Anyone else prefer listening to their system more than a concert?

I used to live for going to rock concerts - they were a peak experience, and between 1969 and 2020, I’ve seen many hundreds (used to be in the music biz too, so got a lot of free tickets for awhile).

The 2020 lockdown kind of coincided with me turning 70, and I’d been slowing down significantly anyway, so unless I know somebody in the band, I’ve stopped going to gigs. But probably for me more to do with age than anything else. 

Live classical music moves me in ways I’ve never experienced even on the best systems.  Same with other acoustic performances.  But as soon as you introduce amplification and sound guys, I’m likely to skip it and listen at home.  Nearly universal lousy sound, artificial, brittle, distorted, poorly mixed, and ear-splitting volume easily outweigh any pleasure I would get from the synergy of live performance.  I ask myself, would this artist release a recording of this performance, sounding as bad as it does?  If not, there’s no reason for me to attend.  And that doesn’t even take in to account the astronomical ticket prices, parking and unpleasant crowds.

@rbstehno I agree with your comment about excessive bass at concerts. My theory is that it may be a generational thing, in that the sound engineers are young and are basically bass heads. I'm thinking of the noise that comes out of some car the systems.

I have no preference.

My system is convenient. I can access it when I want for as long as I want.

Symphonies and operas are intermittent experiences. I have to enjoy them on someone else's schedule.

Rock concerts are often very disappointing. Sure, there's group excitement, but the sound is mediocre and sometimes drowned out.

Classical music played in an appropriate hall is the benchmark for me, although one must put up with the mistakes being made by the orchestra (and cast, if opera).

While we enjoy classical concerts—while stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany, we attended perhaps 12-15 concerts in Berlin and Bavaria, including the best being Beethoven’s Pastorale symphony performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karl Böhm in 1976, now being very senior citizens, we enjoy the comfort of our own living room, where also we can choose the compositions and performers we prefer, via Tidal.