Best system for opera lover at $30,000

to ambience; a couple of interesting things in you post re classical music. If you hear a lot live music your equipment preferences vary by where you sit. Several conductors I have talked to swear that only horn loaded speakers sound real. The one time I was near the podium during a recording sound check I could understand why.I personally prefer front of the first balcony. Any instrumentalist can drive you nuts when setting up a system since they usually want it voiced to what they hear whichisn't anyone elses perspective. Finally your experience with your wife parallels my experience with my wife and female friends. My wife who has degrees in physical anthropology has several fairly convincing foornotes on significant enough psychoacoustic differences between male and female to be an issue in assembling a high end system. I'll have to try the Atma's. BTW what does your wife think of analog?

Hey Plsl- thanks for reading my post. It's always good to get feedback from others. I would agree with your assesment of the Amati's, but an Amati is no Extrema. I owned a pair of Extremas in my 25x17x9 listening room and they could shake the floor (yes, even on the stands). A very well-rounded speaker for just about every type of music other than metal. In-room response was -4dB at 31Hz, which I thought was pretty good, considering the superiority of the rest of the frequency range. Cya-Fielden

Fielden, thanks for the correction. This is a good example of the the quality of the advice I got from the dealer. I was quite specific about my music listening needs and the only Sonus Faber he said I should consider was the Amati. If I was cynical perhaps price had something to do with it. I'll have to check out the Extrema. BTW with sound treatment and using the Sigtech DSP, my measured in room response for my Dunlavy V's is down 2db at 20 with a sub sonic cut at 16 which is only of practical use if you own about a hundred organ recordings (which I do)

Yes, Dunlavy V's should do it! DOH! Well, the Extrema is no longer in production. I bought the last new pair in existence in June of '98. Stirling Trayle shipped 'em straight to my door. I sure wish I had kept them, but it was just one of those things. There is actually a pair for sale on audioweb.com for $4700 with stands and including shipping. Looks like a good deal. I found them while searching Mark Levinson, but I'm sure Sonus Faber would do it too. You might check it out. Later, Fielden.

For Plsl: Wouldn't doubt the psychoacoustic factor. Also the purely psychological factor. She listens to the people making the music, not just the sound waves coming out. She will wince in sympathy when she hears someone clam a note. "Oh, they couldn't have been happy with that attack." Heard some Classic Audio Repro horns over at the AtmaSphere shop. UNREAL imaging and sense of space. Would love a pair for classical. UNREAL-ER size; 300 pounds plus apiece. The SoundLabs aren't in-your-face that way. But they let you hear INTO each section. You get a very real sense that there are, for instance, 4 violas in the section rather than hearing a lump of viola sound. She loves analog. We just got a used RPM and a Nitty-Gritty. One of the first things she ever said to me about audio was that "records are the only things that get strings right." I knew I was in love when she came over on the first day I had AtmaSphere amps hooked up. She stopped dead in the hallway before even seeing them and said "Nice sound." We have spent quite a few evenings at the local used LP dive followed by some serious listening. How did this turn from a gear-lust thread into a psychology thread?