System that sounds so real it is easy to mistaken it is not live

Fact is, it is rare that reproduced and live sound is nearly identical. Once a system accomplishes this the experience is spellbinding (big understatement).  I read many reactions to thisr post, who "believed" this not possible. But this is a clear admission they have never experienced this.  Nay-saying the possibility is no excuse for slacking from the works it takes to achieve it.  In this case, there is no rule to be broken. 

I suspect that some form of Aromatherapy would be required in order to truly recreate a live musical performance @ home.

Did anyone see John Waters "Hairspray" in the 80's?

DeKay

Yes this can be done, I have done it.  It took many years to find the secret. I’m good friends with a well known rock band and as so I get requested to see their performance often. At one of these gigs the band sounded incredible, twinkling highs and thunderous bass, above average. So I made my way to the sound engineer and he introduced me to the DBX drive rack. A standard looking peace of equipment that can correct music output for any environment. So l took a chance on it, it is pro equipment so there was a big learning curve and it’s built with XLR connections only. After a few weeks of learning and tweaking, great results the DBX can filter and adjust anything you throw at it (room acoustics, sound nodes etc.) great for people that don’t want to cover there room with acoustic treatments and have to keep the wife happy. One of my inherent problems was speaker placement, one is next to a side wall and one not, so l always had a speaker with wall induced sound reinforcement. With the DBX I can correct each speaker separately so that problem solved. It works with a microphone and can store as many programs as you want. I set mine as the perfect concert hall, and love it. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m running four 15” woofers and a total of 3800 watts. But that’s what it took to get live venue sound like the pros do it. One last thing only buy gold plated connectors or you will develop a hum when the tin connections gets tarnished. Best of luck in your pursuit of great sound and don’t forget it’s about the music enjoyment not the sound.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I do not run cross overs. The DBX has its own digital fully adjustable. You just need one amp channel for each speaker, so I run a 200 watt AB amp to the tweeters, 300 watt AB to the mids and 3000 watt class D to the subs in a open baffle configuration. DIY inspired by Jamo 909s.

Mijo, This is perhaps not the place to discuss it, for fear of boring a few others, but I have been there, done that, when it comes to audio transformers for the SL speakers. First, a single transformer with a 1:100 step-up ratio does not cut the mustard for good bass response from the panel. Of course, since you are subwoofer supplementing, perhaps you could get away with some compromise, but so far as we have been able to find out, the bass transformer on our speakers is 1:250, or something close to that range. (SL will not divulge the information.) And you do not want a full-range trans with such a high step-up ratio, because that will produce very low input impedance as frequency goes up. (Remember that an ESL is naught but a giant capacitor.) For the full-range transformer in my speakers, which I couple with the OEM SL bass transformer at low frequencies, I use a 1:90 ratio in a very hefty step=up that was made in Australia. Unfortunately, that model is discontinued but the same company may make a suitable substitute. Anyway, I tried driving my SLs with the Australian transformer full range without any bass transformer, and the bass to low mid-range was very anemic, totally unacceptable in fact. So, there’s a reason that SL uses two transformers to achieve a robust full range response. I use a single huge air core inductor to roll off the OEM SL bass transformer somewhere in the low midrange, in parallel with the 1:90 Australian transformer running full range with no RC network at all. In theory, you’d think that might present problems. In fact, the first time I heard it in my home, it brought a tear of happiness to my eye. If I were to do this today, and if the Australian company don’t have a suitable substitute for the discontinued units I use, I would consider the full-range 1:75 toroidal transformer made by Plitron. A small benefit of that unit would be slightly higher impedance at high frequencies, compared to what I’ve got. But you are way too concerned about the Z at high frequencies, in my opinion. You once mentioned that you boost response by 6db per octave above 12kHz. That probably contributes to heating up your crossover. But more than a decade ago, some SL users found that the higher the power rating of the R in the treble RC network, the better was the sound. Guys were using humongous resistors that did not even fit into the backplate. (I was one of them.) But real happiness is no RC network at all.