I owned an Arcam Alpha 8SE until about 2 months ago. About a year ago I bought an RCA 5223P DVD player to play movies and never really compared the two on a sound basis, figuring that the Arcam would grossly outperform it. I was wrong. You can read my review at www.audioasylum.com for all the details including my system. This DVD player is last years' model, so if you can find it, it'll probably be seriously discounted-maybe into the $200-$250 area or less, so you'll really save $$$. I can't comment on the newer RCA players (and a big company like RCA might change suppliers, etc. every year so beware), but in my system the lowly RCA sounded much better than the $1000 8SE. Go figure. I'm still ecstatic 2 months later!
CDP upgrade
I am considering up grading my cd-player. Right now I have a Marantz 67se. I was considering a Rega Planet or an Arcam 7se. On the other hand Iwas considering a DAC like the MSB link III. Anyone have any suggestions? I would like a clear upgrade, but I have limited $$$. By the way, the rest of my system is an Arcam 10 intergrated, Aegis one speakers, MIT T2 speaker cables, Nordost blue Heavean IC. I listen to mostly jazz and pop.