I have had the DP700 on loan for 2 weeks before getting the ARC CD-7 - the latter was overall a more acomplished performer. After a year and a half I sold the CD-7 and bought a Puccini, which, again, was a major improvement.
So, although I did not have a chance to compare the DP700 and the Puccini head to head, I think that the dCS is simply a better player.