Hmmm, while I'd like to hear the 777ES I have not. I do have an sa8001 and compared it directly head to head with my Pioneer Elite PD-65. Both are excellent players and to be honest there was not a huge difference. However, I ended up selling the Pioneer which had bested many very high end players in my system. I felt the sa8001 matched or exceeded it in nearly every aspect and the SACD performance is spectacular. I've also directly compared the sa8001 to a number of other players I have around including a Music Hall cd25.2. While it depends on your system, room, and tastes (obviously it's not Stereo5's cup of tea) the Marantz is the real deal. I've got to sell off most of my system and it will be difficult to part with the Marantz. Of course, your mileage may vary....
Sony SACD XA777ES V Apollo, Marantz 8003 HELP
I have a Sony SACD XA 777ES which I use for two channel CD listening. It is hooked to an Exposure 2010S with Cardas Neutral Reference ICs and Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables. It is a beautiful machine and sounds great BUT I sometimes almost feel it lacks musciality or for lack of a better word "soul". I have started to use the optional filter setting as it gives a more vivid sound. it does not really do anything wrong. I has thinking about trying a Marantz 8001 or 8003, Rega Apollo, Or older Sonic frontier SFCD 1. Am I going backwards here or am I wrong? Anyone with experience withg these chime in. Thanks,keith