Scored a 779ES for $80 the other day, fully working and in truly excellent condition, considering its age, and must have seen only light use. It even had the remote. The only issues cosmetically are a scratch in the glass that is only visible looking at it from the side when the light is just right, and the reverse button resting about half a millimeter lower than the forward button. Everything works and it reads everything from start to finish, pressed or burned, without any problems or skipping. No sign of a tired laser but no measurements yet, apart from DVM.
The N80ES and E80ES in the stack was another score, though perhaps a little less so at $500. More on those in another thread.
In researching the X779ES I found this on TVK. I've just opened it up and in regard to his 2nd point made a few measurements. At first I thought "Darn it", or similar, and then I checked the actual supplements.
Now, he wrote that the supplement labels Vee as being 3.7V, but that is not what the correction I have says, it is labeled as 3.4V - see image. This is much more in line with what I measure, at 3.26V, a little low but not by much. Everything else looks okay to me, but I'm not totally sure how important these voltages are in a piece of equipment like this.
Regarding the 5V output mentioned last, I measured 5.125V so no worries there.
SM available here.
I don't know but I believe that everything is fine and should be left as is, and leaning towards that the poster must have made a mistake in reading the schematic, or something. Any input or anyone that have had a go at this?
The N80ES and E80ES in the stack was another score, though perhaps a little less so at $500. More on those in another thread.
In researching the X779ES I found this on TVK. I've just opened it up and in regard to his 2nd point made a few measurements. At first I thought "Darn it", or similar, and then I checked the actual supplements.
Now, he wrote that the supplement labels Vee as being 3.7V, but that is not what the correction I have says, it is labeled as 3.4V - see image. This is much more in line with what I measure, at 3.26V, a little low but not by much. Everything else looks okay to me, but I'm not totally sure how important these voltages are in a piece of equipment like this.
Regarding the 5V output mentioned last, I measured 5.125V so no worries there.
SM available here.
I don't know but I believe that everything is fine and should be left as is, and leaning towards that the poster must have made a mistake in reading the schematic, or something. Any input or anyone that have had a go at this?
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Wow, $80 is a steal of a deal for one of these that's working.
Even if you don't like the old Sony internal DACs, you can feed the digital outs into a fancy new DAC and really enjoy it!
... until the laser needs replacing.
Anyways ...
i did this some years ago.
i had a slight skipping problem with my 779ES.
i measured voltages similar to what ilimzn stated.
i performed the recommended changes.
my skipping has not returned.
sorry, i didn't keep any notes.
Also, I think ilimzn still participates here. You could look 'em up and ask directly.
mlloyd1
Even if you don't like the old Sony internal DACs, you can feed the digital outs into a fancy new DAC and really enjoy it!
... until the laser needs replacing.
Anyways ...
i did this some years ago.
i had a slight skipping problem with my 779ES.
i measured voltages similar to what ilimzn stated.
i performed the recommended changes.
my skipping has not returned.
sorry, i didn't keep any notes.
Also, I think ilimzn still participates here. You could look 'em up and ask directly.
mlloyd1
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Yeah, I'm hoping to secure a donor with a working laser before that happens. It will most likely only be used sporadically and for short periods for the foreseeable future. I need to construct a new rack or closed cabinet due to lack of airflow and space but mostly because of my 2yo daughter and her greasy fingers that invariably must prod and turn every knob and button. Cute but a bit annoying..
She can do that to some of the lesser gear but this stack stays on my workbench for now!Having probed around with a scope and since everything seems to be working fine, I've decided to leave it for now. The 5.1V was my main concern but it appears to be close to spec. If any problems arise I'll revisit this and swap the resistor and recap the board.
Maybe ilimzn sees this and chimes in but good to know that it works, thanks.
It is an absolutely amazing build quality, by far the best I've ever owned. I had of course seen pictures of its innards during my research and seen the praise but having it in front of me was still something. I've only listened to it for a few hours and not on my main speakers but I like a lot!
This is the list I found of possible donors:
Sony:
CDP-777ESA (! not CDP-X777ES !)
