Sony SCD-1/777ES firmware update: my DIY project

Hi SamS and all,

I performed this upgrade on the UT Radio SCD-1's and Ingrid's pair. We played several discs with the noise burst issue and no trouble. We had chip pullers and ground straps. No trouble with the repair as we are broadcast engineers and skilled repair people.

 

I just order my upgrade chip off of the Sony website. Sam, thank you so much for all the great information. If I ever find the time to install it I will update this thread.

 

I happened to order mine this morning too. Here in Canada the part cost $114.66 ($133.66 including shipping).

 

Great to hear the success stories!

Definitely report back when you replace your chips.

Wish we could add a poll to this thread: how noisy is your SCD-1/777ES when loading. I don't know why... but it still bugs me a bit. Definitely a soft grind, whirring sound every time I load or unload. Probably lasts 1.5 seconds, and is audible only within standing distance of the player.

 

I'm glad this thread was revived. My 777ES is currently in for repair & modding. I never had this problem before, but might as well have it done while it's in the shop.

 

Mine was $75.01 with tax and shipping. What is the US/Canadian exchange ratio?

 

Ted what's wrong with your player? Is it under warranty?

FWIW, my chip was also $75.01US.

 

Sam, As I think I have said in another thread I can hear a very slight mechanical sound when I load and unload. I am standing right at the player and if I am more than a yard or so away from it I cannot hear it. IMHO the noise that I hear is completely normal.

I am not sure of this but I think in the load and unload not only does the lid open but on load after the lid closes the transport itself moves to position the disc over the laser (remember this is a fixed laser transport). Can you tell if it is the lid or the transport that you are hearing? When you had your machine open could you tell how the transport moving mechanism is designed (i.e. worm gear, rack and pinion or what)?

 

Hi Tony,

I've spent several hours looking (and dissecting!!) the transport mech of the SCD-1. I even replaced the spindle motor (see pg.1 of this thread). The noise I'm hearing is likely the same as you describe, it's not the lid. Rather, the noise after the lid closes, and the spindle motor spools up to move the disc ~4" to the right to sit over the laser.

It is a rack and pinion type movement system. There is a rail on the disc transport, and the spindle motor that accentuates the movement of about four gears. I haven't taken a look at it since I disassembled my player about 6 months ago, so some details are fuzzy. But man did I have my SCD-1 transport in about two dozen pieces!

 

That was Canadian currency Tony. The part costs slightly more up here after you figure out the exchange ratio... I tried to order it from the U.S. first, but they told me they could not ship it to me in Canada.

 

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=64712

Six months out of warranty The cleaning disc only worked temporarily. It turned out to be an optical pick-up assembly problem and has to be sent back to Sony to be optically aligned on a jig. Supposedly the 777ES and SCD1 are the only CD players in the world that need to be aligned on a jig. All this before it can be modded.

 

Ah, now I remember. Why would the assembly have to be specially aligned? I have looked over mine pretty well, seems like it should be able to self-adjust based on what I saw. You may want to get a second opinion on having this optical alignment done. Email Richard Kern, inquire about his mods, and ask him what he thinks. He can actually fix your player too. He and Allen Wright are some of the smartest guys in the biz when it comes to fixing these players. I'd trust Richard more than even the Sony techs.

 

I'm actually using Allen Wright's east coast guy, Bill Thalmann. I'd been corresponding and speaking with him for a while before I sent it in, and he seems very knowledgeable & trustworthy.

 

Gotcha. And Bill is the one recommending the laser alignment?

 

yes.

 

Definitely keep us informed of your player's progress!

 

Sam, My version 2.53 chip came today, and even though I had been drinking wine all afternoon I was just too jazzed not to install it. No tools (other than allen keys), I grounded myself every few minutes by touching my TT ground and everything went just as you said up to the end. Just as I was putting the last allen bolt back in the top plate I realized I had forgot to put the chip cover back on, probably because I had been drinking wine all afternoon. Anyway, I took off the cover and it took me 15 minutes to get the dumb chip cover to seat back on properly. Everything checks out perfectly. ROM check shows version 2.53 and most importantly on disc that had a strange sounds at the end are now silent, no burps, farts or belches.

Sam, You have done a great service to all SCD-1 / 777 owners on this forum.

Seriously folks, unless you are all thumbs, do not ship your unit any where for this up grade, buy the chip and DIY, even if it is still in warranty as mine is. $75 is cheap compared to having your unit wrecked in shipping.

P.S. If you are an SCD-1 / 777 owner (and again, are not all thumbs), open your machine up and look inside. The build quality is incredible. This was Sony at its best, I am not sure they are still there today, but back then they were.

 

Tony and Sam, I just may do this chip upgrade on my SCD-777ES.

 

Great to hear Tony!

I'm still waiting for my chip to arrive...

 

Tony that is great to hear!

Like you, I too spent at least 45min staring at the 'guts' of the SCD-1. It is indeed a marvel of audio engineering. Amazing how much stuff goes into a two channel source component.

See, told you guys it was easy And yeah, $75 is the cost (at least!) of two-way shipping for this beast, so best just to order the chip while they're still around and do it yourself.

 

Update:

When I arrived home this evening I had a call on my answering machine from Sony stating that firmware chip V2.53 (# 8-759-663-89) is no longer available. So I quickly checked the U.S. Sony Parts Center on-line and it shows "out of stock" too.

I guess you guys got the last of the chips...

If anyone here is able to find one for me I will gladly pay you the money up front and as a token of my appreciation give you a NM copy of Steve's Oscar Peterson - West Side Story DCC Gold disc.

 

Wow that is nuts!

I recommend calling Sony parts tomorrow and see if they can get more from Japan.

 

Tell me about it!! I'm wondering if this is the result of SACD modders of these players, hoarding all the parts after reading this thread and others similar to it over at the audioasylum. This way you have no choice but to take the player to them for service.

I will call the Sony Service Center tomorrow morning, but I already know what they are going to tell me...

 

Well, there hasn't been many folks talking over at AA about the chips since back in May when I started this thread. I'm also doubtful the modders picked up more than a handful each.

Doesn't seem like many folks did the mod either.... I'm guessing it's less than a dozen all told. Maybe if you call Sony tomorrow, you can ask nicely and see if they'll tell you how many they sold and if there's any chance they'll check with Sony Japan.

You may also ask them how many they have of each of these:

1. Spindle motor: P# 1-763-254-11
2. Sled motor: P# X-4952-147-1
3. Laser Pick up: P# A6062396A

Once these three parts above dry up, we're really screwed if they start breaking

 

I will do that!

Do you have any idea if v2.53 was the last rev out for sure and would you know the rev that was available before this one?

BTW, I'm running v2.30 on my player.