What are we really trying to replicate?

I agree with Opus88 that attending live concerts is wise; not only for comparison purposes but for sheer enjoyment. Now live concerts vary - mostly by genre. The striking feature of live rock concerts, (although I admit the last one I went to was in 2002) is loud and impressive. To get the same effect you need a system that can do the same - loud, full bass etc. Classical symphony and opera on the other hand is pretty much in the other direction - does not sound loud in general - even at the loudest parts it still does not sound loud in the same way that a rock concert does, and it does not sound "impressive" - by that I mean it just sounds right but does not knock you out of your seat in the same way that a rock concert does. Not that one is better than the other - they are just different. Of course if you have never been to quite a few of either then it would be impossible to determine whether or not you are coming close to replicating the sound.

Mceljo: I tend to agree with you also as atmosphere for music and, for that matter, the sporting events. I have turned down free tickets to the Rose Bowl game and to NFL playoff games and when I go to the symphony, which is quite often, I listen like Karajan conducted- with my eyes closed the entire time. To me the crowd, driving there, parking, etc, are all simply a nuisance. I would like to point out that the goal of replicating the live event or the sound of the live event is only one possible goal of playing recorded music at home. Remember that unless you are listening to a recording of a live concert, what you have on the CD or LP is not one 'live' event anyway. Rather, you have a studio version which is perfected takes seamed together. So a certain extent hearing the real thing at home is kind of artificial to start with. A better question may be "Do you like the way music sounds on your system?"