CDP-X505ES
CDP-X559ES
CDP-X707ES
CDP-X779ES
Accuphase:
DP-65
DP-65V
DP-75
DP-75V
DP-90
Don't know much about Accuphase but I'd guess that it would have to be one beyond economical repair while still having a functioning laser.
This is the list I found of possible donors:
Sony:
CDP-777ESA (! not CDP-X777ES !)
CDP-X505ES
CDP-X559ES
CDP-X707ES
CDP-X779ES
Accuphase:
DP-65
DP-65V
DP-75
DP-75V
DP-90
Don't know much about Accuphase but I'd guess that it would have to be one beyond economical repair while still having a functioning laser.
Yeah, a long time ago, I drooled over getting one of those Accuphase machines, then the Sony dropped in my lap. After opening the thing and doing some some reading, I stopped drooling and appreciated my good fortune With my recently acquired Cambridge Audio Dac Magic Plus behind the Sony's fabulous transport, i'm a very happy camper.
But I do feel sorry for the owners of Accuphase machines with failed lasers that cannot be replaced.
mlloyd1
With my recently acquired Cambridge Audio Dac Magic Plus behind the Sony's fabulous transport, i'm a very happy camper.But I do feel sorry for the owners of Accuphase machines with failed lasers that cannot be replaced.
mlloyd1
Well, more than a year has passed and the player in the OP is still chucking along without a hitch and I just love it. Thought I'd post a little update considering my recent luck - sorry if this feels like bragging (it is, but dunno who else would appreciate it!) - I believe I just made a killer score. I appear to have secured at least one, maybe two, spare lasers. Or, hopefully, with a bit of work another two working 779ES'.
I went and picked up all this for ~€350 and half a tank of gas.
I went and picked up all this for ~€350 and half a tank of gas.
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Since I can't register on TVK and post in ilimzn thread with his excellent summary of two possible problems regarding malfunctioning/intermittent behavior in CDP-X779ES models which could be interpreted as dead/dying laser, I figured I post it here for reference. I hope someone will find this useful in the future. Perhaps someone will enjoy my repair story too.
In short: take a look at the BSL board, if reflowing the servo board and fixing the Vee does nothing. Chances are that two SMD electrolytic caps on the BSL board has leaked and damaged the board. See attached images of the two I've checked so far.
Two out of my three players had leaking caps, the third one (still working fine) has yet to be checked but I suspect it will have this problem too.
Long story short (somewhat), both players I last bought were non-functioning but one has been repaired, is fully functional, reads absolutely everything and is restored to near-mint. Someone had been in there before me and had made a mess so it took a while to get sorted and cleaned up.
Disc/motor was spinning constantly, sometimes revving up and down, and the CDP had to be power cycled to get it to eject the tray. I performed basic troubleshooting, like measuring voltages, visual inspection and re-seating connectors. This did nothing.
Next was redoing the pins on the 2-pin connector and reflowing everything else on the servo board carefully, both of which did nothing. Someone has previously done the same to some of the IC's, and unfortunately ripped a solderpad in the process. This had me a bit worried what else might be damaged. Checking the work done to fix the missing pad, and having swapped the servo board for another, without any change, I proceeded to check the control board since I wanted to clean behind the display glass and every button anyway. Someone had been there too and done a shoddy job at reflowing the FLD drive/master controller so I redid this. Still nothing.
Having eliminated the digital control boards in the player as the cause I proceeded to check the BSL board and bingo; nasty corrosion damage on the board, both vias and traces, and obviously dead caps. This again had me a bit worried since it was in such close proximity to the four coils driving the motor but measuring all four gave a similar reading of about ~13.1 Ohm, both before and after repair.
After cleaning the corrosion down to bare copper, fixing vias and two new caps, everything works perfectly. Only had caps that are 35V instead of the 16V that was used originally so it was a tight fit but I got them in there, and they'll last a lot longer. I used quality Nippon Chemi-con.
Note, remember to isolate the bottom of the PCB from the metal plate that holds the board and the spindle since removing the solder mask exposes it to the metal. I did this with kapton tape.
Then I took a look at the BSL board of the second non-functioning CDP and sure enough, this one is corroded too. This CDP is still work in progress though since it is totally dead, as in nothing happens on power-up.
