What is the opposite of near field listening?

Jvia...used to agree with you, but after spending the past year or so assembling a ref system, I have to agree that MOST of the time my home seat is better than the cheap tix I buy at most live venues...until I move around after intermission! This includes the venerated Boston trio: Jordan Hall and Symphony Hall center balconies, and Sanders Hall middle orchestra.
I'm NOT saying that slightly imperfect seats are dissatisfying musically, but certainly tonal balance and REALLY non-correlated sounstaging anomolies prevail much more often in live venues than in well-recorded software properly presented in a great system in a well-damped room...in the sweet spot. I know: lots of conditions!
But I must say that I strive, and usually succeed in wrangling a fine seat the majority of the time live, but nearly ALL the time at home!
Again, it took two years of careful building to be able to state this unequivocally.
And it's worth it!

Distant city speaking. Sorry.

Tim

Tim, I like it!

Jim

moonbounce

Subaruguru, you been going to way too many of those high priced concerts. Come to Nashville on some Sunday night, we will go to The Stagecoach Inn and hear 20 or 30 of the best"hillbilly classical", "bluejazz", and "bluegrass" music there is. All within 10 feet of you. And if you can spend all that time and money for your reference system, you need to buy a subscription to the local symphony and get better seats. just saw Mark O'Connor and YoYo Ma, bout 18 rows back, wasn't to bad. Live up north, go to the Berkshires Summer Series at Tanglewood, minimal costs and great music. I know what you mean by the expense, but there are ways around it. I will even go to a Catholic church during the holidays to hear the Messiah and I am Jewish, but it is the wonderful experience of live music that no system can or will replace.