• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Sony DVP-S7700 (DVD Player)

NTTY

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Messages
587
Likes
2,370
Location
Switzerland
Hello Everyone,

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sony DVP-S7700, tested here as a CD stereo player and transport.

Sony DVP-S7700_001.jpg



This will be my second review of a DVD player, after the Denon DVD-3910. I will only review it as a CD player and Transport, like I usually perform. So don't ask me about the obsolete video performances, I won't be able to reply.


Sony DVP-S7700 - Presentation

Release around 1999, this was a flag ship from Sony, including everything possible at the time but excluding SACD playback.
The price was pretty high at the time, near 2'000€, that was a lot to ask.

I like a lot the look of this player even if I'm not much into golden devices. And, if you don't see the tray, it's because it's hidden behind the front panel that comes down when you want to insert a new disc:

Sony DVP-S7700_012.jpg


That's really cool. It will also play in that position, and that's the purpose of the button named "Panel", it will only move that front panel up and down. How cool is that?

On the back, standard connection with a sense of luxury:


Sony DVP-S7700_011.jpg


Good old scart and video components, from another century. We get audio digital out via Toslink and Coax, count on me to test them.

Inside, it's really busy, with SMPS on the left, mech in the center with video processing on top, audio conversion at the back of the player, video outputs on the right :

Sony DVP-S7700_005.jpg


Below the metal plate, we find the video processing, and the mech (dual laser heads) is below that, also protected by a plain metal plate:

Sony DVP-S7700_007.jpg


The rainbow cables that you see are, I suspect, a mod to get multi-zones.

The Audio section and associated conversion is all below that copper sheet which is in a plastic folder:

Sony DVP-S7700_010.jpg


You might have noticed that there's a Phones output on the front, which is not common for a DVD player, and it gets its dedicated card:

Sony DVP-S7700_008.jpg


All of that is nice.

For a DVD player, I was not expecting the same pleasure to use the drive as I get with old dedicated CD Players. How wrong I was! This player is so fast, it equals the best of CD players I have. What a good surprise. The real only drawback is fast forward that works only via the remote control JOG button, and that is painful to use.


Sony DVP-S7700 - Measurements

I described my measurements in the post “More than we hear”, and like I said, I'll review this DVD player as I review a CD player, for instance the Onkyo-C733. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.

The Sony DVP-S7700 outputs 2.4Vrsm, and there was a slight channel imbalance of 0.19dB (which is ok). The single-ended outputs respect absolute polarity.

Let's go with go with the 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) as the main measurement:

SonyDVP-S7700_999.91Hz_0dBFS_LRi.jpg


Right and left channels are shown but only one gets evaluated in the dashboard. Results are nearly identical between left and right, which is good.
This is a very decent trace for a DVD player. I encourage you to compare with the Denon DVD-3910.
The THD sits at a very low -99dBr, and it is H2 dominated which is very easily masked by the main tone. Therefore, nothing to worry about.

Let's run the same test but at -6dBFS:

SonyDVP-S7700_999.91Hz_-6dBFS_LR.jpg


The THD is even lower at -105dBr, very good news.

I'm now used to show what we can extract from the CD Audio, using shaped dither. This technique allows to lower the noise below the theoretical one of the audio CD, up to 5kHz. It should show as a lower noise floor. This below is an overlay of 999.91Ht @0dBFS without dither and with shaped dither:

SonyDVP-S7700_999.91Hz_0dBFS_ShapedDither.jpg


We can see some gain but it's limited by the noise floor of the Sony. This is a small improvement and shows the limits of the player. It can resolve a little more than Audio CD, but not by much. It's better than several ancient dedicated CD players, though...

You probably already noticed that this is a quiet DVD(CD) player, with minimum power supply–related spuriae in its output :

SonyDVP-S7700_PS_LR.jpg


This is a trace we don't necessarily get from high-end devices... Right channel goes up to -120dBr, while left is at -130dBr in the worst case, there's nothing to hear in both cases ;)

Bandwidth is nearly flat but shows the gain difference between the two channels, at almost 0.2dB (not a concern, though):

SonyDVP-S7700_BW.jpg


Move on to the oversampling filter behavior (from periodic white noise) and together with dual tones 18kHz+20kHz (AES17) :

SonyDVP-S7700_Filter.jpg


The attenuation is at maximum -80dB which is ok. On that trace which goes up to 80kHz, you can recognize the noise floor raising with frequency, and that is because of the noise shaping applied by Sony at conversion, just like what we would see with an SACD player. This is below a different way to look at it from a 999.91Hz test tone:

SonyDVP-S7700_999.91Hz_0dBFS_NoiseShaping.jpg



[EDIT#1 BEGIN]

As mentioned by @Scytales, the Sony offers a choice of sharp and slow filter. I initially tested with the Sharp filter, and here below are two additional measurements with the slow filter.

