What are we really trying to replicate?

Excellent response. Ever thought about getting into politics?

Assuming that an album is recorded well, I would expect the CD or vinyl on a quality audiophile system to sound better than an actual concert. If one were to close their eyes and somehow ignore everything but the music, most wouldn't be impressed I would suspect.

Things that are performed live without amplification, like the symphony, will always be impossible to duplicate.

I'm beginning to realize that what I'm trying to convey simply is being lost in translation, that happens sometimes when a discussion can't be had face to face.

The origin of my thought process was a co-worker that simply asked me how one justifies the amount that we spend on equipment to play a record that may not have even cost a dollor to manufacture. What quality control is there on the production of vinyl? This is a guy that listened to my system and simply said it was worth whatever I paid for it.

I wish I could find the manufacturing show on TV again that I saw that detailed vinyl production now that I'm more interested.

Enjoy your systems!

Watching a baseball game at home is much better because it can be turned off!

I should try to clarify that I'm not saying that a system can sound "too good" in the sense that I don't think people should even want better system, just that at some point we're investing more into playing something than was put in to produce it. Think of it as putting a doodle sketch in a 1,000 frame. Would it be worth it? Only if your kid drew it.

I'm not judging anyone for spending a ton on audio, I would happily spend more if I could justify it.

Have you ever had a bunch of people for a "music party" to specifically listen to an artist as though it was a concert at home? This could be either a true audiophile event in your audio room or an outdoor blast session.

Since I've had my speakers, I've had a few friends over several times to just sit on the couch and relax listening to music. It's an enjoyable time to be sure.

Cyclonicman - It's not a matter of me feeling better or not. Maybe a better way to make the comparison is to look at the level of engineering that goes into audiophile equipment and then realize that vinyl is a mass produced item. CDs provide whatever is recorded on them so that's not really an issue.

My experience is very limited, nearing zero, with vinyl which is why I'm asking questions. Has anyone had two seemingly identical records sound different? How much variation is acceptable from one to another?

A little background on me. I'm an engineer and almost always look at things differently from anyone else including my many engineering friends. My wife would tell you that I'm "broken." This isn't the first time, and won't be the last, that my thinking makes no sense to anyone else. Thankfully, I'm not always the odd one out.

This discussion has given me some different perspective to consider and that's the goal in the end.

I truly know that the investment in audio equipment yields improvements, no doubt about it.

I've been to a couple of symphony concerts recently, but generally don't attend rock concerts because I don't enjoy that style of music or atmosphere. I'm the guy that prefers to watch the superbowl alone so I can enjoy rather than being distracted by the crowd and I feel the same way about music I guess. A few months ago I attended a David Garrett concert in Seattle and as amazing as it was I wished the sound system was better. The worst I've ever heard was the American Idol Season 1 tour in Seattle, horrible horrible horrible.

A friend of mine has been a symphony season ticket holder for the past 7 or 8 years and commented that my system was a close to the real thing as he had heard in someones living room. We've both heard better at our local Hi Fi store where my equipment is definitely closer to entry level stuff.

One thing that I've found is that every time I change speakers my listening preferences change a bit. With my Infinity IL-50s that had built in subwoofers allowed me to really enjoy music with powerful bass. My Focal 836v speakers have me leaning towards more simple classical type recordings where the detail is better. My favorite CDs are almost all a recording of a very small group. I have one particular David Garrett CD that has one song that is a solo violin piece that is recorded about as good as it possible. It's simply not possible for a symphony recording, no matter how well it's done, to have the level of detail.

This may sound strange, but when I first got my speakers I had the realization that a significant part of the quality was actually silence. The clarity of the Focals made me visualize my Infinity's running out of control like a car without shocks and not properly seperating the many distinct sounds. Am I explaining this so that it makes sense?

If you mean that there isn't an end to audiophile's journey, that's true.

I think that no matter what a person own they will eventually lose their excitement for it and think that something else sounds better when it might just be different.

As for my journey, I'm a half-baked audiophile so other than possibly obtaining an SACD player I don't see myself upgrading or changing anything until something stops working.