My audiophile take on the symphony last night.

That is exactly how it sounds and anyone who goes regularly to the concert hall know this.

"The highs were rolled off"

The supertweeter must have had the night off.

Seriously, you have to attend a lot of live musical performances in a lot of venues (good and bad) to get a real perspective on what music can, should or does sound like. It is usually all over the map from sublime to forgettable to irritating, just like the recordings we listen to at home.

I've heard a symphony sound sublime live one day at teh local symphony hall and a rock band sound absolutely horrible like in an echo chamber another in the exact same SOTA venue. Seating location alone can make a huge difference.

It can be a real eye opener when you come to the realization that the absolute sound exists in theory perhaps but seldom ever in reality. It also helps take a lot of pressure disappointment and potential expense out of this whole audiophile experience deal when what we hear only occasionally lives up to our expectations.

I think if the perfect sound is what you seek, get a really good synthesizer or musical instrument and learn to produce it yourself. Otherwise just enjoy things including live musical performance and recordings for what they are as best you can.

Funny thing about live music - no matter how bad the acoustics are, you can tell it's live and not recorded. Keep in mind that many orchestral recordings are made from the conductor's perspective, just as piano recordings are made from the player's perspective. You cannot duplicate this when sitting well into the venue.

Well that is what I hate about live music. You can't adjust the volume or the balance.

I want a system that sounds better then live music not as good as live music.

"Funny thing about live music - no matter how bad the acoustics are, you can tell it's live and not recorded."

Probably true. What our ears hear when listening is only part of the story though.