Initial impressions:
It sounds damn good. It took a long time to warm up but once it did I can hear how good it sounds. It seems like there's a bit of improvement in micro-detail over the Ref7. I can't give more impressions than that yet because I need to spend a good amount of time with it before I can say any more. Definitely better plugged into the wall vs. the regenerator. Build quality also seems better than the Ref7. I opened it up and took a look inside. The transformers actually look a little bigger, not sure if they really are or not, but they appear to be. I also think the chassis is deeper because it seems to go further off the back of my shelf now, but again I'm not positive since I haven't had the Ref7 here for several months. The power wiring from the IEC to the front power switch is definitely improved, and they are using a really thick OFC wire (OFC is printed on the insulation) for this purpose.
The power switch feels and looks cheap and flimsy, much more so than the Ref7. The power button feels very loose and you can actually shake the latching mechanism side to side and rotate/twist it a bit, and with the top panel off you can watch the plastic latching mechanism twist. It is secured tightly on the shaft, so that isn't the issue. The plastic is not fully enclosing the spring; there is nothing covering the spring on the top so it's conceivable the spring could just pop out. Having plastic walls on only 3 sides instead of 4 (a box) is probably the main reason it is so flimsy. A power switch is an important part of the circuit and for a buck or two more they could have used a much higher quality switch. I don't know how many cycles it is rated for, but I would guess not a high number.
The pictures on the Audio-gd website show the Ref7.1 with 4-pin XLR jacks for ACSS, and this is what I specifically asked that they made sure were used. I had cables made up with 4-pin XLR connectors specifically for this purpose only after confirming with them that these would be used. But now those cables are useless and need to be re-terminated since Audio-gd took it upon themselves to use a new style ACSS connector that resembles a mini 3-pin XLR without informing me. I'm pretty sure they won't pay to have the cables re-terminated.