I can't stop listening to the various videos of this opera voice, judge for yourself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-00wRyBGks&feature=related

Here my technical question. I'm listening with my Acer laptop via wireless and with 500b headphones.

And I seem to get very good sound quality. Going by the principal that a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and there are many= youtube /internet/ modem/ wireless/ laptop/ headphones, which chain link is the most important?

What is your setup to listen to a full range of tonality

I am so thrilled, did discover youtube only recently, was unawre of the gems. Now listening to Karajan, Mozarts Requiem. Question, can I expect similar sound quality from a HTC smart phone, what is required?

Perfect way to spend a long flight.

The answer to your technical question is that all the links in the chain (apart from the initial recording) up to your laptop and speakersare digital and have various methods of data correction. Thus what is given to your PC should be exactly what is on the you-tube servers. Your laptop amplifier is also probably pretty good, so the end result I suggest would be dependant on your speakers.

In addtion for what it is worth I will also confess to liking the clips you attached although for me Opera can be very hit and miss.

one more small piece - the sound card. BUT, most of us using the integrated sound control from the CPU, then it all depends on the CPU type, quality may vary slighhtly.

sound card is indeed an additional audio amplifier in the PC. if you have good ears, you will hear the difference, even on a standard quality headphone ( not earphone ). too bad, my ears not as good.

Highly facinating is this visualiztion of Beethoven's 9th, which gives a idea of the complexity of composing and the demands on the audio system

compared to Satie , Gnossienne