DP-770 At A Glance

• Dual role: SACD/CD player with full DAC functionality for external digital sources
• Format support: SA-CD (native DSD) and CD playback; data discs including DSD discs
• Drive: High-rigidity, high-precision aluminum-machined SA-CD/CD drive with low center of gravity; outer-rotor brushless DC motor
• D/A converter: ES9028PRO with 8MDSD (DSD) / 8MDS++ (PCM) topology driving 8 parallel channels, with ANCC noise/distortion reduction
• Digital inputs: Abundant external digital inputs for use as DAC (USB, HS-LINK, COAXIAL, OPTICAL, AES/EBU as appropriate)
• Digital outputs: Transport outputs for use with an external DAC
• Analog outputs: Balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) line-level outputs with Direct Balanced Filter for separate line and balanced signal paths; balanced-output phase polarity selector
• Voicing Equalizer interface: Direct digital connection to the Accuphase DG-68
• Construction: Machined-aluminum chassis; natural-grain wood side panels; high-carbon cast-iron isolator feet

The DP-770 is two reference-grade products in one chassis: a high-end SACD/CD player and a full-featured digital-to-analog converter for external sources. For listeners whose system mixes disc playback and streaming — the dominant pattern in current high-end audio — the DP-770 covers both roles from a single chassis at a single point of factory accountability.

The role most customers underestimate: the DP-770 is a DAC. The DP-770's digital-input bank accepts USB, HS-LINK, COAXIAL, OPTICAL, and AES/EBU sources, routing them through the same ES9028PRO 8-channel parallel MDSD/MDS++ converter and the same ANCC-equipped analog output stage that handles SACD and CD playback. A streamer (Innuos, XACT, Aurender, Lumin), a server, or a computer connects to the DP-770's digital inputs and gets converted through the DP-770's reference-grade DAC — the same converter that handles the SACD layer of a hybrid disc. The DP-770 replaces both a top-tier CD/SACD player and a top-tier DAC in a system that needs both.

The SACD/CD transport. The drive is a high-rigidity aluminum-machined SA-CD/CD mechanism mounted at a low center of gravity within the chassis to minimize the transmission of mechanical vibration from the disc rotation to the rest of the chassis. The motor is an outer-rotor brushless DC type — smoother and quieter at speed than the standard inner-rotor designs in lower-tier players. Data discs including DSD content are supported; programmable playlists allow CDs to be reordered into custom listening sequences.

ES9028PRO in 8-channel parallel MDSD / MDS++. The D/A converter is the ES9028PRO from ESS Technologies, run in 8-channel parallel with Accuphase's MDSD topology for native DSD signals and MDS++ for PCM. Eight converter channels operating in parallel, summed at the analog output, reduce per-channel noise by averaging and reduce per-channel error by randomization. This is the same converter family that drives the dedicated DC-1000 reference DAC; the DP-770 implementation is the integrated equivalent.

ANCC at the analog stage. Accuphase's Active Noise Cancelling Circuit at the analog output stage actively cancels residual switching noise and power-supply artifacts that survive the converter's own filtering. The combination of 8-channel parallel conversion plus ANCC at the output is what produces the noise floor that distinguishes the DP-770 from a single-converter DAC at any price point.

Direct Balanced Filter. The output stage keeps the line-level (RCA) and balanced (XLR) signal paths electrically separate from the converter outward — not a single output split into two — so the balanced output is a true differential signal. A phase polarity selector on the balanced output allows absolute-phase correction.

Voicing Equalizer interface. The DP-770 carries a dedicated digital interface for connection to the Accuphase DG-68 Digital Voicing Equalizer, allowing room-correction processing to be applied to the digital signal without leaving the digital domain. For systems where room acoustics impose a meaningful correction requirement, this is the highest-fidelity routing path available.

Where the DP-770 sits in the line. The DP-770 is the right disc-source plus DAC combination for a complete Accuphase separates system — paired with a C-2900 or C-3900S line preamplifier and any of the A-series or P-series power amplifiers. Customers committing to a two-box reference digital configuration should consider the DP-1000 transport plus DC-1000 DAC pair, which separates the transport mechanical-noise environment from the DAC analog-output environment at the cost of an additional chassis. Customers who want SACD support and ANCC topology in a more accessible single-chassis player should consider the DP-570S; customers with a CD-only library should consider the DP-450.

Other Accuphase digital sources in the Alma catalog: DP-1000, DC-1000, DP-570S, DP-450.

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