Hi All,
I need a little help from all the classical buffs here (JohnK,sushi, et al). I am looking at making my first big purchase of classical music CD's. I am new into classical music though have been listening to bits and pieces of good music for about 15 years now. Yes, I did go through a whole bunch of threads here that already had some great suggestions, with a ton of contribution from JohnK, sushi and the like. However there were some links that absolutely did not work for me (like the old Tower site), and even if they did, most of the CD's were out of stock at the Tower or takes about 2-4 weeks delivery time. I am not in the US and am having one of my buddies agree to pick up a bunch of CD's from there. The problem is that he would be leaving by the end of November and I need them delivered to him before that. Also, I am intending to listen to the CD's through a Sennheiser HD650 via a cheap Pioneer universal player and an iBasso D1 amp. I don't know if listening via headphones and a cheap player would show off the advantages of an SACD/DVD-A disc, but would love to try them if you guys advise me that it would. My budget is about $200 and can be stretched till $300 if it would be absolutely worth it (I know, that would be subjective, but still...!).

Anyway, I do have a bit of an idea (thanks to trawling the threads here!) on what composers I should be looking at, being a starter and here's the list. More suggestions are welcome as well:

1. The Planets

2. Orff: Carmina Burana

3. Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies

4. Beethoven: Symphony no 9

5. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake

6. Beethoven: Symphonies no 5 & 7 / Kleiber, Vienna PO

7. Wand Edition - Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9

8. Bach: The Goldberg Variations 1955 Performance: Zenph Re-performance

Now, my questions (Please bear with me on the long-winded yap, but this might be the only sensible time I'd be able to make a purchase of good classical music and I appreciate all your help :))

1.How long does Tower usually take to deliver CD's

2.I like Tchaikovsky and am tempted to get this SACD version of the Swan Lake. At about $25, do you think I would be able to appreciate the SACD version through my headphones and the Pioneer player?

3.Also, could someone please suggest a good version of the 1812 Overture and the Nutcracker Suit as well?

4.Is this version of The Planets worth it's premium and again would I be able to appreciate it with my setup?

5.I would like to pick a few works for cello as well. I understand that Du Pre's Elgar Concerto is one of the best ones. Could someone suggest a good version of this. Also, has anyone heard this or this and would recomment either? Would appreciate a few of Yo Yo Ma and Rostropovich's CD's as well.

6.Could someone suggest good Waltz selections similar to Strauss' . I absolutely love Strauss' works and is the first classical work I ever listened to consciously.

7.Lastly, are box sets like this and this worth buying, especially for a beginner? I am also under the assumption that the box-sets are generally inferior in quality.

Thanks a bunch everyone for reading this long post as well as for your views and suggestions.

Cheers!