So, how does the human ear (set of ears, actually), account for this information density regarding a live performance? How about live vs. recorded? Will the brain process a true stereo (or better yet binaural), bit-perfect 44.1/16 recording of the London Symphony Orchestra from the third row center, differently than it processes listening to the London Symphony Orchestra live from the third row center, all other factors being equal?
GJ
There are two important factors to this. When we assume that the stereo playback is re-producing the audio at the same original information density (in reality it is way lower) as the audio played out straight in the hall, the sound coming from the two speakers are now travelling more focused, this in turn "matches" with the geometric structure and surface of the room much less because the audio is not distributed as naturally and evenly against the surface of the room. This means that instead of the surface having a geometrically beautiful application effect on the audio, it becomes more distorted so you get an output frequency response that is reflecting the original information much less accurately, how inaccurately depends also on your position relative to the surface and the speakers, but this is what makes it feel more cold, it is a bit similar to adding distance to the audio.
In terms of the impact of the room on a recording vs. live, there are two important factors to consider:
A) The smaller the room, the more difficult it becomes to position the sound source and the ears optimally relative to the surface
B) The surface area vs power level determines the "wetness" of the room on the audio
So this means that with a larger room that reflects the audio being played at an optimal power level (with surface properties providing a highly dimensional geometric structure) relative to the surface, you are naturally increasing the recording performance of the sound sources (for each and when combined), you simply get a warmer more natural resulting frequency response of each recorded sound source.
When you record with this in mind, using appropriate gear for the capturing of the audio, you get a more beautiful sounding final result. In combination with the acoustic properties of the control room it becomes a very significant differentiating factor, it simply has much greater depth of emotion because truth is high emotional depth.
If you want an optimal live music experience, you should measure the size of the hall and relative to that draw a circle positioned at the center, with a certain size of it that is relative to the size of the hall. You should then ensure you get a seat that is within that circle, the bigger the hall the bigger the circle. That is the first major factor. The second major factor is understanding the geometric structure of the surface, meaning at what dimensional level the geometric structure of the surface material is at and combine that with at what dimensional level the geometric shape of the hall is. For this you need to account for the floor as being of a variable geometric structure, because it typically depends on whether the people are standing or sitting and how booked the floor seat rows are. Any hall which is like a tent or disc in its shape is very good. For instance Municipal Auditorium in Nashville has incredibly good geometric properties, so if you want to have a great live concert experience, book a seat as closely in the center as possible in that arena on a concert that is fully booked. You will be amazed by how good music can feel.