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

It's also worthy of note; every great venue, in history, was designed/constructed with reverberation/Sabine effects/ambiance in mind, even before the builders knew what to call it.  Whether good or bad, every room/venue has a sound.    One will hear reverberation outdoors, as well, in areas with trees, buildings, mountains or cliffs, nearby(and- given a loud enough source).   If one wants to accurately recreate an event: ambient sound recovery = realism(and, as mentioned, "ESSENTIAL", regarding that goal).    Again- tastes may vary(facts don't).        

From my explanation (with help from May and Peter Belt) of how the Clever Lil Clock works,

Time is Relative
The Clever Little Clock addresses an esoteric but fundamental problem that occurs when playing an LP, CD, DVD or any other audio or video media. This problem also occurs when watching taped programs on television or listening to recorded programming on the radio in your car or at home. In all of those cases the observer is confronted - subconsciously - by time coordinates that are different from the Present Time coordinates he’s been using his entire life to time-stamp sensory information. What are these interfering time coordinates, where do they come from and why are they a problem?

The alien time coordinates are contained in the recording (or videotape). The time coordinates (of what was then Present Time) of the recorded performance, millisecond by millisecond, are captured inadvertently along with the acoustic information. When a recording is played, the time coordinates from the recording session (which are now Past Time coordinates) are reproduced by the speakers along with the acoustic signals of the recorded event. Those Past Time signals become entangled, integrated in the listener’s mind with Present Time signals. Because the listener is accustomed to using Present Time signals to synchronize his chronological memory, he subconsciously perceives the confusing, interloping Past Time signals as a threat. This perceived threat produces the fight-or-flight response, which in turn degrades his sensory capabilities. The reason that live television broadcasts, like the Superbowl and the 2010 Olympics, are generally observed to have superior audio and video compared to taped broadcasts is that they don’t contain Past Time signals, only Present Time ones.

Full explanation at,

http://machinadynamica.com/machina42.htm

For rock concerts and orchestra I prefer my home theatre system. I put on Thunderstruck by AC-DC in the Live at Donington blu-ray the other day with the receiver set on DTS Neural X and about blew the windows out. I'm sure my L shaped living room colored it somewhat but who cares. It's about as close to a wall of sound with 3-D imaging as I can manage. I prefer my vinyl system w/ELAC B-6's and small subwoofer in a smaller room for acoustic guitar or jazz in small club or other acoustic music.

@viridian - Yes; imaging and sound stage are different, but- related. I don’t believe anyone, to be trying to say that kind of image specificity, is available in every instance/venue. Yet- when in any GOOD halls(not to mention, GOOD SEATING), I’ve never had a problem, locating Woodwinds, Strings, Tympani, etc, within the venue/acoustic. Nor(especially), had a problem locating a soloist, by ear, within that space. Yet- I have no doubt, the vast majority seated around me, weren’t trying(paying the least attention to such things), but- simply enjoying the music. We all heard/enjoyed the same music. Some listened differently.