Does Your System Sound Like the Real Thing?

I have a concert violinist and a pianist for neighbors (they teach in the music department at the university in town). I get invited periodically to their homes to listen for pre concert recitals (I realize how lucky I am!). So, I hear "live" music in a home environment, in additon of course to concert venues. I have to tell you that my stereo system, as good as it is (Vandy Model 5's, McCormack DNA 225 Gold Revision, LP12/Ekos/Lingo/Dyna 20x, ARC Sp9 MkIII, Trivista SACD player) has NEVER come close to reproducing what I have heard in their homes. Both these musicians have been very impressed with my system, but they are more interested in listening to the performance rather than to the system or even the music, which they've heard umpteen times before. This points out the primary benefit of our often considerable investment in our hobby--we get to hear the greatest performances ever recorded reproduced in our own homes. Pretty amazing when you think about it really. The fact that those performances at the highest level of fidelity do not approximate a live performance does not diminish the joy of hearing that recording. My musician neighbors always enjoy our listening sessions in my home, but I imagine when they tell their spouses about it they say something like "Ashkenazy's left hand on the Rondo movement of Beethoveen's concerto #5 with Solti and the CSO was amazing" rather than "Bruce's speakers image beautifully." So, no my system doesn't come close to sounding like the "real thing", but I just listened to Lucia Popp sing Porgi, Amor from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and got chill bumps all over again, so I count myself fortunate instead of deprived.

Q #1: No. Furthermore I have never heard a system come close to sound of a live performance, regardless of the cost of the system (Pipedreams, Avant Garde Trios w/bass horns, Wilson, etc.).

Q #2: Perhaps with advanced technology. Not necessarily on the reproducing side, but on the perceiving side.

i feel this would be tough to accomplish. for one thing, you would have to go see the concert when it was recorded so you personnally would have a reference on how it sounded live. then you would have to trust the recording engineers that they did a perfect job at placing the mikes and recording every bit of info. if the engineers didn't do a good job, then it wouldn't matter how good your equipment or power is, it will not sound the same. also, i'm not sure that i want my system to always sound like the real thing. I love concerts, and go to quite a few of them each year, but i also like the calmness of listening to a smooth jazz cd or album just to mellow out after a long day at work.

ATC actually put a pair of their active 100 speakers on stage in place of the actual orchestra. Rumor had it that it was very close to the real thing. ATC's can play 115dB continuous and active speakers have good uncompressed dynamic range.
I agree with Warrenh that synthesized music is close but live 3 instrument trio, for example, on a stereo is not even close to live unamplified music. There is just too much haze added in each step of the microphone, recording, mixdown etc.
But direct to disc, especially at 24 bit 192 res. is supposed to be a step above what we normally get on redbook or SACD.

Interesting range of responses. I'm a little surprised the a few think their systems sound better than real performers playing.