How close to the real thing?

Maineiac,
That group was Misty River (buy their album, they're good).
It was fun to have the girls show up each night at CES, play music and such.
That was 2005 CES.

Larry

Live-versus-recorded listening tests give the answer in a way. In well controlled tests people are hard to hear the difference.

http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-live-versus-recorded-listening

"Are we making progress and how close are we?"

I doubt it.

What you hear from a particular recording on your rig in your room is distinct in almost every way from what you hear at any particular live performance in a particular venue.

I question whether the absolute sound possible today is really that much better than what was achievable years ago. It is more readily available in more different configurations to more these days I would say and probably for significantly lower cost than prior if done right, so there has been progress in terms of delivering good sound to more, assuming one is interested in that.

That was 2005 CES.

It was the 2004 THE Show at the St. Tropez.

I remember reading articles about this before.It may have been done more in Europe,or some other country overseas. But,from what I remember,some speaker companies put on a demonstration in large auditoriums with great results. Reviewers from magazines may be where I read about it.I get more enjoyment at home myself.When I've gone to listen to a live orchestra,I always seem to get the seats where all the ladies with the fur sit around me.This fur adsorbs all the highs.It makes those live concerts sound lifeless at times.I even tried clothes that have less absorption characteristics,but we can't be seated alone. When they do a good job of recording,their mikes capture a lot of what we miss out on.If we could hear them in an empty auditorium,the outcome would be better for a live performance,at least in my experience.They do sound fantastic when they're getting ready,before the auditorium fills up,but then there is a lot of reflections.There are places with small jazz groups that don't have this problem with the large close crowd,and I can say my system at home gives a fantastic illusion of,you are there. I have no idea on what kind of percentage to put on recorded music, but when they do it right,I would have to say that its fairly high.