What are we really trying to replicate?

Well I think you have asked the $1,000,000 questions. IMO, there is no absolute sound because an individual's interaction with a live performance represents the sum total of so many unique variables; including psychological factors.

Just as you would never be fooled by the most technically adept photograph into thinking you are experiencing the outdoors, a stereo system will always fall short of the live event. The best we can hope for is the 'suspension of disbelief' so that we can transport ourselves to the time of the recording.

Assuming that an album is recorded well, I would expect the CD or vinyl on a quality audiophile system to sound better than an actual concert. If one were to close their eyes and somehow ignore everything but the music, most wouldn't be impressed I would suspect.

Things that are performed live without amplification, like the symphony, will always be impossible to duplicate.

I'm not trying to "replicate" anything. I strive to get my system to sound as natural and engaging to me as I possibly can, with the music I prefer to listen to in the room I listen in. Whether that replicates anything in particular, or whether or not it pleases anyone else, is entirely beside the point for me.

I completely agree that there is no absolute sound. Your preferences may be entirely different than mine and neither of us sets any bars for anyone else but ourselves.

The experience of listening at home is entirely different from listening to a live event at some venue. Those two experiences will absolutely never be the same, and there is your only "absolute". Most events that are amplified for the masses will not even hold a candle to the intimacy available on great system. Scaling a symphony orchestra just ain't gonna happen though...at least I haven't heard that yet. Better, or worse?!?...I don't know - it varies with the material and the moment. It has as much to do with me and my state of mind, expectations, etc, as it does with the presentation. I've been to many disappointing concerts as far as their acoustic presentation, and I most certainly would not want to strive for anything like that. I can become intimately engaged with music an moderate levels, as opposed to concert levels..I don't think that is necessarily a given either way. Again, no absolutes and potential for tremendous enjoyment at both levels. How can either sound "too good"? What happens then? Premature ejaculation? Sorry, I don't get it? OK, I do think I understand what you're talking about; I do think my system has the potential to sound much more intimate than most concert experiences, but that is part of the nature of high-end audio that draws me to pursuing it. When I listen to Joss Stone she sounds like she is right there in front of me...I wish she was. At a concert she may indeed be right there in front of me, but the piss poor amplification and or venue could entirely destroy that "intimacy". Jazdoc's standard of "suspension of disbelief" is certainly a pretty good goal to strive for.