ARC CD7 vs ? ?

I had the ARC cd2 prior to the cd7.......no contest, cd7 was light years better.

I have a CD7 and Ref 3, and I couldn't be happier. I found the CD7's playback to be superior to the Linn Unidisk, Musical Fidelity TriVista and several other players I auditioned. The CD7 has a wonderful midrange, excellent imaging and extended, nonfatiguing treble. The bass is superb through the Ref3, without the bloat that the Ref2, mkII had. I don't think you could go wrong the the CD7. If you budget allows, consider the Oracle V1.1 or MA cables with the ARC components.

The Cd7 is a very fine CDP. I have not heard a direct comparison, but you might want to consider the Aurum Acoustics Integris - also a state of the are CDP. The CD7 may be a better fit with your Ref 3 though....