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If some one like a Sheikh, demanded his people to build him the BEST cinema in the world to give him the absolute best experience in the world... and he would gladly spend $20,000,000,000 if he had too....
What would his servants go out and buy for him ??
There is no way in HELL that he'd get a $5000 system...I don't know that much about audiophile products but I'm sure the absolute best is in the six digit range.
You're assuming that "expensive" equals "best" which is a complete myth. There's plenty of expensive equipment that are vastly overpriced for what they are, and likewise just as much less-expensive equipment that offers more for the price. I can think of plenty of speaker models that cost more than $20K for example, but that doesn't mean all >$20K speakers are the "best," especially when it comes to one person's preferences. What if none of the >$20K speaker manufacturers make a speaker model with a sound that appeals to this theoretical one person?
One could remove the object of cost completely from the equation but that still doesn't address the huge variety of "sound" offered by the hundreds (thousands?) of different speaker models (and even more complication from sonic influences by amplification and source), and perception of sound is subjective too.
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Now, that's waaaaaayyyy wrong,
- live performers can make mistakes
- Some music cannot be performed live
- you could have bad acoustic due to the geometry of the place
- you could have noisy neighbors...
A lot of times, you won't get the best sound with a live performance, but you compensate by having visual (and other sensory perceptions), thus making the experience better than what you get in you couch with your hi-Fi system. Best experience? probably. Best sound? sometimes.
For an unlimited budget Hi-Fi system, I'd split it between going to concerts regularly and have both architects and an acousticians design a room for the hi-fi system, and re-correct the room after the speakers have been installed.
I'd add the following additional detractions pertaining to live music:
- Non-optimal perception of acoustics due to improper seat location (too close, too far away, too far off to a side, etc)
- Even music performed live has the intrinsic restriction of being performed at a public venue - if we assume the ideal "goal" of headphones/speakers is to approximate the listening experience of a band or soloist/orchestra performing only for you and no one else. Or in other words, the experience of a band or soloist/orchestra giving you a private concert. Because I doubt most people actually want to re-create the experience of being
at a public venue performance. If the ideal is a "private concert experience" (and it is for most people), live music becomes extremely cost prohibitive for almost everyone.
- To take the example of a soloist/orchestra specifically: I ask this question, do most people want the experience of a "private concert in an auditorium where you're in the first row" or "virtual re-enaction of being in the conductor's spot or even
in the orchestra"? Either way, neither of those are attainable - well, except for those with big wallets who can spring for seats in the very first rows, maybe.
But then doing that every time for every live classical-music performance (and assuming travel costs for going to further performances, because let's face it, no single person lives in a place that will always have the best soloists/orchestras/performances) will end up costing far more than investing in a good headphone system and collecting CDs (or other formats as the case might be)....