How do you train your ears?

"The real thing unamplified should be the standard. "

Of course the real thing should be the standard. Everything else is just a reproduction of the real thing.

Some genres are amplified naturally though in live performance. That should be considered a real standard for those genres in those cases as well.

No recording or playback system, regardless of cost or quality, should be regarded as a standard for purposes of training the ear. For purposes of providing a model for a good playback system, yes, but that is different.

I agree with listening as much live music with real instruments would help. I had purchased several CDs after attending to live jazz concerts, but always it was disappointment to listen to their music on my audio system. There is just no comparison between well played live music and recorded music, unless done extremely well.
Orchestral music can be hardly reproduced in low-mid high end systems, however well recorded.

In a sense, training ears would be similar to training wine tasting -- you need to listen to as much real live music as you would drink lots of wines to know more about wines; reading books on wines would help to a certain point, but no theory would substitute the real tasting. However, tasting wine with suggestion made by some wine gurus, like Parker, would certainly help your wine tasting.

IMO, audible memory in music is rather weaker than visual or taste memory. But it can be further cultivated as with wine tasting. Everest's book may help. I will check it out.

Sitting up-front, first or second row, hearing the live performance without amplification is the standard I use. Listen intently then compare your audio system immediately after the concert using the same artist & recorded material if possible. When I heard a concert pianist live and heard almost identical results from my system I knew I was on the right track. At another concert I was able to use the recording engineers master-tapes to compare what I had just heard live with the audio reproduction on my system. That was the clincher. When the engineer heard his recording over my audio system his jaw dropped. It was as though the concert was live in my living room, something he had not expected, and this is from an engineer who makes his own tube equipment.

Commcat, you must have one heck of a listening room and gear, how about sharing with us? I've found the piano is the most difficult instrument to duplicate in the home listening environment.

>>How do you train your ears?<<

Use very simple one word commands your ears will understand.

Sit
Heel
Speak
Down

Enuciate clearly and speak firmly.

Good luck.