How close to the real thing?

Assigning an actual percentage would be an exercise in intellectual futility and meaningless as nobody would agree...it's enough to say that I've not heard reproduced sound, sound anything like the real thing, EVER.
Varying degrees of 'wow', but not enough to fool anyone.
OK, not enough to fool me, I can't speak for others.

Larry

Recently heard some tapes by the Tape Project played back in a recording studio. It was at times better than real could be and left me not caring that it was more so. It was just so enveloping. How near or how far matters less than how involving. If it gets to you its great if it doesn't it is just a group of sounds but no matter how well produced it is NOT music. So what percentage, it depends on the set up, the room, the recording venue and the recording engineer's ability and equipment. Each is different so sometimes 5% sometimes in the best situations perhaps 90%.

I think Albert Von Schweikert did a demo of his VR-11 vs. a live performance group at one time back a couple of years or so.

An old trick, often used at shows, such as CES. Go near some expensive demo
and throw some spare change up in the air. When it hits the ground heads will really turn. Reality is so much more complex than any reproduction.

If we were to take a bad transistor radio into a tunnel and get bad reception but could still determine that we were listening to a recording of a piano, would that not be a very low percentage of the real thing, perhaps 1% for the sake of argument. Than if that same bad mono radio gets a clean signal, let us call that 2%. The sound of a basic car radio with a stereo signal on FM radio of a piano on a classical music channel, say 3%. Then a big BOSE radio gets a 4%. Surely an entry level stereo of good components gets a 5%. See where I am going?

Surely the very best ultra high end system in a great room with a great recording, say of a master tape on a R2R of a Mozart piano concerto would be greater than 5%, no? Vinyl, SET, horns, take your pick.

Such a demo was conducted at RMAF for a select group of reviewers in the Magico/Spectral room. One of those in attendance told me that after the performance ended and he opened his eyes, he actually had to familiarize himself with his surroundings because he temporarily lost himself in the experience of the performance, it was so close to convincing. Maybe not the real thing, but surely getting closer.