First, this is the bandwidth:

SonyDVP-S7700_BW_Slow.jpg


As you can see, I had to change the scale to show the attenuation of -5dB at 20kHz. It is already -0.5dB at 7kHz! This is very likely to be heard (I did not listen to it with this filter).

This is due to the oversampling filter being indeed very slow, with an early roll off. The below measurement shows how it works:

SonyDVP-S7700_Filter_Slow.jpg


This is my standard overlay with AES test (18kHz+20kHz dual tones). The attenuation is poor at around -55dB and obtained very far in frequency (40kHz+).
As a consequence, and as opposed to the same view with the sharp filter, the aliases of 18k+20k are barely attenuated (24k+26k), and that is because of the (too) slow filtering.

So, between the very early and significant roll off + the high energy of aliases, I can't recommend the utilization of this filter. It’s actually worse than no filtering at all as we would see less attenuation at 20kHz.

The other measurements (SINAD, THD, etc...) are unchanged.

[EDIT#1 END]


Multitone (1/10 decade) shows a happy DVD(CD) player, not having much issue to clear 16bits of data::

SonyDVP-S7700_MT.jpg


That said, you can see some distortion reaching -90dBr, here and there. More about that below with a 10kHz test tone @0dBFS (Linear Frequency Scale, up to 45kHz):

SonyDVP-S7700_10kHz_0dBFS.jpg


I noticed that the Sony DVP-S7700 will generate a low level pack of noise below the test tone, with higher frequencies. That's also what generated low level disruption in the multitone test. I suspect an interaction between the signal and the power supply, but I'm really unsure of that is.

Fact, is, it also disrupt the Jitter Test:

SonyDVP-S7700_JTest.jpg


The red trace is from the digital output of the Sony (which is therefore unaffected and perfect, by the way). But yeah, that's not nice, although impossible to hear because way too low. Fact is that my friend @Vintage02 has two DVP-S7700 too, and measured exactly the same issue with both of them. So that's a deign flaw or maybe a constrain that Sony could not or simply decided not to resolve.

Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):

Intersample-overs tests
Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz
5512.5 Hz sine,
Peak = +0.69dBFS
7350 Hz sine,
Peak = +1.25dBFS
11025 Hz sine,
Peak = +3.0dBFS
Teac VRDS-20-30.7dB-26.6dB-17.6dB
Yamaha CD-1-84.6dB-84.9dB-78.1dB
Denon DCD-900NE-34.2dB-27.1dB-19.1dB
Denon DCD-SA1-33.6dB-27.6dB-18.3dB
Onkyo C-733-88.3dB-40.4dB-21.2dB
Denon DCD-3560-30.2dB-24.7dB-17.4dB
Denon DVD-3910-65.3dB-63.2dB-64.5dB
Sony DVP-S7700-33.4dB-25.0dB-17.7dB
Sony DVP-S7700 (with Attenuation set)-61.9dB-62.3dB-65.4dB

I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the Sony DVP-S7700 mean the oversampling filter has no headroom to process inter samples over in standard mode. The manual says we can set a 6dB attenuation in the menu, in which case the S7700 has more than 3dB headroom. You can see that the second line of results shows the same THD+N which is entirely dominated by the noise shaping (actual respective THD are -80.4dB, -69.1dB and 78.1dB). I think this is very good news when playing "hot" masters.

Other measurements (not shown):
  • IMD AES-17 DFD "Analog" (18kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -95.1dB
  • IMD AES-17 DFD "Digital" (17'987Hz & 19'997Hz 1:1) : -91.3dB
  • IMD AES-17 MD (41Hz & 7993Hz 4:1): -89.2dB
  • IMD CCIF (19kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -90.9dB
  • IMD TDFD (13'58Hz & 19841Hz 1:1) : -106.4dB
  • IMD TDFD Bass (41Hz & 89Hz 1:1) : -106.2dB
  • IMD SMPTE (60Hz & 7kHz 1:4) : -86.2dB
  • Dynamic Range : 96.7dB
  • Crosstalk: -151dB (100Hz), -146dB (1kHz), -128dB (10kHz)
  • Pitch Error : 19'997.62Hz (19'997Hz requested) ie +0.0031% (31ppm)
All the above are very good results for Audio CD.


Stereophile was often using the 3DC measurement as a prof of low noise DAC. It is from an undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude signal:

Sony DVP-S7700_3DC_RCA_L.jpg


The Sony does well in that test, but shows a little more noise than the best CD players I tested. The symmetry is respected and only low level noise come to disrupt that view.


[EDIT#2 BEGIN]

There is also an "Attenuation" function which reduces the output by 6dB, and this is obviously done in digital domain (see above fact that there's no issue with intersample overs). I wanted to check the impact on our 3DC view, here you go:

Sony DVP-S7700_3DC_RCA_ATT_L.jpg


We get more disruption because there is relatively more analog noise, but we still recognize the 3DC levels.

