When you listen to some greater orchestral works, you will have no doubts, that there is no system on earth you can buy for any money which can reproduce a good orchestra
The difference is so huge, all this hifi gear is becoming so ridicolous, just peanuts
Don't spent to much money on hifi gear, go and listen to the real music !!!
I agree with the first and last point quoted, and the point others have made about listening to both.
I've only heard a full orchestra once in the last year (London Phil.). However, I've heard lots of chamber groups and mini chamber orchestras in that time.
One thing I've noticed recently is that live music is much much cheaper than really great hifi.
Is the difference so huge, hifi is ridiculous? I had an interesting experience a couple of months ago. There are a couple of classical music CDs I've got where I've heard the musicians/conductor involved play the same music live. It never sounds as good as the live performance at home, though it is very entertaining nevertheless. The interesting experience I had was listening to it on a system that was the most expensive the particular brand made (a few tens of grand). The interesting experience was when we swapped from using an expensive stereo power amp to using two mono power amps. For the first time, I heard stuff from the CD that I hadn't heard since hearing it live. Information that I'd always assumed just wasn't on the CD in the first place. Subtleties in the way the particular soloist phrased stuff, dynamics going on between different sections of the orchestra. This was a real 'wow that stuff is actually there on the CD' moment. Diminishing returns?
Not in this case.
Of course the mono amps cost more than a first class airline ticket, as well as the cost of the concert ticket. However, the amps last longer than a few hours. We get to keep hifi for years or decades.
In London we are fortunate as some of the greatest and most popular classical music is played a couple of times a week at St Martin In The Fields church in Trafalgar Square, and all for about 10 quid. Though classical music is played regularly elsewhere too.
I'm not just into classical, I'm mostly into Rock, however it is nice to hear instruments without the mini-hifi of mics and PAs getting in the way.
One incredible experience I've had a couple of times in the last year has been to go along to the open teaching sessions that happen occasionally at places like a Royal College of Music. The student or small group of students would play about a couple of minutes from a piece of music I'd never heard before. Then the teacher would give them some pointers. They'd then play this piece of music I'd now heard once, again. And they'd play it better. The teacher would then give them some more pointers. They'd play this piece of music I was now increasingly familiar with, even better. This would go on about four or five times.
At concerts you normally only hear the music once, whereas at home you can play the recording multiple times back to back. To hear it live several times back to back was amazing.
I also had an experience a couple of months ago of hearing an ensemble rehearse Brandenburg 3 over and over again, before the concert. One of the best musical experiences of my life.