Why I like my home system better than live music

Jmcgrogan2 and Mapman, my musical preference leans towards classical, small jazz bands, and female vocals, mostly unamplified music. The best sounding halls I've been in is the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a small classical music hall at my university long ago. I've been in Orange County Performing Arts Center (terrible acoustics), Dorothy Chandler Pavillion (OK acoustics), Houston Symphony Orchestra (OK acoustics), etc. I love rock, but forget live rock. It has damaged my ears when I was younger I think. I remember a Japanese heavy metal band called Loudness I went to when I was a teenager. It was so loud I was getting headaches with ear plugs. Never again.

I think many recordings are recorded in good acoustic venues and sound darn good through my home system. So 80-90% of the time I prefer my home system over live music.

FYATHYRIO....

Never heard an amplified concert at any kind of venue that comes close to my setup in any way. Would be concerned if any PA system or any venue for dozens to thousands could. Close your eyes at those concerts and much of the magic disappears. Can't remember the last non-amplified concert I went to because that's simply not my taste in music.

I am familiar with live sax, which I used to play for years, and many acoustic instruments played in various homes and few audio systems I've known seem to capture the resonance of a violin, much less a grand piano, in those environments. Then again, haven't listened to a recording of the same and can't directly compare to a filtered recording with studio acoustics. A violin from 3 feet away in a small room sounds a lot different than it does from 50' away. Same with speakers.

I listen seriously only to classical music. The worst live sound I've ever heard is light years ahead of the best home-audio system I've ever heard. They are just two entirely different realities.

-Bob

I prefer live concerts for classical music. Here, the Colorado Symphony performs in a hall with sub-par acoustics, but I find even poor halls enhance classical performance. I attend many bluegrass/folk/acoustic music concerts, too because the performers are so good live (headed to Telluride for the bluegrass festival this weekend, as a matter of fact). But I wear ear filters for virtually all live non-classical concerts because they are all TOO LOUD. Live music provides unique enjoyment, and so does my home system. Also, I can turn the home system down!

Let me add a bit to what I said.

Sound quality varies tremendously at live concerts, but it varies tremendously on recordings at home, too. Sound quality is only one part of musical enjoyment, though. I appreciate live music and recorded music as related, but separate, artistic expressions. And so I need a lot of both. No matter how good my home system is.