I'm one of those guys who would be real unhappy if my favorite records were to sound like a live performance. I always read that stuff, that people want the real sound like it was at the concert. well it's easy, invite 20dudes in your house, use bad speakers and push the volume too loud. that should be a good start in trying to recreate the "live" experience ^_^.
to make it simple, I go to a concert because some people convinced me the sound wouldn't suck and I wouldn't need ear plugs. usually they lied and I spend the all time with my custom earplugs that supposedly keep on ok-ish FR balance. but of course the sound sucks that way.
on the other hand I listen to music at home to relax. and I'm glad the sound level of different instruments are matched so that I can hear everything even quietly.
and for guitars, I also find that records are more enjoyable because you get all the details of a mic close by, hear the fingers moving on the string etc. I wouldn't say it's better, but i prefer it that way.
about the 10W 100W amps, I wonder how often it's true that a more powerful amp used at lower level is better? you read it everywhere and people always want more power, but the same people usually don't understand electricity at all, and just imagine that the sound at same loudness into the same load will somehow use more power that will sound obviously different... so I really don't know.
also I have that idea that powerful stuff tend to have more noise so I try to make sure I have enough headroom, but would go for too much as an idea of better fidelity(of course that could just be another urban legend and I somehow believed that one ^_^).