[EDIT#2 END]


Last but not least, I like to have a look a the THD vs Frequency when using a -12dBFS signal. This has proven to me to be a key differentiator, especially when I'm reviewing an old CD Player using R2R conversion. Here are the results with the Sony (Left and Right analog Channels shown, together with one channel from the Onkyo C-733, for reference) :

SonyDVP-S7700_THDvsFreq.jpg


This is very good, but the previously reviewed Denon DVD-3910 did a little better. Note that from 2kHz, we are at the limits of what's recorded on the test CD. So we hit the limits of the Audio CD, not those of the player. We shall be happy.


Sony DVP-S7700 - Measurements (Optical Out)

I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC. Let's see if that DVD player can compete.

Even if the clock did not do better than 31ppm, it was still possible for me to get the below decent view:

SonyDVP-S7700_999.91Hz_0dBFS_Opti.jpg


What you see is so close to what's on the test CD (and the original WAV test file) that I can't really differentiate them. To my experience, this is what we expect from the digital output.

Same as in analog, I use the Stereophile 3DC measurement (see explanation of what it is above). I'm reusing this test in digital domain to show potential modification as I saw them with the Fiio DM13 for instance. This is the result with the Sony:

Sony DVP-S7700_3DC_Opti.jpg


This trace shows what we expect from digital output, perfect symmetry. The digital output does not appear to be modified. The rigging is due to the Gibbs Phenomenon in (audio) band limited.

With that, I have no reason to suspect digital modification of the digital signal. The Sony DVD-S7700 will make a perfectly suitable transport.


Sony DVP-S7700 - Testing the drive

What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.


Test typeTechnical testResults
Variation of linear cutting velocityFrom 1.20m/s to 1.40m/sPass
Variation of track pitchFrom 1.5µm to 1.7µmPass
Combined variations of track pitch and velocityFrom 1.20m/s & 1.5µm to 1.40m/s & 1.7µmPass
HF detection (asymmetry pitch/flat ratio)Variation from 2% to 18%Pass
Dropouts resistanceFrom 0.05mm (0.038ms) to 4mm (3.080ms)Up to 2mm
Combined dropouts and smallest pitchFrom 1.5µm & 1mm to 1.5µm & 2.4mmUp to 2mm
Successive dropoutsFrom 2x0.1mm to 2x3mmUp to 1.5mm

The drive was able to consistently continue playing, without generating typical digital clicks, with dropouts of up to 2mm. The interpolation effect remained hidden to my ears when it kicked-off (at 1.5mm dropouts) and succeeded to maintain a constant flow up to 2mm dropouts. The Onkyo had no issue with variable linear velocity and/or track pitch, as well as with HF detection. These are better than many old regarded CD drives that I tested...


Conclusion

I remember this player generated quite a lot of discussions at the time as to its quality when it came to play a CD. What? A DVD that can make music? Nah, impossible, you must be deaf.

Well, not exactly. This player delivers. I could only find that strange pack of noise appearing at low level when playing high frequencies, but that will remain completely hidden into music.

The slow filter is to be avoided and the resistance to intersample overs when using the attenuation function is a real advantage.

So, that, plus the fact it is as fast as a true dedicated CD player, and does better than many when it comes to deal with scratched CDs, what more to request? A good looking device? Oh yes, on that, and on my perspective, it truly delivers. I love that look.

Last good news, it will make a perfect transport, as we now know we can associate it with low value high resolution DACs.

This little unexpected player joined my second system which is made of golden gears too, and it fits really well.

Enjoy the weekend.
 
Last edited:
I had the previous model, the 7000. Loved that player until I got the dreaded C13:00 error. I would hesitate to buy another.
 
Thanks for the testing. I’m still using one of Sony’s earliest SACD-capable DVD players from this same period, the DVP-S9000ES, as my everyday CD and occasional SACD player, and it sounds and works great. Oddly, however, it won’t play non-commercial CD-R discs.
 
Thanks for the testing. I’m still using one of Sony’s earliest SACD-capable DVD players from this same period, the DVP-S9000ES, as my everyday CD and occasional SACD player, and it sounds and works great. Oddly, however, it won’t play non-commercial CD-R discs.
That prevents it from being tested with NTTY's test disc image burned on CD-R, which is s shame.

But it can be tested with industry standard test discs. I have some, including some DVD test discs, and I also have a DVP-S9000ES, which is a terrific CD, DVD-V and SA-CD player. It is as good as it gets. And the look and the sense of luxury that emanates from this player are top notch.

It has been tested by a German lab, as well as the DVP-S7700 by the way. See this post.
 
Last edited:
NTTY, thank you for another in-depth review !

