So Sunday I flew down to meet a girl I've been talking to online for 3 years, in Loma Linda, and wouldn't you know it, Sean (St_PatGuy) lives not far away at all. We arranged to meet on Monday, which occurred at Outback Steakhouse (thanks for picking up the check, by the way), and afterward he allowed us to go over to his place and check out his system. It was a lot of fun. I could have spent a lot more time there, but Cari had to be somewhere (as in, I was clutching the seat and praying away the cops as she did up to 95 mph when leaving Sean's place), and we had to cut it short.

Sean, thanks for the hospitality. If I'm in the area again, I'll have to schedule more time to intrude. You're just as cool in person as you are on the board. Thanks for doing most of the talking.

Anyway, I'm finally caught up with the message board activity. I'm used to checking multiple times per day, not having to catch up on 4 days of posts at once. You guys talk a lot.

Oh, and Sean, remind me what that opera disc was. I didn't commit it to memory like I thought I would. It seemed like a fun disc to show off a system with.

Oh, yeah, and Cari wanted me to clarify on what you suspected was her boredom. She swears that she was actually very interested in the audio stuff, and in fact commented later in the visit, "I want to go listen to The Con on his system." However, she realizes she may have looked bored because a little earlier she was in pain and stopped at the gas station to pick up some pain reliever. Unfortunately, all they had was Tylenol PM, so she thinks she was tired from that. Always nice to know I was being driven around at 95 mph by someone who was inclined to zonk out. Ha ha.

Charles, I'm glad both of you had fun. Sorry to hear Cari wasn't feeling too good.

Ha ha, I probably talked alot because my close friends aren't into audio stuff at all and it was a nice change of pace to show my system off to someone who is.

Although we were only able to visit for a few hours it was fun. This was the first time I've met someone from the forum in person and I hope future meetings, either with Charles or other members, can be as equally pleasurable-- *cough*tuttlefest*cough*

Oh yeah, the cd was Carmina Burana by Orff (sorry, no link--I'm at work and can't get to certain sites). I'm not quite sure it is exactly opera, but maybe JohnK can clarify--he is the one who suggested the disc to me in the first place.

Charles, thank you for the kind words, and, again, I'm glad you guys had fun.

Yeah, the Tuttlefest Planning Committee had better get busy! Let me know where to show up! And get your Rx orders in earlier than last time, OK?!

Sounds like a good get-together that you guys had. I certainly count you two among the Axiomites that I am looking forward to meeting one day.

You know Charles, Regina is really going to be P.O.'ed at you whenever she reads this.

Yeah, that's why I did it. I have to stir up the passion in her somehow.

Okay, now Cari's going to rip my head off. I just can't win.

Yeah Sean, it was good to read of the nice visit Charles had with you. Yes, Carmina Burana isn't classified as an opera, but usually is referred to as a cantata(that explains everything, right?). The usual differentiation is that an opera features individual singers to a greater extent, while a cantata features a chorus with orchestral accompaniment, although there can be some vocal solos. Carmina Burana has become very popular in the classical realm and web sites such as this one discuss it and Orff in some detail. Probably you played the Muti disc, which I've often recommended from the several that I own, because it combines fine performance and sound at a bargain price around $5-6.

There's the opera and the cantata. Then there's the oft-overlooked cantopera, in which a chorus fails miserably to reproduce famous arias.

Thanks, John and Sean. I ordered the Carmina Burana. At $5.97, I don't think I can go wrong.

Thanks JohnK! And, yes, Charles, it's quite a bargain. Hope you enjoy it.

Cool! Thanks for the update, gentlemen.

I'll start a thread. Or maybe I'll recruit a committee to study when and if a thread should be started.

Rancho Cucamonga huh? I visit my sis in Yucaipa a few times each year, which isn't too far from you. Just leave the door unlocked and I'll let myself in...

Will do, Michael!

As long as he takes his shoes off before entering.

Charles and Sean,

What both of you don't realize is that Carmina Burana can't be fully appreciated unless you have M80s and an A1400 so that you may experience all of the dynamic range inherent in the recording. Charles you're half-way there. Sean, I'm not sure if your Loreleis can take the pounding that the A1400 dishes out.

As for JohnK, he will never move away from his M22s. An A1400 wouldn't do him any good because his M22s will just act as fuses .

Since both of you bought the CD, now you have to buy the remaining hardware.

Tex, remember that I do have both the M80s and the A1400-8. It's the Audiobytes that I still need.

Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Thanks. Looks like you're all set for Carmina Burana then. I wouldn't be smiling though if I didn't have audiobytes .

House rules!

You know, I'd like to see how much of a pounding an A1400 can give to my Loreleis. Uh, anyone want to donate one to me?

Since I have a small room I think my ears would give out before my speakers.

I can attest to the small room. As I was telling Sean while I was there, however, it's my kind of room, full of attractive hardware and plenty of media along the walls.

Thanks, Charles. I'm halfway tempted to put my CDs into notebooks, but I like being able to stand there and scan the titles for what I want to listen to rather than flip through pages. There will come a point, though, where I run out of space.

Sean you need to rip them into flac and then you can sit on the couch while you flip through the titles on the Denon 3808 GUI to choose which one you want. I am thoroughly enjoying this aspect of the 3808.

But Sean only has SACD and DVD-Audio. Ha ha, that would be funny.

Yeah, I looked into that a couple of months ago, Jason, but it still doesn't appeal to me yet. I dunno, I'm a little old school. Someday, I may wake up and decide it's the route for me.

You darn kids and your new technology! (shakes fist at sky)

Hey, I'm not that old. Yet. . .

It's never too early to practice being old. Get that fist pumping down.

I definitely need more practice. Just hit myself in the eye.

It didn't appeal to me until I had the 3808 and its networking capability, I had to try it out and now I love it.

I'm sure he had that down by 13.

Ahem--12 and a half.

Can someone post a link to the exact album you're talking about? I searched Amazon for it and found about 15 of them.... I'm not sure what "multi disc" you're talking about (especially for six bucks!), please point me in the right direction.

myrison, this is the album we are referring to. Six bucks is a bargain and a half. You will instantly recognize the music when you hear it.

Jason, as you now see, it's "Muti", who's the conductor.

If you order from Amazon or Tower($4.38) , it's a good idea to add three or four CDs to get over the $25 for free shipping.

Thanks, in my Amazon shopping cart now! Also looking for other recommendations in this post if you have other recommendations!

Thanks guys, I signed up for Amazon Prime a couple of years ago and love it. ($75 / year for free 2-day shipping on everything you order and a super cheap ($5 or $10, can't remember) upgrade to overnight shipping if you really need it ASAP. I make my money back many times over on that deal every year!