Personally, I've always felt that asking "does it sound like a live performance" is the wrong question, for several reasons, not least of which is that I don't think it is possible. There is something about the sophistication of our hearing and the brain as a processing center that makes it extraordinarily hard to "fake" a live performance. I can only remember being fooled once, in 1978 -- I was walking past a stereo store in East Lansing, Michigan, that had its front doors open, and I heard what sounded like live Jazz music coming from inside. I thought it was some sort of publicity stunt, and stuck my head in to look -- they were playing Klipschorns at near "live" levels using Luxman electronics. Until I wlaked into the store, I would have sworn I was listening to a live jazz band (that's when I started to appreciate Paul Klipsch's emphasis on dynamics and speaker efficiency as a key to music reproduction).
So I tend to accept each for what it is -- I enjoy both live performances and recorded music, and appreciate each for its own virtues. And my standard for judging my stereo gear is not whether it makes the performance sound "live", but whether it captures and holds my attention and "involves" me with the music.
So I tend to accept each for what it is -- I enjoy both live performances and recorded music, and appreciate each for its own virtues. And my standard for judging my stereo gear is not whether it makes the performance sound "live", but whether it captures and holds my attention and "involves" me with the music.