Sat front row at the symphony...

Congradulations on the experience. I have been fortunate enough to have season tickets to the Oregon Syphony for a decade. The “best” seats in the house for sound are typically reported as the 7th row center. I found in this symphony hall it is 8th row center left, I have had both.

The exact seats depend on the hall. But in these seats when there is a soloist… for instance, a violinist, the sound hole will be pointed roughly at these seats… and the piano top will reflect sound to this area. You are far enough back to have the sound integrate well, when appropriate but keep individual instruments easily distinguishable in great detail.

Anyway, a really great system can come very close to reproducing the sound. One of the reasons I began attending regularly was to tune my ears to real acoustical sound. It worked, and over the ten years I completing changed the direction my system evolution was going and made two major upgrades. These have been the most important and substantial of my 50+ year pursuit of the high end.

Nice!

Did you measure spl? 120 db+ I’d bet. Impressive but bad for ears over time. Nice goal to shoot for being able to achieve at home if you can afford the luxury but just don’t actually do it too often.

Luckily, home systems capable of doing well what our ears can actually tolerate are way more practical.

+1 @ghdprentice

The “best” seats in the house for sound are typically reported as the 7th row center.

To give an example -- in Denver’s hall, Orchestra 1, the closer rows, are $82 each, Orchestra 2, what you’re describing, are $145, and Orchestra 3, further back, are $122. This coincides with both improved sight lines and acoustics.

Glad you were able to see my point. Not everyone has a bulb which lights.

@newbee " ...she was ’blown away’ and exhausted! I should have prepped her better, but I just assumed.....! :-)"

I don’t think I’ve ever had that problem with a date.

Has been in Carnegie Hall for performance of piano with violin (Spivakov)

I could hear coughing and sneezing a lot better than piano and violin. This venue is one of the WORST I've ever been.

Other days had been in Minnesota Symphony Hall and what a difference. I chose seats a-bit away from the front row and music was filling the hall whether it's solo or orchestra.