then?

 

[redshifter]

try it with the anti-skip off.

 

[krayzie]

Same thing redshifter, no detectable difference in sound with or without ESP... the hiss is only noticable with classical music or when during dead air (the few seconds going into and out of a song)...

Is there something wrong with my D-777? Awww I would hate to hear that it's faulty... my 815 was really clean and noiseless but it sounded very cold, the 777 is very warm just that the hiss seems noticable... Is there any free and quick DIY fix to this?

I only have 2 pair of long-wire miniplug earphones, the AIWA HP-D9 and the Sony MDR-E888LP... an off topic note: With the D9 the hiss is easily detected while with the 888 I need some concentration to hear it... And for some reason the 888LP has really nice bass compare to the less bassy SP and MP... by the way the 888LP is the old gold color version... weird!

I'll give my MDR-V7 (not V700) a shot tonight at the 777... I think this is 5-30,000Hz freq. response too... what's the spec of the V6/7506?

 

[Duncan]

I wouldn't call it hiss as such, but I can hear a subtle degredation in the sound when the ESP is on, and the volume is quite high...

But with it off? no... I can't say that I can

Are these D9s really spitty and bright normally? - The E888s are what I can hear the ESP degredation on... I won't tell you the horror story about one of my Panasonic cassette / radio personal players... it sounds similar to your D777 at the moment... and wasn't good....

I hope that the hiss goes away...

Duncan

 

[krayzie]

Hey Duncan, I did some more listening tests... I was wrong at first, turns out that the "hiss" gets to really minimal levels without Mega Bass, but more obvious with the highest setting... Another oddity is that if I use the eyeball remote, the hiss is completely gone!!! But once I use the main jack the tiny hiss re-appears...

Argh!!! Oh well I can't wait for the original remote to come next week...

 

[bong]

hey krazie! congrats on your D-777.

i had one too, but i gave it to my brother.

as for the slight hiss, i'll look into it tonight, as my brother is using it out of the house right now. but you're absolutely right about the output, the D-777 is LOUD! it has one of the best headphone output i've came across. if memory serves me right, i think it has 10mW + 10mW, as opposed to 5mW +5mW in newer units, such as my D-EJ915.

oh, and the original remote restricts you to use a pair of headphone with the awful sony micro-plug, i dunno if any good ones exist with them.

i hope your hiss problem goes away, maybe duncan is right, could it be the headphones? i have a Creative Nomad II MG that has a similar problem. it has this audible mechanical hum whenever its playing a track. it's less noticable when the lcd backlight is on, but once it goes off, the hum gets louder. its so annoying, i don't even use it anymore...

hey krazie, you're a new order fan?

i love them, although i feel the Retro Box Set could've been a little better, like using the original version of "Ceremony" instead of the re-recorded one with Gillian. And "Everything's Gone Green" sounds a bit... dead? it definately sounds much more lively on the 1981-1982 EP. at least someone has the sense to use the original versions of "Temptation" and "Confusion." and the Club CD could've used more obscure remixes, instead of stuff that already appeared on "Substance." but... WOW, i love the live disc, and that 17 minute version of "Elegia" and the live version of "Transmission?" awesome!

 

[redshifter]

krayzie,
the only other thing i can think of is a dirty volume pot. perhaps one of the owners was a smoker. DO NOT USE RADIO SHACK TUNER CONTROL SPRAY TO CLEAN IT! it killed my dd9. perhaps someone here can recommend a safe way for you to clean it.

i just tried my d777 w/ e888 out of the headphone jack, and the only hiss i could detect was slight, but i had to crank it to maximum. i couldn't tell if it was the player or the cd.

 

[krayzie]

OMG Bong you're a New Order fan too?!?!?! Hey don't you think the Live CD sounds like some cheap bootleg? I love the bonus CD alot, and I think the boxset is nicely done since I'm not really a hardcore NO fan and aren't concern much on rarities and B-sides, casual listener me... I started to like NO when I heard BLT back in grade 2 in elementary skool hehe...

I took the Discman out for a trial run today, the 10sec ESP is absolute rubbish compare to G-Protection... it skips no matter I keep it in my pants pocket or my strap bag, but in my jacket it's fine... The remote gives out nasty bass and bright sound... I guess the eyeball remote is defective none of my other remote Walkmans sound as crappy... the main jack is fine... the hiss is just "hiss" and not "hum", and I don't wanna take it apart to clean it... I'll try cleaning the jack more with rubbing alcohol...