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RE: Esoteric DV-60 vs. SCD-1 with VSEI mods

Dave,
I answered you via private email, but with so many replies here, I would like to answer your question publically.

SONY designed the SCD-1/SCD-777ES to be a major showcase for SACD. They spared no money or research in making it the very best SACD player they knew how. SACD is a bitstream technology, so the SCD-1/SCD-777ES uses bitstream technology throughout, not converting the bitstream signal to PCM for processing as do many other players.

They also built special DAC chips for SACD, although in our opinion they are excessively complex and do not help the overall sonics of the player.

I heard what DSD/SACD can sound like at a recording studio around 2001 off hard disc, and immediately bought a basic SONY player to experiment with - a XB940 - a unit not sold in the USA. It didn't sound anything like what I had heard in the studio so the hunt was on for what was wrong.

The key problem was SONY's usage of what I consider a junk audio section loaded with opamps. Once we found that all of that could be simply ommitted, and a signal taken DIRECTLY from the digital section, even bypassing the DAC, the sound really cleared up.

Then we obtained a SCD-777ES and found it's audio section was far worse than that in the baby player, with some 11 opamps for the signal to fight through, in the most overly complex setup I had ever seen. Like they take a balanced bitstream digital signal, put it through two DACs, then into a balanced to unbalanced converter (opamps), filter the ultrasonics out (opamps) and then convert BACK again to balanced with more opamps!!!!!

So we made a new audio section that includes the DAC function, the filter function and the cable driver function all with just three transistors (KISS!) and that was the basis of our Upgrades. Since then we've added a far better clock (TerraFirma) and many other things which all add to the result.

Joined with SONYs superb bitstream digital section, the reviews speak for themselves, and to date we know of no new machine that comes close.

Regards, Allen


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  • RE: Esoteric DV-60 vs. SCD-1 with VSEI mods - Allen Wright 12:24:58 03/28/09 (0)

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