What are we really trying to replicate?

Well I think you have asked the $1,000,000 questions. IMO, there is no absolute sound because an individual's interaction with a live performance represents the sum total of so many unique variables; including psychological factors.

Just as you would never be fooled by the most technically adept photograph into thinking you are experiencing the outdoors, a stereo system will always fall short of the live event. The best we can hope for is the 'suspension of disbelief' so that we can transport ourselves to the time of the recording.

Assuming that an album is recorded well, I would expect the CD or vinyl on a quality audiophile system to sound better than an actual concert. If one were to close their eyes and somehow ignore everything but the music, most wouldn't be impressed I would suspect.

Things that are performed live without amplification, like the symphony, will always be impossible to duplicate.

I'm not trying to "replicate" anything. I strive to get my system to sound as natural and engaging to me as I possibly can, with the music I prefer to listen to in the room I listen in. Whether that replicates anything in particular, or whether or not it pleases anyone else, is entirely beside the point for me.

I completely agree that there is no absolute sound. Your preferences may be entirely different than mine and neither of us sets any bars for anyone else but ourselves.

The experience of listening at home is entirely different from listening to a live event at some venue. Those two experiences will absolutely never be the same, and there is your only "absolute". Most events that are amplified for the masses will not even hold a candle to the intimacy available on great system. Scaling a symphony orchestra just ain't gonna happen though...at least I haven't heard that yet. Better, or worse?!?...I don't know - it varies with the material and the moment. It has as much to do with me and my state of mind, expectations, etc, as it does with the presentation. I've been to many disappointing concerts as far as their acoustic presentation, and I most certainly would not want to strive for anything like that. I can become intimately engaged with music an moderate levels, as opposed to concert levels..I don't think that is necessarily a given either way. Again, no absolutes and potential for tremendous enjoyment at both levels. How can either sound "too good"? What happens then? Premature ejaculation? Sorry, I don't get it? OK, I do think I understand what you're talking about; I do think my system has the potential to sound much more intimate than most concert experiences, but that is part of the nature of high-end audio that draws me to pursuing it. When I listen to Joss Stone she sounds like she is right there in front of me...I wish she was. At a concert she may indeed be right there in front of me, but the piss poor amplification and or venue could entirely destroy that "intimacy". Jazdoc's standard of "suspension of disbelief" is certainly a pretty good goal to strive for.

Lets look at it from a way of not trying to reproduce the same loudness in your home.A live amplified concert that has good sound quality from sitting in the audience,has a lot different sound than it would close up.If you got within a few feet from their speakers,most would say that it sounds bad.In this case,distance does work wonders.If we put those amps and speakers in our home,we would have some fairly bad sound.That gear is made to satisfy the needs of a large area,and distance.If the recording engineer does a good job at capturing that recording,we want the best we can buy for our home system to give us a nice illusion of the original.Don't forget that we are a lot closer to our speakers,and hear imperfections a lot easier.We hope our home system does sound better than the recording we are listening to.There are always above average recordings that we would want to hear reproduced as good as possible.I don't think any system could sound too good for our home.If our gear isn't the best that could be had by us,what would we miss out on when we listen to above average,or superb recordings?A lot of us look for better mastered versions of the recordings we like.How can we have a system that sounds too good,as long as it sounds great to us?There are always new,or remastered recordings that give us the need to have the best gear we could obtain.I would think everyone that's here system is ready for that next great recording they run across.The major problem a lot of times is to find a great recording of the original performance done by the band or orchestra(musicians)of our choice.Loudness doesn't satisfy the listener if it sounds bad.