Suggestions on CDP

Do yourself a favor, check the new Wadia 831, or if budget limits, get a used 830 which you can later upgrade.

My last CD upgrade a few years back was very brief audition-wise so experience is limited, but I did audition the Aplha 9 with only mediocre results. Perhaps it was just a setup issue, but when I swapped the EAD Ultradisc 2000 against the Arcam, then I got excited. The EAD spanked the Arcam so badly that it was absolutely no-contest; soundwise & even appearance wise the Arcam lost out bigtime. I was so happy with the EAD that I kept it & am still using it today. I've seen them used for $1000 to $1400; pay what you have to pay if you can even find one - it's still a great machine esp. at used price. Bonus you also get Pacific Microsonics HDCD decoder which makes even redbook sound better, and when playing HDCD's is just amazing.

There are some great deals around on used Wadia gear. I recently picked up a used WT-2000 extensively tweaked. For the price of new stock unit...I got one that is sonically FAR superior.

I had an Arcam Alpha 9 and really liked it. I listen to mostly classical and jazz, with a little rock as well. The 9 was a great player, in another league compared the to the 7. I've found the Arcam line in general to be terrific buys for the $$s and would check out the DiVa 92, Alpha 9 and FMJ CD23, all using that famous ring DAC. The Alpha 7SE is great entry-level player, but these other Arcams will stomp it.

When I upgraded my 9 I listened to several CDPs, including Wadia 831 & 861, the Resolution Audio CD55, the Linn Ikemi and Meridian 508.24. I really liked the Meridian, and I'd heard one quite a bit in a friend's system, but I couldn't find one used at a good price at the time.

I ended up buying the Cary CD303, and I think it's a very fine, musical player. You should be able to find one for well under $2000 used (they list for $2995 and are frequently discounted). The 303 is wonderful on acoustic music and jazz, has a beautiful, tonally rich mid-range, good rhythm and pace, detail and excellent bass (unlike previous Cary CDPs) - just very musically involving. Highly recommended.

Good luck with your search.

I owned a 8SE for a while and enjoyed it quite a bit. I looked into the cost of upgrading to the 9 Ring dac and found that you can find used 9's for a little more than the cost of the upgrade so maybe upgrading is not the final answer to your problem. If you want to remain loyal to your local dealer then get a price on the Diva 92 which is better built than the Alpha series anyways and work out which better suits you - trading in the 7 against the 92 or selling the 7 here and plopping down cash on the barrel head. Theres always the dark side of sacd - maybe with some luck you could find a 777ES for about $1700...