How to get the impact of a live concert?

The real thing is the real thing, but short of that there are many ways to achieve good results. First of all, you must realize that everything matters when it comes to optimizing a system...amp, speakers, cables, room, PC's etc..! Budget will narrow down the field considerably. Are you building a completely new system? How big is the room? Music genre most appreciated?

My speakers at home are rated at 97 db. My room is 17' x 21' and I listen about 12 feet from the speakers. I have always felt that our MA-1s (140 watts) did the best job- it seems impossible to clip them on that speaker.

Duke just illustrated in spades why that is so, and also the need for efficiency in a speaker.

A potential customer called recently. His speakers were rated at 87db at 2.83volts/1 meter. The impedance was 4 ohms, but the manufacturer admitted to the customer that that was a typo and the real impedance was 2 ohms. Doing the math that puts the speaker at only 81 db. A speaker with efficiency this low is not criminal, but only because there is no law against it!

The fact of the matter is that I would never be able to use that speaker in my room without 2000 watts per channel. I don't care what amp you have, there is no amplifier made that makes 2000 watts and sounds like real music.

Efficiency is important! - if for no other reason that if you want the speaker to sound like music, it will not do it if the amplifier cannot also sound like music.

I may be off line here but to replicate say a live kick drum: would not the speaker array need to excite Exactly the same volume of air (both in front and to the rear) at at exactly the same speed, at exactly the same frequencies etc.. as the kick drum? Then we also ask the same system to replicate a clarinete at the same time and on and on. Not going to happen any time soon with current technology.

I have a good system (Krell, Wilson, AR Ref5) and its still lacking to live instruments and voice.. Its a quest

Hughp3, you are correct. But many modern drivers can have a lot more excursion than the head of many kick drums, depending on how that drum is tuned. I have dual 15" woofers in my speakers, which helps a lot. If I really crank the system, it will play at levels I can only tolerate with earplugs- you can feel your organs vibrating in your chest, pants cuffs moving, etc.

If I had a real drum set in the same room, I would experience the same thing. Without a sound pressure meter its hard to say if I am really at the same volumes but for me its moot- I don't play the system that loud :)

Buy some PA speakers, theres nothing quality about a concert. the fact you enjoy it so much is the atmosphere it creates rather than the definition and or fidelity. Damage your hearing and release endorphins which in conjunction with the atmosphere makes you really feel the impact of a concert.