In short: take a look at the BSL board, if reflowing the servo board and fixing the Vee does nothing. Chances are that two SMD electrolytic caps on the BSL board has leaked and damaged the board. See attached images of the two I've checked so far.
Two out of my three players had leaking caps, the third one (still working fine) has yet to be checked but I suspect it will have this problem too.
Long story short (somewhat), both players I last bought were non-functioning but one has been repaired, is fully functional, reads absolutely everything and is restored to near-mint. Someone had been in there before me and had made a mess so it took a while to get sorted and cleaned up.
Disc/motor was spinning constantly, sometimes revving up and down, and the CDP had to be power cycled to get it to eject the tray. I performed basic troubleshooting, like measuring voltages, visual inspection and re-seating connectors. This did nothing.
Next was redoing the pins on the 2-pin connector and reflowing everything else on the servo board carefully, both of which did nothing. Someone has previously done the same to some of the IC's, and unfortunately ripped a solderpad in the process. This had me a bit worried what else might be damaged. Checking the work done to fix the missing pad, and having swapped the servo board for another, without any change, I proceeded to check the control board since I wanted to clean behind the display glass and every button anyway. Someone had been there too and done a shoddy job at reflowing the FLD drive/master controller so I redid this. Still nothing.
Having eliminated the digital control boards in the player as the cause I proceeded to check the BSL board and bingo; nasty corrosion damage on the board, both vias and traces, and obviously dead caps. This again had me a bit worried since it was in such close proximity to the four coils driving the motor but measuring all four gave a similar reading of about ~13.1 Ohm, both before and after repair.
After cleaning the corrosion down to bare copper, fixing vias and two new caps, everything works perfectly. Only had caps that are 35V instead of the 16V that was used originally so it was a tight fit but I got them in there, and they'll last a lot longer. I used quality Nippon Chemi-con.
Note, remember to isolate the bottom of the PCB from the metal plate that holds the board and the spindle since removing the solder mask exposes it to the metal. I did this with kapton tape.
Then I took a look at the BSL board of the second non-functioning CDP and sure enough, this one is corroded too. This CDP is still work in progress though since it is totally dead, as in nothing happens on power-up.
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cherik:
thanks for posting your updates! i recently moved and my machine has been in storage for several months. since virtually all of my CDs are also in storage, I miss it but it's not unbearable (at least not yet). it's great to see at least one other person appreciates these very nice machines.
keep posting about the unit that is still an ongoing "work in progress". I for one would like to know what you eventually find that fixes it.
good luck with it!
mlloyd1
thanks for posting your updates! i recently moved and my machine has been in storage for several months. since virtually all of my CDs are also in storage, I miss it but it's not unbearable (at least not yet
). it's great to see at least one other person appreciates these very nice machines. keep posting about the unit that is still an ongoing "work in progress". I for one would like to know what you eventually find that fixes it.
good luck with it!
mlloyd1
cherik:
thanks for posting your updates! i recently moved and my machine has been in storage for several months. since virtually all of my CDs are also in storage, I miss it but it's not unbearable (at least not yet
keep posting about the unit that is still an ongoing "work in progress". I for one would like to know what you eventually find that fixes it.
good luck with it!
mlloyd1
Thanks!
I love these machines and really appreciate the engineering that went into them. They, and the other Sony TOTL models from this era, are a joy to work on and to listen to, at least to me. I'm biased though since I have a collection of them and pretty much only have Sony gear. To make things easier for me I'll refer to the one that was fixed as described above as the gold one, and the one I'm working on now as the black one.
I should by the way mention that I replaced the gold cap on both servo boards I've worked on as both had failed completely and one of them had a bit of what appears to be corrosion underneath. This had not damaged anything though.
I'm working on the black one now and I'm pretty sure that at least the digital PSU has failed so hoping that it didn't take out anything else but it may have. Measuring around the transistors on the PSU and comparing to schematic I've found some lower than expected voltages and, worringly, Vee at -8.65V where 3.4V was expected. This was unloaded though, with both analog and digital supply disconnected from everything else, but I don't believe this should matter.
