When was the last time you listened to live music?


I'm an avid audiophile from the late 50's when stereo wasn't even invented yet (gee, am I that old already?).

The first tube amp and speaker combo started me on the quest to have live music be reproduced in my parent's home. We used to go to Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, etc. which gave me a good feel as to what live music sounds like and to use that as a basis of comparison for the reproduced music at home.

As I grew older (and much older), I attended live classical concerts less and less. I had relied on my home equipment to listen to music on vinyl and audio tape. Along with the less frequent visits to live concerts, I started to form opinions of the equipment I bought and sold and listened to at friend's house.

I started to compare their equipment to mine, or the audio store's. I somehow quit comparing them to live music as a reference.

So, my question is shouldn't we compare all equipment in the audio chain to live music rather than to other equipment?

When was the last time any of us listened to live music?

And I don't mean concerts where the instruments are all electronic, rather than acoustic. In that case it doesn't make any difference since the music you hear is already amplified and through speakers. Would having the same audio equipment in the home as the musicians have at the concert be the ultimate match of "live" music to home reproduced music. I guess I'll have to buy a few Fender amps and Public Address speakers.
notbananas
My daughter plays violin. We have a drum set in the basement. I heard the yardbirds live about 2 weeks ago. That was amplified of course but the sound was top notch.
I believe we should have a reference to judge our systems by. Not the other way around.
DTC: Thank you for the post & link. Makes me want to head on out from So. Cal. It really does!
-John
Last concert featuring unamplified music? The three-year-old granddaughter's pre-school graduation concert!
I live in the SF Bay Area.
There are several symphony orchestras in the area, ranging from the local community group all the way up to the world-class SF Symphony.
They all perform without amplification.
Performers from pianists to chamber groups all perform unaided by electronics many times every year.
Most colleges and universities in my area offer concerts of acoustic jazz, for instance, without amplification and to respectfully quiet audiences.
I do not know where "Elizabeth" lives but I have never, nor do I now, find it at all difficult to hear live unamplified music.