Do we really know what "Live" music sounds like?

Of course we do.

Unless you have a very limited musical palette that only consists of amplified music, then you know exactly what live instruments and vocals sound like.

i agree with @tony1954 

to add on to the above, i would say, if one plays an instrument, been in or heard a live choir or recital, one is exposed to live music and can form clear impressions of what it sounds like... the exact sound can fade from memory but the impressions formed are more easily remembered

@axo0oxa

i get your skepticism. But from those of us that have been dedicated to creating a great system to reproduce real music, and to people dedicated to develop systems capable of delivering that sound, an incredible amount of skill can be developed over decades. It is one thing going out and listening to live music in different venues one or twice, occasionally. Then it is very different doing the same hundreds of times over long periods of time.

I have gone to concerts at the Oregon Symphony hundreds of times. They always announce when they are recording for a release. My seats are under the primary microphones. I own a bunch of recordings made there. The acoustics are very predictable and different from my seat as they are above mine. But completely predictable. I have also frequented the Chicago Symphony and many venues, and other cities. You can learn about venues and acoustics. All part of being an audiophile or developing equipment with true passion.

Your not hearing unamplified music at a rock concert. The only music to hear unamplified is classical or jazz. Period. I’ve been to enough jazz scenes in very small clubs to know what live music sounds like. Real tenors, horns, pianos, etc. And it was quality music with a legacy going back to the 20’s, not some loud noise not qualified to be called music. Jazz has never been music for the masses. If you don’t dig it, fine, the music doesn’t need you. 

@coltrane1 

You are correct. You are never going to hear an unamplified rock concert.

‘’Although I listen to all kinds of music, I found it was classical concerts and acoustic jazz was what you needed to listen to to in order to zero in your audio system. It would make other kinds of music sound better as well. This helped me develop an empirical ruler, hence helping all music.

Alternatively if you only liked rock… you could get JBL and try to get yourself into a recording studio to understand how it was mixed.

@jim5559 

Some of the concerts I have been to in the past few years are Bryn Terfel, Simrit Kaur, Tool, Joe Bonamassa and Richard Thompson.

Does the fact that I listen to a wide variety of music, including rock, make me clueless or not?