umm that live show/studio comment still deosnt make sense,.... you simply cannot compare live music to music reproduced on any set up no matter how high end or stupidly expensive.
at the same time, you cant compare live music with you infront of the band to live music piped out of a PA system because live stage shows are almost always piped out through mono systems for the same reason clubs use mono systems,....so that everyone everywhere hears the same thing. to fully appreciate a stereo system you'd have to be in the sweet spot, making a stereo live system or club system pretty dumb.
not that i'm a PA expert but there is a sortofstereo technique which has more to do with volume than actual true stereo for live events. there is an exception where if the audience is situated in a central position then sure, stereo systems will be better.
I never go to a live show with a PA system to appreciate the sound quality, i go to watch a performance.
As for recording studios they also rely on the sweet spot. so turning your head, tipping it forward or back changes what you hear. so studios also dont reproduce the sound of a live show,.... they're not meant to do that anyway.
recordings of live shows,.... the mixer will normally pick one spot assigned and assign it to the listener he is mixing for. based on that position, the mixer then pans the mic recordings accordingly to reproduce the image one would have if one were to have been at the event,... without the PA getting in the way.
headphones? yeah you lose the crossfeed, and you lose the impact of the music on your body, but then thats the price you pay for the portability and the convenience.
IEM's can make up for the loss of that bass impact, perhaps only in your head but over time one grows to appreciate the feeling of being inside the music as opposed to just being presented with the music which is what speakers and cans do.
music reproduction is a compromise and always will be a compromise by definition.
