I just heard Holy Cole in a small and well-known jazz club in Boston. It was dreadful. The sound came out of three large speakers via a mixing board. Scale was wrong, bass too loud, etc. Even worse was Patricia Barber in Cambridge a year ago. Though my system hardly sounds real, I much prefer it to those two live performances.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, on the other hand, sounds fantastic. I just heard Brahm's violin concerto from center orchestra seats and I was nearly moved to tears. My system can't come close. The BSO is my clear reference and what I compare my system to every time I make changes and attempt improvements. I have never heard better than the BSO and only a few systems in my experience have even hinted at that sound.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, on the other hand, sounds fantastic. I just heard Brahm's violin concerto from center orchestra seats and I was nearly moved to tears. My system can't come close. The BSO is my clear reference and what I compare my system to every time I make changes and attempt improvements. I have never heard better than the BSO and only a few systems in my experience have even hinted at that sound.