[Mag]

  Steve Guttenberg says that audiophiles are chasing an illusive goal in thinking they can achieve the 'real thing' sound.
I have to somewhat disagree with his opinion. True there are some instruments that are difficult to reproduce accurately, but then there are other instruments that it most certainly can. Now usually the comparison is with un-amplified instruments, not disputing that. But when it comes to amplified music, I've heard 'live' the real thing and IMO my stereo sounded better on some occasions.
  I've been to live concerts, The Tea Party for example and Blue Rodeo comparing what I heard to their CD and Blu-ray recordings. IMO it's a matter of scale, if you play their music at a comparable SPL it will most definitely mimic the real thing if your system is up to snuff. Remember though that a soundstage in a recording is artificial so it's not going to sound exactly the same. But it can sound pretty darn close to the point that you can relive the concert experience in your audio room. Most if not all of us can't play our music to the same scale or SPL of the real thing, doesn't mean the recording is not accurate, just on a smaller scale.

Your thoughts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or607VzkxEw&ab_channel=SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac

[Tyson]

I attend a lot of live classical concerts and the truth is that excellent recordings played back on an excellent system get pretty close.  The ability for a system to reproduce a live, unamplified acoustic event is better now that it's ever been in the past. 

Is it perfect?  No.  Will it ever be perfect?  Probably not.  But that should not stop us from celebrating the fact that things are pretty darn awesome already.

[Don_S]

I find most concerts and movies in theaters much too loud. Concert level SPLs in my home are never going to happen. 

[Early B.]

  Steve Guttenberg says that audiophiles are chasing an illusive goal in thinking they can achieve the 'real thing' sound.

Yeah, that's 100% correct. It's akin to watching a play performed live vs. watching the same play on the best professionally calibrated, ultra HD TV you can afford.

I recall many years ago when was young and dumb, I thought my system was "there," but then I heard a band warm up and the level of dynamics was 10x what my system or any home audio system could ever dream of re-creating. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some things a high-end audio system can do that usually sounds better than live music. The most important of those, of course, is the ability to tailor the sound to your liking.
     

[S Clark]

I attend a lot of live classical concerts and the truth is that excellent recordings played back on an excellent system get pretty close.  The ability for a system to reproduce a live, unamplified acoustic event is better now that it's ever been in the past. 

Is it perfect?  No.  Will it ever be perfect?  Probably not.  But that should not stop us from celebrating the fact that things are pretty darn awesome already.

This mirrors my experience.  I don't go to pop concerts and haven't in years, but classical is another thing.  I can create a sound that is an approximate equal, some things being better, some being not as good.  With a classical concert, much depends on where you are sitting. 

[Don_S]

Forget concerts. I always have the perfect seat at my home. 

[I.Greyhound Fan]

My system has a lot of air and transparency along with being somewhat holographic, live music does not sound that way for the most part. 

[Letitroll98]

The home audio experience lacks the spls of rock concerts, there's no way you'd want that in your home anyway.  Full orchestral dynamics are very hard to reach in the home as well.  More possible with some systems, but still elusive for most of us.  But unamplified quartets are not a problem for even modest systems.  My goal has always been to recreate the sound of live music with those types of recordings, and a good picture of orchestral works and live concerts.  I'm perfectly at ease with those analogs.

[rollo]

  Give it up. The worlds best systems cannot create live. Especially for Classical. Go to Carnegie Hall then when you get listen to your Stereo. Not even close. Emotional impact maybe but not scale or dynamics. My take on the matter

charles