I tend to agree, Wes, that sacrificing a small amount of detail in favor of tonality is a good trade. That's approximately what I (and, I think, a bunch of others) did when I added the MF X10v3 between the X-Ray and the preamp. Give it a try. You might like it too. I hear Stereophile considers it a Class A component, and at today's prices, you can buy the X-Ray and the X-10 for what the Quad 99 CDP-2 costs. Of course, you don't get that variable output feature.

My favorite performance of both the Firebird and Le Sacre... is the Abbado/LSO. The recording is pretty good, but not excellent. Does anybody have suggestions for both great performance and recording?

Folks,

I intend to buy Infinity speakers. I am confused between Infinity Primus 360 and Infinity Beta 50 speakers. I have so far heard Inifinity Beta 50 speakers. Have not been able to hear the Primus 360s.

1. Can you provide first-hand opinion on which amongst the above speakers is your preference if money is no concern.

2. I am located in NJ. Can someone pls point out a store (in NJ,NY, PA ) where I can audition both of these speaker types.

I saw Regina Carter's current quintet at the Metroplitan Museum last night and was blown away. The band: Ms. Carter (violin), Chris Lightcap (acoustic bass), Alvester Garnett (drums), Gilad Dobrecky (percussion), and Rick Germanson (piano).

I'd love to see a "behind the scenes" documentary on what it takes to produce an issue of Stereophile. Short of that, I'd be curious about the following:

1) Does the editorial and review staff have a life? In other words, is the work so time consuming you're always getting in trouble with your spouses (if they haven't left you already), and the only "vacations" you take are at trade shows? Does it require that you become so obsessive about the work that fiddling with cables or responding to forum questions would be considered an evening of entertainment?

Can anyone point me in the direction of some reviews/guides when looking for a whole house system (seprate zones / inputs)

Thanks
Brad from KC