Best system for opera lover at $30,000

At 30K total there will be significant trade offs, particularly in what you might compromise. I think it would be very easy to leave your friend disappointed. Several very important considerations. First, how much experience with live opera do they have? If it is a lot, where do they sit in the opera house? My wife and I have heard about 150 live operas all over the world and about 800 live symphonic performances. This is not a trival matter and will greatly influence their preferences in the balance of the system. Operas are long, 3-6 hours so listener fatigue is a big consideration. Do they like Wagner and Strauss which means the ability to have good detail played loud with lots of bass or are they bel canto fans where the delicacy of the vocal line is paramount. DVD fans (a whole different discussion) or vintage recording fans (vinyl required) Additionally, since this is for a couple, don't underestimate the likely psychoacoustic differences between the male and female. I have been upgrading my system and recently listened to most speakers in the 10-25k range. Along with my wife were two other women who listen with us regularly and have heard a lot of live opera and symphonic music. Their preferences and perceptions and descriptions, of Dunlavy,Theil, Vandersteen, Martin Logan, Revel,B&W, Sonus Faber, Wilson, etc did not often match mine or the standard reviews but they were consistant to each other. Spectral amps received a thumbs down, tubes a thumbs up.(BTW we bought the Dulavy SC-V which the three of them ranked first, it was my close second choice. Finally, room treatment is of paramount importance to sort out the compexity of a large scale opera. A little goes a long way but alot still improves things. In addition to a dedicated room with passive treatments, I use a Sigtech which is astonishing on Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and Strauss. I hope this helps. Your friends are going to have to listen to some equipment to settle on their preferred trade offs.

Garfish, Sorry to use this as a forum on S'pile, but I will anyway! If you don't think their advice is self-serving, then why are two Mark Levinson amplifiers, the 33h and the regular 333 series both class A? If they are both "the best money can buy, reminiscent of the real thing", then obviously the 33h is a huge waste of money and they should say so. I believe they don't want to upset readers with the fact that better stuff (and the 33h is clearly better)usually costs a lot more, and they won't put a big advertiser's main stuff in class B. Also, have you read any of Scull's recent reviews? He used to be their clown, putting dots and cones everywhere, now he's the mainstream "it all sound so state of the art I just can't believe it could get any better" Wes Phillips character. C'mon, the resident tweak and tube guy all of the sudden thinks the Levinson ref line stage is so great? Please! My advice above was based on equipment that I've had in my room (including the CS6s), not my desire to maximize ad sales. So don't think I'm asking for offerings, just realize when you're reading opinions from those that are quite happy to sell them to the highest bidder.

If your friend is going to spend 30 large - spend a little bit more and come to LA. Chris Hansen carries Thiel; Levinson and Wadia. Set up a demo and listen to the system yourself. While you're at it - Ambrosia carries Aerials, Dunlavys and Revel which you could listen to on Rowland or Classe electronics and a Theta digital front end. Shellys and the Digital Ear both carry Maggies and Audio Research. Digital also carries Theta, Wadia and Krell. Shellys would probably use a Theta front end. Then come to my house and listen my system which is quite similar to Cfj2's system in that we both use BAT electronics and Nordost Quattro/SPM cables. I use Genesis 300 speakers and would have to borrow a BAT CD player (shouldn't be too hard). I also think my system is smooth and detailed and also has some pretty awesome bass. Then we tell my wife you are a client and have to go to New Orleans "on business" where we will visit Duke (Audio Kinesis) and listen to his Sound Labs. What do you say?

Garfish, I Must side with Skull on this, What I love about audiophiles is they are all so full of themselves... Yet they listen to reviewers as if they are gods, simply because their opinions are published in these jokes called Audio magazines.. I know a lot of these reviewers and most are idiots.. Bob Harley, Don Saltzman, J. Valin are exceptions, along with some of things H.P. says. And I restate (some) These guys are reviewing equipment, and reporting to the public the results, based on how the component meshs with their own systems (and rooms), colorations!! They might have a dull room, muddy amps rolled speaker wire, etc. listen to a lyra Parnassis cartridge and declare it neutral, and it's a bright, thin, etched, piece of junk! I love all these Hi-Fi terms like Fast, Clean, shimmering,etc. When was the last time you listened to live unamplified music, heard a real sound, and said to yourself: wow! listen to how fast that was? It's a joke! I have a very expensive system, and have modified a lot of the the gear myself along with building stuff, I have put together systems for $5,000 to $10,000 that kill a lot of $200,000 dollar ones. Most audiophiles have lost track of what really counts, the music, We as a group (Because of magazines like Sterophile) are starting to get back into specifications! It's sad, because we were the one to tell everyone that they didn't matter.. They still don't, I don't believe we know what or how to measure what counts. All that matters is our ears.. But we listen to these reviewers, and are influenced by the specs, and don't listen to our own ears.. "They most know more than me, they're in a magazine"!! It's just not true. it's a matter of circumstance, and who they know! Most are leaches trying to get free equipment. People out there believe what they are saying, doubt there own ears.. and their own values become skewed. Because of this I've only met a handfull of audiophiles across the country that can HEAR!! You must build on equipment based on neutrality, one piece at a time. accepting a pieces minor colorations,and knowing this, use them to compliment your system, and room, as a hole. This way you can keep your perspective when judging a new piece. Reviewers don't do this. It's sounds great in their system so it's nirvana! Most of the Digital-Transistor guys out there, (I'm presuming you are one) Have 3 CD's out of a thousand that they can enjoy. They are constantly trying new cables and accessories, are impressed by some Hi-Fi artifact they get from them, grow weary of the trick, then later take them out. They are on a endless quest.. Seaching for something that they have forgotten about, all they know is they are not happy. It's not fun anymore. They don't melt in their chairs and listen to record after record.. into the night They are lost! What they are searching for is... THE MUSIC.. the emotion.. They've gone through a maze and can't find their way back... There is a not for profit Web Site coming out that will deal with these issues and hopefully try to guide us back in the right direction. After all we are a small brotherhood! If It continues on it's present coarse I think this industry is doomed, If it were not for home theater (yuk), most of the dealers would aready be gone. People are getting frustrated and quiting the hobby. Lets hope we can get back on track.. Manufacturers are out of control with their ego driven price structures, "oh they are charging that much, my stuff's way better, I'll charge more".They will price themselve out of existance.. I just hope we can all survive this.. P.S. I belive that if a system is selected, and set up correctly it will play all types of music in a realistic, and satisfying manner.. There should be no need specify Opera. It would need to do space, convey emotion, go low in the bass, have enough detail to suggest space, have a big soundstage, also requiring a big room!! Image wide and front to back.. And do layered depth. Wouldn't you want all these anyway..

You don't need to spend $30k to enjoy recorded opera. But it would be easy to spend $30k and be disappointed. Being able to lose yourself in your favorite performance of a five hour Wagnerian opera on a reasonably priced system in your home presents challenges that require tradeoffs that are not necessarily the highest priorities for jazz or rock.