Transport ? - Mod a Sony 7700 or go whole other route?

byteme · « **on:** 19 Jun 2004, 11:54 pm »

I've been wrestling with wether or not to have Empirical do the turbo mod to my 7700 for probably 9 months now. I'm about to give birth

What's holding me back is spending $800 to modify a $250 dvd player. Are there other options out there in the $500 - $750 range that would equal or surpass the turbomod? I know everyone who has done the turbomod has loved it, so I'm really looking for other possible suggestions. If there are none and the turbo mod is the way to go, so be it, then let it be done!

For alternatives I've been looking at Theta Data, EAD, PS Audio, Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 or the parasound belt drive. Some are harder to find than others. If the Turbomod would kick all of their butts then it might just make sense to do that.

Thanks!

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 02:11 am »

I don't have the Turbomod version (it didn't exist at the time I had my S-7700 modified), but I can safely say that you don't have to worry about it stacking up against competition in the $1K range.

In fact, I have compared it to transports costing as much as $4K (by Audio Note, Sonic Frontiers, Metronome, Audio Mecca, and Theta) and I still have the Empirical S-7700.

Go for it, I am extremely confident you won't be disappointed.

George

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 02:21 am »

Brian,

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 03:12 am »

Brian/BYTEME,

Wow - I just went thru the whole nine yards on that too, recently.

My cash flow is lousy from October thru March each year, so I plan my major changes/upgrades for the remaining 6-7 months.

8 Months ago I pretty much accepted that CD was a medium doomed to be 2nd rate to vinyl...and probably SACD and DVD-A. Convenient?, yes; hifi?; no.

I dropped 'poquito' $$$ on improving cables and the like in the system, figuring, if CD an't improve, than I can improve most of the rest of the chain and make it tolerable. It wasn't so, it got less enjoyable...pointing out more of the inadequacies of 'stock' CD playback.

By January, I pretty much resigned myself to getting rid of the Sony 7700 transport (which I could never get to sound even as good as my old Rotel RCD-965BX used as transport), MSB Gold Link III, Power Base and Revelation Audio Lab cables. Hock it on Audiogon, take a bit of a bath, get a Ah! Tjoeb, a nice Cary, new/used Denon 2900 or something or another nice one box unit. Take the extra (if any) and upgrade my vinyl.

I spent a day at CES 2004 in Vegas this year - first time in 12 years there. I couldn't relate to most there - too darn expensive -I'm not gonna' mortagage my familes future for hifi. No way.

I wanted to meet Steve Nugent / Empirical Audio. My planned 5 minutes turned into 90 minutes. His room was as enjoyable as any I had been in, and he wasn't playing a kng's fortune in equipment to get it to sound that way. I was really intrigued.

A few more months went by as my cash flow returned and my mind kept returning to Steve's room. That positive experience and subsequent posts here by Marbles, JCoat007 on the EA modded 7700 weighed heavy on my mind.

I had sunk $2200.00 on the digital front end, I'm not exactly lose with my money, but I decided to get the TurboMod done. $950 later (I got the TurboMod, with Jensen's, and Steve worked on my headphone outs, too) I've got a a transport that is peerless. Liquid and delicious all day

I also did my DAC for another $850 odd.

It was a darn good investment in this hobby for me;get whatever issues outta' your head about upgrading a $250 DVD/CDP and sinking $830 more into it. You would be hard pressed to top this thing for $1200.00 on anything out there. Intuitively, it's sick amount of money for something that spins CD, but damn if it ain't one of the better upgrades under a grandout there today.

One of the other issues I had was 'digital' domain. What with the great results folks had with lowly Pioneers, Toshiba's and the like running into Panny SA-RX45 receiver (modded and unmodded).I though about how nice it would be to reclaim space in my rack. I think all digital wil be the future, but that future ain't today.

It came down to hearing is believing for me, and the EA TurboMod on the 7700 is a delight.

RichardS · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 01:07 pm »

I've owned about 10 transports over the years and currently use a modded 7700 in my main system and love it (transport mods done by ModWright, including Bybees).

I haven't heard the EA mods but suspect his may be even better.

Unlike some, I've found the stock 7700 to be pretty decent for the money (use 2 of them stock as transports in other rooms). The MW mods have really improved this unit. Much better than a Micromega T-Drive I also have--more inner detail and extension.

Another possibility is to get a de-jitterer. A friend brought over his Assemblage D2D and we compared it, along with various cables, into my Tact using the 7700 and it made a fairly significant improvement, mostly in terms of ease and ambiance.

Some folks have raved about the Apogee Big Ben for this, but that's over $1000 new. There's also the Genesis and PT units. But the nice thing about this approach is if the transport fails, it's not too expensive to replace it.

Good luck

audioengr · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 04:02 pm »

Byteme -

I have found another transport that I believe will mod-out equivalent to the Sony 7700. That is the Philips 963SA. The digital out on this is practically jitter-free, just like the Sony, so with mods, I expect it to be just as good. Will keep the forum posted on this. I dont like the ergonomics, read speed or the remote as well as the Sony though...

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 Jun 2004, 06:21 pm »

Quote from: audioengr

Byteme -

I have found another transport that I believe will mod-out equivalent to the Sony 7700. That is the Philips 963SA. The digital out on this is practically jitter-free, just like the Sony, so with mods, I expect it to be just as good. Will keep the forum posted on this. I dont like the ergonomics, read speed or the remote as well as the Sony though...

There ya' go Byteme, now you can get the same sound on a MORE expensive transport. Doesn't that make your decision easier, now

?

Enjoying HiFi is sure a mind game, a lot of the time.

