Best redbook CD playback system for $30k

have to agree with the wadia recommendation.
i've never heard the GNS mod, but i've heard good things...
the wadia's seem to have all the right bits, but as a friend comented, need a bit of a shake to get them all in the right place. i'm led to believe that the GNS mods do this.
but personally i would go for VAC amplification.
i went with the entry level VAC and love it. I'm only left wondering how the models further up the range might improve? budget allowing i would experiment higher up the range.
i'd consider going with no pre amp between the wadia and the amps, as it seems to add a little to the bass in my system.
Thiels seem to work very well with VAC gear as Kevin Hayes the designer / owner of VAC uses them to test his gear, hence degree of synergy.
also don't forget the cabling....
at the moment i've been demoing some OMIGA AUDIO cables from an English company of that name. very big bang for the buck IMHO, and Tony is a really nice guy.
http://www.wadia.com/
http://www.greatnorthernsound.com/
http://www.vac-amps.com/
http://www.thielaudio.com/THIEL_Web/Pages/modelintro.html
http://www.omigaaudio.co.uk/

Just want to reinforce the recommendation of Wadia with Great Northern Sound mods (http://www.greatnorthernsound.com). In fact, call Steve Huntley at GNSC and pose this same question. I've had two components moded by him and he really knows his stuff! I know he could point you in the right direction when seeking synergy between amp, preamp(if needed) and CDP.

Just a thought, regarding new vs. used. With 30k, you could put together a used system that would have retailed for close to 50k or better. The idea would be to carefully buy used, here on Audiogon. You could live with each piece for a while, and re-sell here at little or no loss. ( I actaully made a small profit on one or two of my used pieces)

I have used this approach over a 2 year period to slowly upgrade and build up my system.

It is not as fast going out and buying it all new, and it can sometimes be frustrating, but it is more of a "hobby" approach.

My system would retail for around 45K new. It could be had here on audiogon for around 25k or so. It does a very nice job with redbook. My listening tastes are similar to yours, a little of everything with a lot of Jazz and Classical.

Oh, one more idea: you could listen to what others have achieved. For example, if you are in the NJ area, you are welcome to come over and give a listen to my system. Just bring an appropriate beverage! I am sure you would find many here who would be happy to share, its part of the fun.

Cheers,

Ron

I agree with Ron (Rlips), buying used is the way to go. You get so much more for your dollar. (For me, this was more a labor of love, as listening to music is my hobby.)

Buying used allowed me to put together a system for half the amount that buying new would have cost. I upgraded my entire system over the last 18 months this way. I too saved tens of thousands of dollars doing this. (Plus it was fun doing the research, and reading up on what was good and what wasn't. Interacting with fellow audiophiles was interesting as well. Also going to the Stereophile show in SF and doing listening tests helped a great deal too. I also went to a few dealers to listen, but not too much, as I kind of think that is stealing, in a way, since I knew I was going to buy used equipment.)

However, there are a down sides to this:

One, you usually can not demo pieces of equipment at home. (Although, even dealers are slowly taking that away.) However, you can buy and sell them for about the same price you paid. Typically you will only be out the price of shippping.

Two, in most cases, but not always, the warrenty is not transferable. This is a consideration, but most high end pieces of equipment are built to pretty high standards, and if they are going to fail, they will typically do so in the first few hours of use.

Three, there is always that fear that the seller is a scam artist and you just sent off a cashier's check for several thousand dollars to a guy (or girl, as "almost" happened to me), that you would never hear from again. You can reduce the odds of this happening by using Paypal, or escrow services, or even by speaking by the telephone with your seller. (I always tried to buy from local sellers, and was lucky, that about 2/3's of my purchases were local.) I always tried to speak with the sellers via telephone to sound them out. You can tell when a seller has a passion for this hobby.

That being said, I think you should go out and do some listening to give us some input on whether you like:

Tube or solid state preamps or amps,
(Or maybe you want to skip the preamp entirely, and want to just go from the cdp straight into the amp);

Planer, horn or dynamic speakers,
(Or perhaps you'd like smaller satelite speakers, with subwoofers);

Should the cd player scarafice the last bit of detail in order to get a more musical sound.

These are all things YOU should be deciding upon, not us.
You are paying the money, and if you don't pick it out, you will NOT be satisfied, at least in the long run. (At which point you will then start to sell off pieces that you don't like. And if you paid retail for it, you will lose HALF your money. (Yes, back to buying used again.)

By the way, given your budget, I think you should budget a few thousand for a analog source, since your $30K budget will easily allow you to put together a system that does both analog and digital very, very well. (I spent just a little less than you, and have an incredible system now that has both analog and digital sources.

My two cents worth anyway.

Good Luck in your search! (And have fun doing it!)

PS BTW, buying new phono cartridges is a good idea, at least until you know what you are doing. Perhaps even buying the the entire analog setup new is a good idea, although, I managed to buy a used TT and tonearm, and just bought a new cartridge and had the dealer install it properly. Just in case you decide to take my advice and get an analog source too.

PPS One more last minute thought. Perhaps you could offer some local audiophiles a nice bottle of wine (or a six pack of beer) to go a listen to their system, as was already suggested. That way you could listen and see what you liked. (And if you really want to be lazy, pick the best system you like and copy it. Or pay the owner of the best system to pick you out a stereo system, saving yourself the time. Heck, I'd do it if I was local to you!)

A lot of good advice here, principally on buying used. If you are going to buy new, though, I'll be contrarian and suggest you go to a dealer you trust (I can recommend several in NJ) and listen to systems in your price range and below to see what YOU like, not what we think you'd like. Your room size is not likely to keep you away from the big speakers, so you'll have plenty of choices, but if you get a GOOD dealer they should be able to put together systems that work well together, then it's up to your ears to determine what sounds best to you. Good luck!