Sat front row at the symphony...

@viber6 For 20 years I had various stats.  My favorite was the Acoustat 2+2.  My last was an ML Monolith III.  My new wife (1st died) hated them for their beaminess, lack of dynamic contrast, inadequate bass and overall brightness (replaced by Legacy Focus 23 years ago).  I enjoyed hearing Maggies, SoundLabs which are are essentially straight panels, Alsyvox, etc. flat speakers.  So, I certainly agree that I prefer flat panel stats and planars to curved ones.  

Each concert hall has their own sonic signature as I am certain you must know. 
 

That said, as a general rule, a few rows back will give the most balanced sonic experience. 

The idea that “the conductor’s perspective” (location) is best is flawed. Good orchestral composers and orchestrators are keenly aware of and exploit the fact that instrumental sounds blend to create specific desired colors and textures when heard from a distance. Just one example, a unison musical line played by a clarinet and a flute will sound very different and with a unique tonal color when heard from a distance than it will heard up close. The “detail” and separation heard up close may not be at all what the composer intends for the composition.

@mikeydee Glad you enjoyed it. A great Orchestra and venue. A  close colleague  of  mine plays with the PSO.

Also, their association with Reference Recording gives us wonderful things to listen to at home.

frogman,,

You're right that instrumental sounds have different colors, textures, tonal balance at close vs further distance.  But look into the mind of the composer.  He/she thinks of a melody in the mind, tries it on the piano, then writes it down.  Often the first complete work is solo piano, or piano 4 hands, or 2 or 3 pianos.  Later the piano work is arranged for orchestra.  A good example is Mussorgsky's original solo piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition.  Later, Ravel orchestrated it, which is the most popular version heard, but there were other composers who had different orchestrations.  

On youtube, there are recordings with simultaneous views of the complete score (written music).  As a musician, I want to know what the score contains.  Even a solo piano score contains details that I didn't realize were there even after thinking I knew the work well.  As for more complex orchestra works with many different instrumental groups, the score shows that a typical audience listener is missing the majority of what the composer had in mind.  An example is the prelude to Act 1 of Wagner's Lohengrin.  The score shows EIGHT violin parts.  I had thought there were only 2-4 after 50 years of thinking that I knew the piece well.  Only a 1st row listener (better yet, a stage performer) can hear much more of the details in the score.  From the 1st row at a performance, I could appreciate much more of the truth, which is in the score.  From greater distances, it is hopeless if you want to hear all the detail.  But the stage is best.  Mercury Living Presence recordings have the main mikes 10 feet over the conductor's head, to capture the most detail, with a good amount of space.  Most other commercial recordings are far inferior.