[George Prentice]

Originally Posted by sleeper

I have been to many a live music event where, in comparison, my home audio system delivered a better sonic performance, but still have enjoyed the live music more and at a much deeper level...

You bring up a subject I have found fascinating. I attended many rock concerts in the late '60s and '70s... then jazz in the '80s. They were fantastic... I was young. But, I tired of the bad sound in amplified settings, sometimes bad acoustics. Also, the older I got the less I liked the social settings. Finally in this century I found (could afford) season tickets to the symphony and loved it... first because of the entirely acoustic but also because of the order... I know my seats, everyone knows the rules. (I have been an business executive for most of my career... I got plenty of social interaction and conflict at work). I more recently have still been exposed to Rock concerts at high-tech conferences... I usually left after a few minutes. I do not get a thrill at watching someone play. I definitely do not get a thrill be being with a mass of strangers, many yelling and making noice... I never went to football games... or any sports for that matter. I like climbing mountains and SCUBA diving... etc. I have been a nerd since childhood, but one with high EQ allowing me in the C-suite in large corporations.

But the distortion! and noise... and if you are to close, too loud, to distracting. On very infrequent occasions a sound guy would really get it right and you are in the right seats. Small intimate jazz ensembles, those are usually great... unless someone is pointing a trumpet right at you.

I managed to get my last system to so closely match the orchestra experience I couldn't tell the difference if I was in the orchestra hall or at home (minus differences in recording and the acoustics of the actual hall in which they were recorded).

For me, I would much rather be at home listening. I am finding the performance of my system very satisfying. I do look forward to the Fall when our symphony again performs. I am not typical, I know that, never have been... I'm happy with that.