Why I like my home system better than live music

@Lloydc

You will find jerks at any concerts. I have some experience working as a volunteer behind a bar. I prefer a rock audience over a jazz crowd.

With rock/metal concerts I talk about acts like My Dying Bride, Slayer, Machine Head, Opeth etc.

It's interesting that this issue was just posted -- the "As We See It" column in the most recent issue of Stereophile was on this very subject.

I suppose that there are photographs of the Grand Canyon that could be said to look better than the real thing. You know, the kind of photo where a photographer camped out for six months waiting for "the" moment as opposed to a real life experience on a lousy day. But come-on, to even suggest that a photos are preferable to the real thing, per se, is nuts. Likewise with this thread IMO.

I always get a chuckle out of audiophiles who think that their systems actually sounds better than real live music. You must not leave your homes and listen to live music very often. Elizabeth makes valid points about smoke, drunks etc, but when it comes to the music itself you simply cannot reproduce live music. I know a person who has invested a quarter million dollars in his audio systems (and even more on a custom room), and his system (one of the top systems in the nation) still doesn't sound like real live music. I go out on a weekly basis and listen to live jazz and/or classical music and there's simply nothing like it. I have a nice stereo system however I would never try and fool myself into thinking that it can reproduce (or replace) live music.

With unamplified music of small combo's, your home system can sound as good as live (in the optimal situation).
Large unamplified (symphony) orchestra's will have a problem in your listening room, simply because you don't have the space of a concert hall.

My experience of live amplified music in relatively small clubs is quite different. It's far too loud.... is this a trend or do the guys at the mixing console a bad job ?

I love to see energy on stage and the interaction between musicians. But it often ends in a contest of decibels.
In this case, I prefer the sound of my home system !