Best system for opera lover at $30,000

Fusilli, I suggest you bow out of this responsibility. Your suggested system is not for any true music lover. Its for audiophiles who're more interested in hifi than music. From all the posts here, Snoopdog's the only one with some wisdom, even if he comes across a little arrogant. Unfortunately that type of experience only comes after many years and probably thousands of wasted dollars. He's absolutely correct in his criticism of high end digital, its just wrong and mechanical, but alas we have little choice since most of the music is published on CD. I think you ought to advise your friends to start with a somewhat lower budget until both you and them know what to look for. Go around to some qualified dealers and audition systems suitable to their room size and listening conditions (which we have no idea about). After that, if still necessary, come back with their short list, not yours. rgds, david k.

PS Garfish, you won't learn about real music systems just from reading magazines & books! You're better off not quoting them if you want to be taken seriously. rgds, david k.

Gentlemen, how many live operas have you attended? How many recorded operas have you listened to recently?

I wholeheartedly agree with Fieldman. Whether or not "Snoopdog" is actually the Snoopdog of rap that we might have heard of, I must take issue with him. Regarding vinyl, read my arguments in the thread "CD-vs.-SACD-LP-vs.-DVD". Yes, I love vinyl, and my turntable's platter weighs more than your house, and is made from extra terrestrial technology, using a micro sized black hole suspended in a stasis field around the spindle, for mass loading! The gravity well is murder on the antiskate, though! As for me, I'm happy with my CD player (mostly because it's better than any you've had!), and as long as I don't listen to both formats in the same night, I'm content. You can't possibly expect someone brand new to the highend to become an avid vinyl enthusiast from the getgo, over night. Many out there just aren't suited for the kind of attention to detail and rabid enthusiasm required. It would be like getting a 4 foot tall young woman to loose her virginity to a sasquatch!!!!! I just want to give a shout out to all my homies out there...you da bomb, see ya later. Gots to go turn some of my bitches out...gots to make some mo cash, to purchase some mo solid silver 400 amp power transformers for my estates....

Speakers-B&W 802. Amp- Mark Levinson 335. Preamp- Mark Levinson 380. CD- Mark Levinson #39. Cables- Mogabi