Hello! Well, I believe the title of the post is self-explanatory. My D777 has a very VERY wobbly motor. The player seems to work fine, but here and there it takes some time to read a CD. On top of that, I also noticed that the turn table is broken (kind of a running gag with Sony players I believe): I do not believe that the wobbling is only because of the broken turn table. The whole thing wobbles with the CD, so I am more inclined to think that the motor is worn out. I measured the shaft diameter and it is 1,5 mm. So, a couple of questions: - AFAIK the D777 does not tend to have motor issues (compared to, for example, the D250 or D350). Any information on that regard? - Given how thin the player is, does the D777 has the same kind of unobtanium motor found in players like the D350? I have had no luck finding information online. - I was not able to find a turntable replacement, given the 1,5 mm shaft. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Partially answering to myself: I took the time to take the motor out, and immediately realized the "lack of intelligence" of my original post (lets keep it family friendly). The D777 motor has four wires. It's a tiny BLDC! I checked the service manual just to be sure. A quick search online yielded little information. The code on the back was of no use either. What I did realized is that, although the CD can wobble quite a bit when pushed with my finger, it sits perfectly still while spinning. There is virtually no wobbling when it is rotating. The turn table is pressed all the way down into the motor, leaving very little room to jam a tool to pull it out. And even if I manage to remote it, I still have no replacement.
The question is: What other models use the same motor as D-777? And there used to be a site that listed all that info. Back in 2006 I was on head-fi.org. I just went and found my old post about the defunct site that showed Sony Discman models and model lists showing shared motors and optical pick up blocks etc., (In 2021 some guy thanked me for my old post 15 years before hah I long since changed e-mails and lost the head-fi password so could not reply.) Anyway, the site was http://www.partstore.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductSKU=1851408&ProductType=PART&ModelID=8933 the new site is https://partstore.encompass.com/model/SOND777 and it seems you can buy a new motor assembly sled for $63.86... it says in stock. Yeah right. Maybe. Call them and confirm it and that it is for a Discman etc., It says they have 20 parts for the D777 in stock. Mostly just spacers and screws etc., but that is impressive. I just searched a bunch of other models but nothing in stock...
Hello! I am aware of that site, but for some odd reason, the site is blocked here in Germany (or at least I am being blocked based on my IP address). I tried that route but, as you see, I was unsuccessful. And btw, I discovered that site thanks to your old post on head-fi. It was deep in a kaosun service Discman repair thread I believe. Then again, I am not sure to what extent the motor is cooked. As said, it spins without wobbling, but it wobbles a lot when wiggled with a finger. My D465 has similar issues, albeit that one completely refuses to read certain (original) CDs for no particular reason.
Interesting. I wonder if it really is the D-777 Discman motor and optical sled and it really is in stock? I feel like trying to call them and find out. Do you really want this D-777 restored? Is it a sentimental Discman that is full of good moments and is worth restoring even it is costs a bit? Anyway on the head-fi topic of 2006. Here is an "update": I had two D-465 that I used to use back in 2006 as CD transports, optical out only to Headroom Micro DAC / AMP stack. They only cost me $5 and $24 each on e-bay back then. I replaced the motors a few times due to failure. In 2015 I finally found a nice solid brick like DAP with optical out that I liked, the QLS QA360, so this became my optical source. The QA360 optical output resulted in a very real and substantial improvement in audio. So in my contempt I just threw away the D-465's. (One of their indigo turquoise display backlights had gone dark and failed too...). In a way I regret not keeping them for parts, but I am not a hoarder, quite the contrary, I have this need to purge out junk and keep only what is being used etc,.
I use my units almost exclusively with headphones (wifey does not like like loud music in the house). Hence, the optical out of the D465 is a nice addition that I do not use. Since we are on the topic, any idea of which motor it uses? The Mabucho rf 300 does not fit. Theny regarding the D777: I've been searching for one for a very long time but I was not willing to pay 200€ and more for it. I found a guy selling one in relatively good shape for 69€ (nice) and I just jumped into it. It only needed a deep clean to unclog the laser sled, and some new grease. I had to add several bucks on top to get a remote (bass boost is only activated via the remote) so yeah... Still cheaper than what's asked on eBay, but already approaching the 100€ mark. But I love it. It is so ridiculously small and thin. So yeah, should I throw more money at it? That is a philosophical question. It works, but from time to time it reminds me that it is more than 20 years old.
The Sony D-465 / D475 takes the same spindle motor as the cheap Sony D-E451. There are a ton on e-bay. Try to buy one that has low hours. Hard to judge.. based on scratch count maybe? Make sure to oil the motor with 100% synthetic oil. Like liquid bearings also sold on e-bay. For the D-777 I asked in case it was a sentimental Discman that your parents bought for you back in the day and that you took everywhere etc., with great memories attached. Then I might even call that number and if it is really in stock, buy the motor and sled for you and ship it over. Since the site isn't working in Germany for some reason.
I would appreciate if you could ask if it is available, and how much it costs. I'll then decide if it is worth the effort. Thanks for the hint regarding the D465. I guess I'll go hunting then.
Not in stock, I called the 1-885-975-6831 and spoke with a representative, said I could place an order though. And I said "oh really, for a part from over 25 years ago, do you think they could actually get more in stock?" The reply was a vague "maybe not then". As for cost, the site has the price and I stated it up above in the post with the links. Best bet is to buy some low end models from e-bay from the 1996 era that are contemporaneous or just after the D-777. May share the same motor. However, since the D-777 was a flagship model and is vert thin... cheap thick models would not have the same sled assembly. One could go and ask Kaosun on his forums if he knows what other models have the same motor. That's what I would do. EDIT: Apparently there is or was a common enough issue with the other motor in the D-777, the servo motor, so make sure to clean and oil it. Plus clean the sled tracks and the large worm screw and Uue plastic compatible grease on it such as Labelle #106. Maybe your issue is not the main platter motor. I would rule out the other parts in the sled first.
I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to call. Just realized that you are based in Canada. Now everything makes sense! Regarding the D777, I hardly believe that they have parts in stock for a 25 year old device. And even then, the price is perhaps not worth it. I already gave the mechanics a good clean and applied some lithium based grease to the worm screw. The whole thing was stuck with a mixture of dust bunnies and 20+ year old factory grease. But after some maintenance I got it to work again. I did not oiled the motor however. Guess I'll give it a shot! The only thing left is to check if I find a donor player for little money. I'll try to access PartsStore using a VPN and see which other devices used the same motor. I believe I am being geoblocked by Cloudfare.
PartsStore does not seem to have that cross reference parts feature anymore. The feature that showed what other models share the same part. Maybe I am wrong. Someone should do a deep dive in there and see if that is an option. Maybe one has to sign up to their site to get this service? If so it would be worth the hassle to sign up just to copy and paste lists of common motors and parts with the top legendary Discman models and put the data here for reference.
