Archive: Sony X777

Heavy duty player makes heavenly music

By Michael Jones

October 2005 (originally appeared December 1991)

Sony X777 CD player. $3199 in 1991

I was recently asked why it was that AudioEnz regularly features the top Sony CD players. There are three answers to that question:

1. The top Sony's have (with the exception of the X-7) been among the best CD players you could buy, without spending truly silly money.

2. The upper reaches of the Sony range have been unjustly ignored by the audio press. Perhaps this is because Sony is a Japanese major, and not an "audiophile" company.

3. I like the top Sony CD players, and as I run this magazine, that counts for a lot!

The X777 ($3199) is the newly release replacement for the X77 reviewed by Charles Thomson in the June 1991 issue. As you may recall, CT was mighty impressed by the X77, and ended his review with "Value for money, I believe this to be the best CD player available at the present time."

Which gives the new model a lot to live up to.

The X777's appearance will come as no surprise to those familiar with the last two models. The front panel is spartan by the norm for Japanese players. Reading through the brochure covering the entire Sony CD range, I was intrigued to see mention of features with the note "not on X777." Sony have obviously thought long about the potential customer for the X777 and realised that s/he is not a gadget freak, but simply someone who appreciates fine music and fine equipment.

However, the X777 is not lacking for useful features. The Sony includes repeats and random plays, and the remote offers 1-20 track selection. A step back in the right direction from the X777 is the re-inclusion of remote volume control. This means that if you want to run your CD player directly into a power amplifier, then you can control the volume from your listening seat. However, use of the Sony's volume control means that the signal has to travel through an extra one metre of cable within the CD player. Surely you can come up with a better scheme, Sony?

Technologically, the Sony is in the one-bit camp. Eight of Sony's 1-Bit Pulse D/A (digital-to-analogue) converters are used in complimentary mode. The brochure also tells how FETS, operating in class-A are used in the output stage.

The X777 is built like the proverbial brick outhouse. Weighing in at 17kgs, the interior of the X777 is divided into three. At the far left are two large transformers, one each for the digital and audio portions of the player. In the centre is the disc drive and behind that sits lots of capacitance for the power supply. On the right are two boards containing the conversion and output stages.

Outputs on the rear include fixed and variable analog, balanced outputs for those who can use them, and both coaxial and fibre optic digital outputs.

Using the X777 is a joy. The Sony feels "right", lacking the tackiness that can be found, even in some expensive CD players. Operations are swift and smooth, but thankfully slowed down from model a few years ago, possibly in an attempt to match the reaction times of us poor humans.

The ability to track discs that are in less than perfect condition is important in a CD player. Although AudioEnz 's copy of the excellent Pierre Verany test CD has gone walkies, I have another, difficult to pass test. Some three years ago I purchased a copy of the Telarc recording of Debussy and Ravel's string quartets. Due to a large gouge across the CD, I had never been able to play the Ravel, until I auditioned the $27,000 Luxman two-box unit (August 1990 issue). The Luxman tracked the CD with a few ticks and pops. The Sony X77 tracked the disc flawlessly, as, ironically enough, did the $399 Philips 502(!).

To that collection can be added the X777. You should have no problems with playing your CDs with the Sony.

Magnificent sound

The sound of the X777 is, in a word, magnificent. Hi-fi electronics with a large power supply, such as the X777, have some very positive characteristics that I have come to associate with that large power supply. The Sony has a natural weight and power to the lower frequencies that you simply won't hear from cheaper or less substantial CD players.

Along with the sense of weight is the necessary articulation in the bass registers. This enables the listener to differentiate between various instruments competing for space in the lower frequencies, whether listening to the cellos and double basses of an orchestra, or bass guitar and bass drum in rock music.

While one-bit CD players have majored on sweetness, they have lost out to the better multi-bit players in the ability to reproduce the rhythmic and inter-musician timing clues so important in the realistic reproduction of music.

The X777 does not suffer from this malice. The Sony's superb control over rhythm and timing enables the portrayal of tension and movement within the music.

Plucked string instruments were particularly well reproduced by the Sony. When a guitar or double bass is played, the vibrations of the string excite the wooden body, amplifying and altering the sound. Playing acoustic guitar music, or Ray Brown's double bass through the X777 displayed a wonderful effect. As the note was played, it appeared to expand off the vibrating body of the instrument, as happens in real life.

Tonally, the X777 was very even-handed and smooth. No frequency band stood out, which is how it should be. Body, a feeling that voices and instruments have substance, is very apparent. This sense of body does not just apply to the lower frequencies. Instruments featuring a predominance of higher frequencies do not turn into a mass of leading edges, but retains the body and trailing edges of the notes.

Some listeners, used to a bleached out sound, may interpret this as being less detailed. However, further listening will show that the detail is there, along with the natural sense of body to the sound.

The Ravel and Debussy CD mentioned above showed how good the X777 is at retrieving ambience and tonal colours. This CD can sound dry, but through the X777 the ambient shell surrounding the musicians was well portrayed. The sound of the instruments played by the Cleveland Quartet - Stadivari dating from 1692 to 1736 - were simply gorgeous.

I had the opportunity to compare the X777 against the previous model, the X77 (don't you just love these names!). The X77 used was, in fact, the very same unit as that reviewed by CT in June. The new model outclassed the old in every respect. The X777 offered more transparency to the disc, better soundstaging and a better sense of rhythm and timing.

While the differences were noticeable, they were by no means enormous. Owners of the X77 still have a classy CD player.

Conclusion

The Sony X777 is one of the finest CD players one can buy in New Zealand. It is sonically pleasing and musically involving. During the month that I have used the X777 I have enjoyed my music to a greater degree than I have for a couple of years - it's no coincidence that this writer has a greater contribution to the music section than in previous issues.

Let me finish by putting m y money where my mouth is: the review sample is not going back.