The rubber that is not expensive at all these days and feels like a natural progression from R7 is DHS Gold Arc 8.
It is about the same hardness, and in a way feels similar. But it is more grippy, has more speed and spin, throw angle is higher, so you will need to close the bat more. It's just smith like R7 on steroids? it has much more purchase on the ball.
The arc is lower, but it gives you a good kick and a nasty, spinny rebound if you know what you're doing, unlike R7 which is safe to play with and kinda fast-ish, but not really aggressive. At some particular level you'll find that your opponents find it too easy to return your serves and are not really bothered by incoming spin. GA8 is a different ball game in that respect.
So if you have been playing with R7 for a year or so and start feeling that it lacks the bite and you want to speed up your game a bit, but not ready for Tenergy 05, then Gold Arc 8 is a decent choice. It has a good control similar to Rakza 7.
It's a very balanced rubber, my only gripe is GA8 is a heavy rubber, significantly heavier than R7.
GA8 is similar to G1 in terms of speed and spin, but feels softer and easier to play slow heavy topspins and brushes whereas G1 requires you to always play active and hit through the ball, engaging the sponge, otherwise the ball may slip. GA8 fells like it has more dwell time compared to G1.
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