Swampwalker, I have had the same experience with a piano, but I have had another live music experience. At CES many years ago when it was in Chicago, I went out to dinner at Bergoffs with a wire manufacturer, an electronic manufacturer, a reviewer, and me. They had a live group going from table to table. When they were nearby, I suggested that the bass was boomy with lots of overhang. The others looked at me in amazement, but one said "yes it does." We then got around to saying why that might be, with the general agreement that the room and instrument were probably responsible. I would also note that few live performances are unamplified, the group in Bergoffs had no amplification.
Finally, I would say "as yet" we cannot give the illusion of live, but there is no question for me that we have greatly improved the illusion in most systems in the last twenty years. Horns may be the exception. We haven't surpassed the Klipsch horns or the WE horns. I heard a two tube WE 205 amp driving a single Altec concentric horn system long ago at a VSAT conference and heard what I had never heard before or since. Why did I not buy it? Because there was only one, and I didn't expect that I would ever find another. The dealer wrote later to say he had found a second but was going to keep both for his system. Why he wrote to tell me this, I haven't a clue, but it ruined my day.
