Budrew ... I know for me that when I started to attend live classical performances - or POP performances for that matter - I came to the same conclusion as you - real music was soooo much sweeter than our stereos present it to us.
On top of that, we as audiophiles have become enamored of the "open and airy" sound ... which generally moves the music in the opposite direction of the real thing.
So the same thing you experienced began my quest for "the absolute sound" of what I hear when I attend a concert. Here is what I have learned so far ...
a) It is not about any one component in your system
b) The single most important factor is likely your room
c) Concert halls sound different (almost certainly it is a different hall from the one the music you are listening to was recorded in)
d) Different seats in the same concert hall sound different (not only tonal differences but perspective differences)
e) Instruments sound different from one another (piano A <> piano B etc)
So ... now that it sounds impossible ... what do we as audiophiles do? I think you started at the MOST important point - the ease and grace of live concert music. Though there is "bite" at times, there is seldom "edge."
I have found that as I tuned my room; changed components; repositioned speakers ... as I have moved towards the effortlessness you described, that instruments also sounded more real, more alive, more palpable.
If I were to start anywhere, it would not be a component first. It would be speaker location and then it would be room treatment - first you have to be able to hear what your components are really giving you.
Good Luck and Good Listening!
On top of that, we as audiophiles have become enamored of the "open and airy" sound ... which generally moves the music in the opposite direction of the real thing.
So the same thing you experienced began my quest for "the absolute sound" of what I hear when I attend a concert. Here is what I have learned so far ...
a) It is not about any one component in your system
b) The single most important factor is likely your room
c) Concert halls sound different (almost certainly it is a different hall from the one the music you are listening to was recorded in)
d) Different seats in the same concert hall sound different (not only tonal differences but perspective differences)
e) Instruments sound different from one another (piano A <> piano B etc)
So ... now that it sounds impossible ... what do we as audiophiles do? I think you started at the MOST important point - the ease and grace of live concert music. Though there is "bite" at times, there is seldom "edge."
I have found that as I tuned my room; changed components; repositioned speakers ... as I have moved towards the effortlessness you described, that instruments also sounded more real, more alive, more palpable.
If I were to start anywhere, it would not be a component first. It would be speaker location and then it would be room treatment - first you have to be able to hear what your components are really giving you.
Good Luck and Good Listening!