Do we really know what "Live" music sounds like?

Of course we do.

Unless you have a very limited musical palette that only consists of amplified music, then you know exactly what live instruments and vocals sound like.

Some of my most enjoyable musical experiences have been "live".

Rigoletto, Turandot, or La Boheme at the Met

Bryn Terfel, Cecilia Bartoli, Joyce DiDonato or Renée Fleming at local recitals

Buddy Rich and his orchestra or Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd at the Commodore Ballroom

@jim5559 

Some of the concerts I have been to in the past few years are Bryn Terfel, Simrit Kaur, Tool, Joe Bonamassa and Richard Thompson.

Does the fact that I listen to a wide variety of music, including rock, make me clueless or not?

@jssmith 

"Unamplified live music is affected by the room. This has just as much or more bearing on the sound then an "amplifier."

1. Typically, unamplified music is not performed in a "room". It is performed in a music venue acoustically tuned for live music and voice.
2. If the music in that venue is fed through an amplifier, it is most certainly degraded when compared to the unamplified version.
3. Music + room will always be superior to music+ amplifier + room.