[Brian]

Hey guys,

I have the opportunity to snag either a used D-777 in great condition for pretty cheap, or an unused Panasonic CT470 for about the same price. While I've heard both, I can't make a fair comparison, as I've only heard the D-777 through the earbuds that come with it.

I like the sound of the Panasonic a lot though, but for some reason I think the Sony may be better. The remote and leather case are nice bonuses too. I'd be using both the headphone outs to drive some El-Cheap-O 2000 headphones on the move (until I can grab some Grados) and also the line-out for use with HD580s and a homemade amp. So high quality of both outputs is a plus.

Have any of you done side by side comparisons with these two PCDPs?

Thanks a lot,
Brian

 

[Redwoood]

Get the Sony!!!

I haven't heard it, but people who have say it's the ultimate PCDP

Besides you can always get a pana if you want, the Sony however is one of the most sought-after players around!

Rare, good-looking, good-sounding

Do I have to say more?

Bye

Redwoood

 

[JJDyn0mite]

I've never heard the panasonic, but have the d-777 and it does indeed have great sound. One thing about it that I agree with Redwood on is that they are hard to find and the resale/trade value (if you should decide you're not happy with it) will be much higher than the panasonic because a lot of people are looking for one. And really, the size and style of the d-777 can't be beat.

 

[redshifter]

get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!
get the d777!!!!


or you could just get the d777.

 

[coolvij]

does anyone know how the D777 and the D121 compare, throught their line-outs?

 

[beowulf]

Is the D777 still on sale, or is it a discontinued model?

 

[coolvij]

Discontinued.....a WHILE ago.....one on eBay, though....right now, yes eBay! Go, my friends, SNAG IT!!!

 

[Redwoood]

coolvij:

Don't forget that the d121 was a bottom-of-the-line player 7 years ago, and the d777 one of the most expensive players ever - so comparisons might not be fair between these two.

I still like my d121 of course, but I haven't listened to it since I got the 570. It has a lot more power but sounds worse IMHO.
I think I'll give the Sony to my g/f

Bye


Redwoood

 

[beowulf]

Hmm I think I will keep my search for a current discontinued model.

I don't feel comfortable buying used stuff that usually has a lot of mechanical wear, like CD Players, hard drives, etc.

I've seen too many of those die to trust anything that is already coming used.

 

[Duncan]

I think product longevity could be one of the things that Sony had in mind when they made the D777...

First off, Granted, there are only about 5 people here with D777s (Myself, Kevin Gilmore, Odeen and a couple of others that I can't remember) but, have you ever heard any of us complain about wear and tear? the biggest failure i had was dirty contacts on the volume pot of the remote control... I sprayed some contact cleaner inside, and its fine again... My D777 for one has had 1,000s of hours too

and then you have the fact of just how much the unit cost when it was new... in the UK (i can't remember these facts for definite) but I know that when i bought my D777 it cost me £330, and the nearest model was something like the D-245 which cost £150... Could Sony justify charging over double the cost of its nearest model just for minaturisation? I don't think so... so, just better electronics? maybe... but these CDPs are prone to breakdown, don't want a flagship model coming in for repair and having bad PR from customers now do we... so, we'll add an extra long wearing laser pickup, motor etc etc...

Hopefully you can see where i'm coming from on that... it just wouldn't make good sense for them to make something so good - bad. Granted these things are like 6 years old now but i think i'm right in saying that they are getting as rare to find as hens teeth... If you can afford to get any that are floating around (1 on the for sale forum here, and the 1 on ebay) take some time to consider it, i'm sure you wouldn't be dissapointed!

(one final point on the D777... have you ever heard / seen ANYTHING negative written about this player? In all the time i've had mine I certainly haven't

)

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, on the subject of the D777's reliability, I still remember the day I was walking out of a Sony repair center in Hong Kong, 6 years ago, just as a guy that was holding a D777 in his hands was walking in.

Sooo, much as we'd like to think otherwise...the D777 is just as capable of breaking down like any other CD player. And that one that I saw going into the repair shop was in the year the D777 came out!

 

[Duncan]

(maybe he needed some new gumstick batteries

)

Oh dear, ok then... I'll take back some of what i said

Well, no reliability problems in HeadFize then (just hope i'm right now!!)

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

I'd trust a used D-777 in good shape more than a brand new Panasonic 470. The Panasonic I bought in March that has been used less than my Sony D-E446 just died after being dropped twice. The first time I dropped it a few feet onto grass. The last time my friend that I sold it to dropped it onto that plastic tile floor in his kitchen and now it flat out refuses to pick up any cd's at all. My Sony is about 2 years old and got dropped at least 10 times and has had no trouble tracking cd's. The only problem I had with it was a skipping problem since it was new that they fixed.

I don't think it's worth it to buy a Panasonic brand new when you could buy the Sony that's a lot cooler, better sounding and smaller and probably will last longer. If my Panasonic hadn't been dropped at all then I'm guessing it probably would have lasted about 1 year of heavy use.

 

[davidedney123]

I've got a D777, had it from new and it still works nicely now. One thing I have to say about this more reliable mechanicals Business - the entire optical and spindle assembly is EXACTLY the same as the one used in the ESP Discman's of the same generation, ie the D-24x range and the D-345 (which I have, and is a nice player but doesn't sound as good as the 777 - it was the first sensibly priced sony player to have 10 seconds ESP, and also had an LCD remote). About a year ago my D777 started to skip and have trouble finding a disc when you put it in, so I took (for an experiment) the assembly out of my D345 and put it into the D777. It didn't work at first, but on the bottom of the optical block is a little variable resistor that seems to adjust the comparator, changing the threshold of what the player sees as a 1 and what it sees as a 0, essentially. With a lot of fiddling this way and that I managed to get it to work perfectly - I daresay it's getting more mis-reads than it would if it were factory calibrated, but probably no more than it was getting after 5 years of use anyway. Just thought that might interest other people who have a D777 and wouldn't mind extending it's life - D240 (and 242's 245's and 247's) are easy to find and cheap enough on Ebay and suchlike.

I suspect the reason that few people have problems with the reliability of their D777's is that you tend to treat a £350 PCD with more care and respect than a £180 one, so it will live longer.