There are a lot of great answers here. But for me, in a nutshell, it's a balance of detail and warmth.
@vonhelmholtz I get what you are saying.
I don’t know the answer, but the first thing I thought of when reading your post was the album Friday Night in San Francisco.
This and Hotel California Live (Hell Freezes Over) are great "test records" for this balance. Of course there are many others.