Strange phenomona this hobby.

As many have said, this hobby is quite complex and there are very few absolutes. In my history with the search for the perfect chord, i had thought i had found it many times before only to find (sometimes very minor) a tweak that dramatically improved the quality of the music. My most notable experience was a speaker change that really got me into this hobby over my head. I was one of those bose diehards who felt the bose system was innovative and could make music sound so good. I had a set of 601's and was saving for a set of 901's. I always bragged how good they sounded until I had a friend who brought over a set of
Klipsch speakers that I did a side by side on my equipment. The wow factor was present that day as all of my concepts about music changed. I could not believe the difference as well as what I was not hearing. Many years later i recognize however good i think my system sounds (and i do feel my system sounds great:^) there is a better system out there. My table is a highly modded Maplenoll that sports a zyx cartridge. I am working to audition some different phono stepups since i know those are my weak spot but i know even when I fill that hole, others will be apparent. Most of use will not be able to spend the amount of money required to have the perfect chord but its the pursuit of that chord that keeps us going.

Actually, stereo can bring music to our homes better than live music - in some instances. I am a professional violinist and know that some seats at the Met and/or most seats at Avery Fisher, are just horrible for hearing what the music actually sounds like. In NJPAC (the big performance venue in Newark, NJ the most glorious sound in the hall is right in the middle of the 1st row of the 2nd tier. When you look at the seats, there is no close ceiling and it sounds as though you are suspended in space. NJPAC knows that to be true, because the main michrophones are set up exactly in line with those seats...suspended out in space. The worst sounding seats are the expensive orchestra seats, and the some of the worst seats at the Met are the those 30 dollar back of the hall tickets. My point is one rearely hears the best even at a live concert. A well recorded recording with the microphones well placed will easily beat the pants off of a live concert. (Please go - that's the way I make a living). One of the biggest problems with electronic (especially digital) recordings is the reproducing of the microdynamics of the event. When we talk, the emphasis of a word, or syllable, etc. can change the entire meaning of the sentence. So too does the meaning change in music. If misunderstood emphasis or deemphasis becomes confusing (which happens a lot in recordings), the sound becomes "canned" and not real. I am not talking of ultimate debibels, because in reality, at the concert, the orchestra plays much softer than most stereos are played. Its just that the life of music is compromised many times. Another problem that stereos have are the complicated reproduction of phasing and reflection that is so natural in real life, but so hard to achieve via speakers. Many speakers actually are wired purposely out of phase to make the speaker sound better in the store. Another aspect to critique is the taste - yes the taste of the audiophile him/herself. If one looks at a typical Sony tv, you will see a very nice picture, but one whose colors are purposely bumped in cartoon fashion. This produces that "Wow" effect, but one really can tire of this exageration of nature. Only long term satisfaction can be derived from a natural depiction of reality. A stereo set with boom, sizzle, phasing exagerations, etc. will bring the wow belief to the public, but soon you will find the cartridge, then the speakers, then the cables, etc. on Audiogon..with an "update" in mind.

stringreen,
Very well put.
I found the best seats in the met to be right above the certer tier. The bass sounds full and there are less walls for the music to deflect from before reaching the audience sitting there. I also enjoy the orchestra, you hear a slight delay from the musicians by the time there music hits the ceiling and bounces back. So the voices hit you first.
Fortunately I get to sit in different places at this house and I agree as have always did, live is our reference point but only when you sit in the right place!

...and only unamplified. Most PA assisted gigs are awful, especially the bigger they get, often downright get-your-money-back abominable.

Stringreen, your post brought to mind an experience I had at a concert in Calgary. I have found that the sound received at the Dress Circle level of seats is glorious - I usually try to sit near the middle - but recently my seat was on the extreme left of Dress Circle. At time of purchase I thought that was OK as it was still Dress Circle; but the opening piece had a sound that wasn't quite what I was used to. I think my seat was picking up more of the sounds of the brass section situated on the right side of the stage. It disturbed me. Later my brain became used to it, I think, because I could still enjoy the orchestra though it wasn't the best seat in the house.