Musicians in your living room vs. you in the recording hall?

That's right viridian. In most modern electrified concerts there is not any imaging. But in smaller venues there may be like a jazz club, a choir in a church or a symphony orchestra will have wonderful imaging and loads of ambiance. A string quartet in a hall, imaging and ambiance to spare and a good recording will capture all of that and that is what I want to hear. 
If you do not go to these events you should. Close your eyes and listen to each instrument individually. That is what you are shooting for, the sensation that you are there at that time in that space.

Dyslexic geofkait? Viridian, If you get yourself the right seat at an acoustic jazz concert there is great imaging. The problem with any electrified concert is you are listening to the speakers not the musicians.
You are only going to perceive imaging at acoustic venues jazz or classical. 
I have a 113" Steward screen between my speakers. I'll take watching a Blu Ray before going to a stadium concert any day. I have front row seats at a reasonable volume. There are a few semi outdoor amphitheaters that have great sound if I can get good seats. I am seeing King Crimson at Wang Center in Boston soon and that will be special. I'll do almost anything to see Gavin Harrison play the drums. 
Live recordings frequently give you a better image of the instruments than the actual live performance. The sound is taken off the sound board and then mastered later. Waiting for Columbus is a great example. 

There it is prof, the game is making a system recreate that “richness” of what you hear live, from the visceral impact of a rock concert to the timbral expression of a string quartet. Very few systems can do this for a multitude of reasons from bad acoustics, very few of us can afford to build a custom room, to not being on the top rung of a person’s financial obligations.
But, it can be done and done for less than luxury hi fi money. Still not cheap though. So the goal is to do the best you can with the money available which has always been the fun part for me. Learning along the way. 
I know what you are talking about and whole heartedly agree. I’ve been chasing that solution for decades. Given a decent room it can be done.