It was missing Q957, a 2SD774, which I mounted before powering it on, so likely someone was trying to fix the very problem and failed. Or, used as a source for another player after giving up or determining the player was BER. Someone has obviously pulled the digital PSU board out previously and, again, done a shoddy job by cutting wires and heating the board so much that it has flexed around the middle. See image attached. Probably the same person that didn't care to mount a ribbon cable correctly and used electrical tape to isolate it from pins on the board above. Likely the same person that used the wrong screws and stripped a bunch of them at the same time. Sigh..
Drive will need service and a new belt and has been pulled out. I'll then try it in the gold one once done. Hopefully the laser is working but if not I'll have a doner unit with lots of nice parts.
I also tested the control board this way and it was working but a single segment, S14, was missing from multiple grids. I checked continuity and everything appears fine and the display is nice and crisp so I'm not sure whats up with that.
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Doh, it may be for the best but my browser ate a rather long post so here's a rather long summary:
Black one works too and it was blown rails. My theory is the damaged BSL board caused this, perhaps it was left with the spindle spinning like crazy for too long, or outright shorted because of it. All three 2200µF/10V caps were bad too, at 5-600µF and rather high ESR.
Display itself is fine but the MSM62408 FLD [sic] drive/master control IC is apparently faulty. Conclusively determined by connecting adjacent segment to S14 which then works. Device contains masked ROM so only realistic hope is a suitable donor part. Bummer.
Opened up my original black one (from OP) and it too has leaky caps on the BSL board, though not as severe as the other two. See attached images, and I don't mean the left over flux. Best possible images I can do without macro. Solder points are dull and crusty, and more so IRL. Faint shadows on both sides of PCB and a couple of spots on the metal backing. Fishy smell when caps were desoldered. Once removed measured values in nF and ESR in multiple kilo Ohm.
Incidentally I've since found a disc that makes it skip backwards repeatedly so I'll perform the DPSU fix on this one too. Perhaps components are at or very near the edge of tolerances.
Seeing that this makes it three out of three 779's having this BSL board problem, I'd suggest taking a look at yours if you own one. It can't be coincidental, right? Also, the gold one acting as described in part one of ilimzn's post, without it being a problem with the servo board, and still not related to a worn laser, is worth keeping in mind. I now have to check my other CDP's using similar BSL boards. SMD electrolytics from that period gear is suspect anyway IMHO.
Here are my serials, if it's related to serial number in some way:
50191X - black
50192X - black (huh, only 11 units apart if sequential and meaningful)
55018X - gold
Black one works too and it was blown rails. My theory is the damaged BSL board caused this, perhaps it was left with the spindle spinning like crazy for too long, or outright shorted because of it. All three 2200µF/10V caps were bad too, at 5-600µF and rather high ESR.
Display itself is fine but the MSM62408 FLD [sic] drive/master control IC is apparently faulty. Conclusively determined by connecting adjacent segment to S14 which then works. Device contains masked ROM so only realistic hope is a suitable donor part. Bummer.
Opened up my original black one (from OP) and it too has leaky caps on the BSL board, though not as severe as the other two. See attached images, and I don't mean the left over flux. Best possible images I can do without macro. Solder points are dull and crusty, and more so IRL. Faint shadows on both sides of PCB and a couple of spots on the metal backing. Fishy smell when caps were desoldered. Once removed measured values in nF and ESR in multiple kilo Ohm.
Incidentally I've since found a disc that makes it skip backwards repeatedly so I'll perform the DPSU fix on this one too. Perhaps components are at or very near the edge of tolerances.
Seeing that this makes it three out of three 779's having this BSL board problem, I'd suggest taking a look at yours if you own one. It can't be coincidental, right? Also, the gold one acting as described in part one of ilimzn's post, without it being a problem with the servo board, and still not related to a worn laser, is worth keeping in mind. I now have to check my other CDP's using similar BSL boards. SMD electrolytics from that period gear is suspect anyway IMHO.
Here are my serials, if it's related to serial number in some way:
50191X - black
50192X - black (huh, only 11 units apart if sequential and meaningful)
55018X - gold
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