I also listen to live music (both unamplified and amplified) on a frequent basis, and while I agree with Lewm on the remarkable dynamics, his comments on imaging are misleading. What I find is that imaging of live music is level-dependent - it tends to be quite clear up to a certain amplitude, but can fall to pieces when the playing is louder than this threshold. This is because the structure (or furnishings) of most rooms will go into resonance at various frequencies, and the resonance threshold is governed by loudness. When the room is not resonating, imaging can be very clear and precise, but when the room is resonating, the acoustic cues that the ear interprets as imaging will be masked.
FWIW, the human ear can be very sensitive to spatial imaging in real life (sensitivity changes according to the individual listener, but can be augmented by training). The paralympics sport goalball would not exist were it not for the ear's sensitivity to imaging.
hth
FWIW, the human ear can be very sensitive to spatial imaging in real life (sensitivity changes according to the individual listener, but can be augmented by training). The paralympics sport goalball would not exist were it not for the ear's sensitivity to imaging.
hth