Just go up to Summerfest in Milwaukee, drink yourself into a stupor, listen to some 'metal' 3' from the stage and, oola, you won't care what transport you ever use. This is yet another option.

Hey, whatever your decision, good luck on advancing your listening experience

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Jun 2004, 01:36 pm »

So Byteme/Brian , have you come to a decision on what you might do....just wondering ??

byteme · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Jun 2004, 04:49 pm »

Ya, I'm 98% sure I'm going to ship the 7700 to Steve for the turbo mod w/ Jensen caps.

After a conversation with Scott Nixon I'm also going to send my tubedac in at the same time and have Scott do a couple things to it. I had contemplated picking up a Tubedac+ simply for the upgraded blackgates and other parts. Scott told me to send mine in and he'd do that for me so I didn't have to mess with buying / selling etc. So, he'll apply his personal touch to it. I was also able to get a pretty screaming deal on one of Steve's Bitmeister digital cables so I'll compare that to the aural thrills active digital cable I've got now.

It'll be expensive, but cheaper than a whole new transport and upgrade to a tubedac + would have been. And, I'll have an essentially entirely new digital front end then!

Hopefully the HT install I'm working on will decide to go with the InFocus 7205 projector - I could use the extra income to offset my digititius!

audioengr · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Jun 2004, 08:04 pm »

Bytme - that's a pretty tight space that you have to work with. I'll bet it's challenging to get a good image, particularly with the screen right there. I used curved bass traps to get the deep image back after I put the big screen in the middle.

Update - the Philips 963SA is not quite as good as the Sony DVP-S7700 as a transport with the first round of digital mods to the Philips. Have a Superclock2 on order for it - this may make the difference.

byteme · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Jun 2004, 04:38 am »

Steve,

Where did you get the traps? Not that I'd be able to have them there on a regular basis, but if I wanted to spend some quality time I could haul them out and place them there.

Ideally I'll walk the speakers out further into the room until they are fully past the TV, which they almost are now, and also we're looking into a Sammy DLP set, which is substantially less deep than our current set. I'm hoping that combination improves things a bit.

audioengr · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Jun 2004, 05:50 pm »

Actually, I traded some Empirical cables to Brad Judah for them. He is in the business also - magical inductors for speaker crossovers from Nucore. They make these here in Oregon - at:
http://www.acousticsciences.com/

BTW - I have a Samsung 61" DLP - very nice indeed.

byteme · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Jun 2004, 06:58 pm »

So, the 1/4 rounds between the speakers and the TV make a big difference in making the TV disappear?

The 61" sammy is what we're looking at. Either that or holding out for the HLP series 56" tantus set which they may come out with in September or so. The distributor that I work with as an authorized reseller carries Samsung so we can get a pretty sweet deal on them. When I took my wife to see it in person at a local shop she wanted to bring it home right then! I wish I had that effect on her...

audioengr · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Jun 2004, 07:57 pm »

Quote

So, the 1/4 rounds between the speakers and the TV make a big difference in making the TV disappear?

Yes, it seems to do the trick. You have to experiment with position forward and backwards.

Hoots · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Jun 2004, 06:58 pm »

Once I decide I want to upgrade my 2900 selecting the provider seems to be confusing with many suppliers to choose from. There's also the concern about simply buying a new player with digital I/O to my processor. I'm hoping if I do the mods that I'll like the solution for a few years long after the DVD playback has been transitioned to a new DVD-HD box.

What do you think of this option:

Denon 2900 (own now--about 4 months old)
Mod the unit for use as a transport, SACD and Video player
Add PT P3A DAC
Add PT P1A with SOCS for my Onix Ref 2 speakers
Keep Music hall MMF-5 TT
Use Emotiva pre/pro and MC amps

This seems like a lot for a source and I often wonder if these improvements in electronics are a priority vs doing a speaker upgrade sooner (ie Ref 3).

The other option is to mod just the player for overall improvement from one box.

I want a 5.1 system that can play movies and 2-channel music. I have a 20' wide room that is 15' deep. The room is above the garage--a closed room.

audioengr · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Jun 2004, 08:24 pm »

Hoots wrote:

Quote

What do you think of this option:

Denon 2900 (own now--about 4 months old)
Mod the unit for use as a transport, SACD and Video player
Add PT P3A DAC
Add PT P1A with SOCS for my Onix Ref 2 speakers
Keep Music hall MMF-5 TT
Use Emotiva pre/pro and MC amps

I believe you will have one of the best sources possible, particularly if the P-3A has Turbomod. The speakers can come later. If you have a great source, only then can you audition speakers properly. The 2900 as a transport should be modded by someone that knows digital electronics and transmission-line theory, like Empirical. I have not modded the 2900 yet as a CDP, so I am not confident that it will outperform the Turbomod P-3A. In fact, I feel it is unlikely. Therefore, I can say with confidence that using it as a transport for redbook in conjunction with the P-3A is probably the optimum plan. As for the P-1A, I have not heard the effect of SOCS yet, so I cannot comment on this. I know that the combo sounds no better to me than the P-3A alone. Virtually identical.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 07:04 pm »

Quote from: byteme

Ya, I'm 98% sure I'm going to ship the 7700 to Steve for the turbo mod w/ Jensen caps.

Ahhhh, ...another happy ending...

byteme · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 07:18 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

Quote from: byteme
Ya, I'm 98% sure I'm going to ship the 7700 to Steve for the turbo mod w/ Jensen caps.
Ahhhh, ...another happy ending...
Brian, enjoy the new mod !! Guess you'll find yourself re-listening to a lot of your old cd's now...to hear what was missing before....have fun !!! [/list:u]

Yup! Very happy - review here! - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=11868