I used to own a DVP-S7700 for playing DVD-Vs. I gave it as a gift to a relative. It consistently plays DVDs till this day.

View attachment 436039

The rainbow cables that you see are, I suspect, a mod to get multi-zones.

Yes : https://web.archive.org/web/20031004105909/https://www.techtronics.com/files/pdfs/sony-7700.pdf

Move on to the oversampling filter behavior (from periodic white noise) and together with dual tones 18kHz+20kHz (AES17) :

View attachment 436060

The attenuation is at maximum -80dB which is ok. On that trace which goes up to 80kHz, you can recognize the noise floor raising with frequency, and that is because of the noise shaping applied by Sony at conversion, just like what we would see with an SACD player. This is below a different way to look at it from a 999.91Hz test tone:

The DVP-S7700 offers a choice between two different interpolation filters, a regular one and a slow type. The setting is accessible through the on-screen menu, "Sound settings, Mode 2" (see page 39 of the owner's manual).

It would be interesting to test the player with this alternate interpolation filter.

I have tested mine with an old distortion analyzer, and the results with the slow filter are significantly different compared to the results with the regular filter.

Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):

Intersample-overs tests
Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz
5512.5 Hz sine,
Peak = +0.69dBFS
7350 Hz sine,
Peak = +1.25dBFS
11025 Hz sine,
Peak = +3.0dBFS
Teac VRDS-20-30.7dB-26.6dB-17.6dB
Yamaha CD-1-84.6dB-84.9dB-78.1dB
Denon DCD-900NE-34.2dB-27.1dB-19.1dB
Denon DCD-SA1-33.6dB-27.6dB-18.3dB
Onkyo C-733-88.3dB-40.4dB-21.2dB
Denon DCD-3560-30.2dB-24.7dB-17.4dB
Denon DVD-3910-65.3dB-63.2dB-64.5dB
Sony DVP-S7700-33.4dB-25.0dB-17.7dB

I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the Sony DVP-S7700 mean the oversampling filter has no headroom to process inter samples over.

The DVP-S7700 features a digital attenuator. If I remember correctly, it brings in 6 dB of attenuation, roughly equivalent to 1 bit. The attenuation function is accessible through the on-screen menu (page 39 of the owner's manual).

It would be very interesting to re-run the ISO test (and others) with the attenuation enable.
 
Last edited:
Nice review! I am the original owner of a black DVP-S7700 that I use as a CD player now, but it mostly keeps the dust off the shelf these days.
 
The DVP-S7700 offers a choice between two different interpolation filters, a regular one and a slow type. The setting is accessible through the on-screen menu, "Sound settings, Mode 2" (see page 39 of the owner's manual).

It would be interesting to test the player with this alternate interpolation filter.

I have tested mine with an old distortion analyzer, and the results with the slow filter are significantly different compared to the results with the regular filter.
Thanks for info, I did not know. I can’t connect it to a display screen, but I’ll figure out a solution and give is a try.
EDIT: found, update to come next week ;)
The DVP-S7700 features a digital attenuator. If I remember correctly, it brings in 6 dB of attenuation, roughly equivalent to 1 bit. The attenuation function is accessible through the on-screen menu (page 39 of the owner's manual).

It would be very interesting to re-run the ISO test (and others) with the attenuation enable.
Indeed, that would be interesting too. Thanks for the info!
 
Last edited:
I also owned the S7000, purchased on my birthday in 1997. I still have it in storage, but I'm pretty sure it stopped working many years ago. Thanks for the review!
 
I remember this player generated quite a lot of discussions at the time as to its quality when it came to play a CD. What? A DVD that can make music? Nah, impossible, you must be death.
Death = guy in a cloak with a scythe and a penchant for reaping souls
deaf = being majorly challenged in the auditory department
;)
 
Death = guy in a cloak with a scythe and a penchant for reaping souls
deaf = being majorly challenged in the auditory department
;)
Isn’t iAI supposed to help here? (I meant to avoid such mistake) :)
Thanks the funny lecture @AnalogSteph ;)
 
Last edited:
Hello Everyone,

I managed to enter the setup menu of the S7700 using a converter to HDMI, and so I was able to test the slow filter (don't use) and the Attenuation function (that, you can use).

I updated the initial post and I wanted to add here the standard dashboard, with the attenuation set to ON (it's a fixed -6dB):

1742572820689.png


Interestingly the loss is not 6dB in resolution, but only 1dB. The SNR decreases by 2dB though. But that's still good. THD is lower than in standard mode.

The THD vs Freq shows minimal impact, with the 6dB attenuation, which is nice to see too:

1742575304186.png


What's really interesting is the resistance to intersample-overs, the best I measured. This is very good news when playing masters that are too hot (see the results in the initial post).

See initial post too about the slow filter which is stupid, I think.

Enjoy the weekend!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom