Quest to achieve live sound

My wife and I have series seats at Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Disney Hall is considered to have excellent acoustics from the several articles I have read. Our seats are located in the center of the first balcony (Terrace Center). On at least two occasions this season, I could not hear the harpsichord during an orchestral passage.

If that was my stereo, I'd assume its resolution sucked.

So, considering Disney Hall has excellent acoustics, and considering some suggest live acoustic music is the benchmark by which we should judge our systems, does the failure to clearly hear some instruments in the live setting indicate that one must sit a specified number of rows from the stage, and in the center to have a proper reference of acoustic music?

This begins to border on the ridiculous, IMO.

Sitting at a live event not only amplifies the sound but also it's size. If it's philharmonic, the band shell magnifies the entire presence by design. P.A. sound is not the goal in achieving what I think we're after. To achieve what Apachef1 suggests is not to achieve "live" sound but reality. In setting up my system, this is always what my goal has been, to make it sound "real". And that "must" mean to sound "unpre-amplified" but amplified for the first time by my system. This requires extremely accurate speakers and especially a very fast amp. and probably vinyl.

"Hire a band" - Ncarv, for the cost of some audio gear one can hire symphony orchestra many times.

I have a pair of klipsch rf-7,thay have the live sound you are looking for.

Yeah, jbl pro drivers don't work in the home. Right. Then don't look at my speaker system. ;-) This audiophile foolishness gets in people's way, IMO. I think many move away from this type of approach because they have heard something somewhere that was not setup properly for home stereo use. I'm certainly no expert at it, but getting better all the time. It does take more work to get things right because in most cases you yourself are responsible for getting placement, xover, etc. right, not just relying on a one-size-fits-all implementation from a speaker manufacturer.

Live sound does not mean high spl.

Most of the musicians I know have lost their hearing because of those live sounds. I believe in protecting my hearing, so I can continue to enjoy music to a ripe old age.

02-01-10: Ncarv
Hire a band.

Unamplified or amplified?

Oh, the hand wringing! Oh, the Audiophilia Nervosa!

Hire a band.

Get a nice pair of JBL Hartsfields (even the reproduction with JBL pro drivers) and a competent amplifier and you'll be pretty close. Tannoy Churchills would be my second choice recommendation.

There is only one way to achieve live sound. Go to a concert

This has been a long and misunderstood debate. The quest for live sound in the home is based on an acoustic live set say a large symphony or an acoustic jazz set. Even more closely acoustic guitar or piano.

I dont think a live concert through JBL's heavily EQ'd & at blistering distorted SPL is what the goal is in the home except maybe from a teenager.

Try to play a well recorded symphony through your home system and compare it to 10 rows back center orchestra seats at a live symphony. Do you get that same pin point accuracy from your home system with Bass notes that you hear cleanly pass through you in waves at 20hz flat!

If you're a Jazz enthusiast compare it to a live acoustic jazz bop set in a club. Instruments you can pick out side to side and from front to back. Drums that have that tight snap from the sticks or brushes that sound like you can reach out and touch. Very tight 3-D sound without sounding 25 feet tall from your speakers in your listen room.
Thats the goal trying to be reached

My personal favorite speakers for this kind of sound is a very under rated company called Westlake audio & PMC's larger speakers would be my second choice. These speakers seem to do everything well without over emphasizing any one characteristic. They do require precise setup, tweaking with a room large enough to accept their girth and presence.

It you want that live sound in the home experience it will require a larger speaker that is able to reproduce the entire frequency band with accuracy and with low distortion. The speaker also has to be able to not over emphasize the sound giving you a Jimi Hendrix with his guitar that seems like he is standing 10 feet tall.

Unfortunately most of us have the WAF to deal with and that already has limited our chance for the quest for live sound in the home

My suggestion is go to a number of acoustic type concert/symphony's and get a better feel for the live experience. Really see what you do and dont like about how your system and speakers sound in your listening room.

Seeking 'live' concert sound is the last thing you want to replicate in your home. Concert sound is 'pro' to fill the venue, not provide quality listening. JBL and Peevey excel at filling space, leaving quality out. That does not say that JBL does not make a quality speaker for home use. JBL has a speaker line called Everest, a pair goes for about $60K and you need a room that can accommodate 'large'. The Kimber room at the recent RMAF had a pair. Perhaps someone who listened to them can comment on their sound. Our cohorts in Japan love them.