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Hi-Rez Highway: REVIEW: Vacuum State Electronics Sony 777ES SACD Player CD Player/Recorder by jnr

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REVIEW: Vacuum State Electronics Sony 777ES SACD Player CD Player/Recorder

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Model: Sony 777ES SACD Player
Category: CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price: $999.00
Description: SACD mod to replace opamps and analogue section
Manufacturer URL: Vacuum State Electronics
Model Picture: View

Review by jnr ( A ) on November 25, 2004 at 21:50:25
IP Address: 66.234.219.193
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for the Sony 777ES SACD Player


This all started when I discovered Warren (a really nice guy by the way) the west coast tech for VSEI lived just 5 miles from me. I called him but he didn’t have anything I could listen to right then. A few days later he called and he had a 777 that he had just finished. He had called the customer and ask if he could bring it over to my place for me to compare to my Kern modded 777.

We simply pulled mine off the Systrum stand and plug in the VSEI unit. We listened for about two hours and the differences were pretty obvious. The bass was quicker and tighter, but not deeper. The unit was more transparent and clearer. Gone was the little bit of thickness in the mid-bass that my system had. So he left with my unit.

When he brought it back Warren said he liked the Kern mod so he left the Super Clock II, its power supply, and the new power supply mod for the unit that Kern had put in. The VSEI mod does bypass some of the black gate caps and new resistors that Kern put in. Warren dropped it off at the house and hooked it up to be sure everything worked and said he thought I would be pleased because he thought the combination of the two mods sounded even better than the unit I had listen too.

Well I’ve had it back a almost two weeks. It is most definately a winner. Now the 777 with the Kern mods I had was no slouch. In fact if you had ask me for the weaknesses in my system the only thing I would have mentioned would have been that the bass could be a bit thick on some recordings and even occasionally a tad boomey on a few recordings.

Yes, with the VSEI mod added the thickness in the bass is gone, but that’s not all. The Key Word is that it is much I mean much more transparent. I even hear some details that I have never heard before. It is more dynamic. The Kern mod wasn’t fatiguing and after the VSEI mod it still isn’t and it doesn’t bring in negative effect on the Kerns excellent soundstage, and wonderful imaging. In fact it is more relaxed sounding and more exciting at the same time. There is now something very, very special about voices, and I promise you I have a system that is special with voices.

Now one thing about this mod is that it is easy to compare because you still have the old connectors so you can just unhook your interconnects and adjust the volume and hear it without the VSEI mod. Warren ask me to listen for at least five days before I went back to the non VSEI so that I would just be A-Bi ng but really listening to the music. Let me share just a few differences on a few SACDs and Cds.

Jennifer Warnes, ‘the well’ SACD
Cut 6 ‘and so it goes’ has a beautiful piano on it. With the VSEI mod you can much more easily follow the tune on the piano, you can also much more easily hear the difference in the playing of the left and right hand, and the pedal work is much more easily heard. The voice is much tighter and there is a fussiness that seems to be there on the whole cut without the VSEI mod.
Cut 7 ‘the panther’ At the start of this cut there are some beautiful bells and cymbals that let you hear detail and what I call prettiness in the high end. Now the slight fussiness of the non VSEI mod sounds pleasant on this, but not as musical, not as extended, and not nearly as clear and transparent.
Cut 11 ‘the wall (reprise)’ lets you hear how much tighter and dynamic the bass is and how much more natural the voice and breathing are with the VSEI mod.

Ray Charles ‘genius loves company’ SACD
Cut#5 the bass is quicker, more dynamic, voices better, more transparent
Cut#7 There is more air around the voices especially Willies and the scale of the orchestra above and outside the speakers is huge, and yet the guitar picking is in a realistic space and quick and intimate, the VSEI unit has great vertical height, and the woodwinds float in the air better, and the violins are so very sweet.

‘Blues in Orbit’ SACD
Cut #2 With out the VSEI mod the bass is a little ill-defined, horns on right a little thin or distant, sax on left very nice, you can hear the room some. The VSEI mod brings the bass into focus, deep and tight, the horns lock in place and you can hear even more of the room
Cut #3 Is a beautiful cut even with out the VSEI mod. There is good PRAT, the piano is a little soft, the bass quick, the drum is deep, very nice, and there is good bite on the horn solo without a trace of edginess. Yet as good as it is when you go to the VSEI mod you can hear further into the music and just relax and enjoy it more.
Cut #7 The finger snaps on the left are quicker, and more easily defined, the fret work on right is so much clearer and more realistic, and there is a general increase in space and air.

‘Missouri Skies’ CD
Cut #1Without the VSEI the bass is a little ill-defined in the deepest parts, upper bass and lower mids are very quick and well defined.
Over all this CD is a little bass heavy but much tighter and quicker. I just want to say I hear the same improvements on Cds that I hear on SACDs.

I could go on and on but it’s easy to say this is the best 1000.00 I’ve ever spent on my system, even better than the systurm speaker stands, but they are a close second.

Two closing notes, you do loose some gain, go to the VSEI sight to find out how much, but I could still use the WAVAC without a preamp, so it was no problem for me. Second is just to say that Warren has been really helpful and has gone the second and third mile to help me.


Product Weakness: In review
Product Strengths: In review


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: WAVAC MD300B with WE tubes
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony 777ES SACD with Kern and VSEI Mods
Speakers: Audio AN E/SEs on Systurm stands
Cables/Interconnects: Audience AU 24
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, vocals, classical and rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 14 x 19 x 8.5
Room Comments/Treatments: Some foam and well placed drapes and furniture
Time Period/Length of Audition: two weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Two JC audio ISOs
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Vacuum State Electronics Sony 777ES SACD Player CD Player/Recorder - jnr 21:50:25 11/25/04 ( 6)