Live vs home system???

I voice my home system to sound realistic (not real!) on vocals, solo acoustic instruments, and small groups playing acoustic instruments, in an appropriate room. That's good enuf for me. With that done, usually large orchestral etc sounds good enuf, even if miniaturized and undynamic compared to the real thing.

Great dynamic range, smooth frequency response, and low distortion would be on my short list to approach live sound. Although some live amplified concerts I have heard sounded so bad and distorted I wouldn't want to hear them again.

Live unamplified instruments (including the human singing voice)as the first poster suggested, are the best reference. Once you amplify the instruments and put the sound through EQ's, a mixer, amps, and speakers you're not getting an accurate picture of what the actual instruments sound like. And less than ideal seating within the venue makes it even worse.

Human voices, their subtleties and nuances are the hardest along with piano to recreate IMHO. That’s where I look first. I’ve found capturing those two things and just about everything else falls into place.

The initial post carries a lot of weight too. I’ve heard a few rigs over the years myself, and have yet to experience a duplication of a live event, especially an amplified one. A wildly amplified one is about impossible IMO to recreate in one’s home.

Emmulate it? Perhaps. Duplicate it? Why? Is hearing no longer important for you? I’ve been to some clubs which are simply too loud for me to remain in for long. I’m well back from the speakers when I attend these concerts today. Way back… and for me it’s a near waste of time to go as I get a better sound at home.

Newbies point of attempting to corral something realistic rather than chasing realism is a more attainable aspiration. Achieving intimacy and presence is a lot easier to do if the venue supports such items. Football stadiums and huge concert halss seldom convey those feelings by their very nature.

Perception too plays a part I think. For me it’s a lot easier task for my mind to be OK with 4-6 people standing/sitting behind my speakers and in my listening room, than it is for it to believe there are 50 or 60 folks playing a symphony, or half a dozen folks up on a 60 ft wide stage towering above me kicking out the jams…. So those cases remain miniatures. Save for the spotlit or solo performances.

Maybe that’s why bluegrass folk, and small jazz combos have a greater believability or feel to them for me and in my system. I’ve long since given up the desire to reproduce live rock & roll or pop music… but I still play it. So I’ll vote for trying to recreate the live acoustic venue too.. it just makes the most sense.

I know where you are coming from

many recordings are engineered to the point where you are actually reproducing the engineers idea of what the sound should be. Voices and pianos are two things to strive to get right. Many symphony orchestras can sound somewhat believable on a good system with dynamic speakers. The image will be smaller but can be believable when you close you eyes and listen.