What is the opposite of near field listening?

Jvia...used to agree with you, but after spending the past year or so assembling a ref system, I have to agree that MOST of the time my home seat is better than the cheap tix I buy at most live venues...until I move around after intermission! This includes the venerated Boston trio: Jordan Hall and Symphony Hall center balconies, and Sanders Hall middle orchestra.
I'm NOT saying that slightly imperfect seats are dissatisfying musically, but certainly tonal balance and REALLY non-correlated sounstaging anomolies prevail much more often in live venues than in well-recorded software properly presented in a great system in a well-damped room...in the sweet spot. I know: lots of conditions!
But I must say that I strive, and usually succeed in wrangling a fine seat the majority of the time live, but nearly ALL the time at home!
Again, it took two years of careful building to be able to state this unequivocally.
And it's worth it!

Jvia...I know, I know. We're talking in circles, here.
As a member of Young Audiences in Boston I get to hang out with Yo-Yo when he plays for their annual fundraiser (last year with O'Connor, too). And there's nothing like being in the room with Yo-Yo.... And when I spent my youth as a travelling organist among gorgeous huge organs in northern RI french-Catholic parishes I was always in awe of the sound I could produce...especially with nazards, trombones and ridiculous 32' bourdons (16 Hz low C). Even killed a crow with one pedal tone...but that's another story.
I play my Steinway B almost daily, yet like the sound of most pianos in my room better than most live venues.
Could be that pianos are often simply set up poorly?
Sat amongst the Oriole College women's choir at Yorkshire Cathedral for evening vespers 3 summers ago. A pinnacle
of sonic immersion. The ONLYsurround sound I ever liked!!

My wife's Jewish, and she HATES that I drag her around at intermission, but I grew up too poor to pony up for the pricey seats. Old habits die hard.
A neighbor of mine (Marty Pearlman) runs the Boston Baroque.
Their rendering of the Messiah is an annual treat at Jordan.
C'mon up sometime. Ellen'll make amazing kugullah (sp?) afterwards....