The Dead, at least, were a band that absolutely pushed the limits of sound engineering in concerts as well as encouraging incredibly elaborate concert recording setups. The wall of sound, and the entire culture of high quality live recordings by 3rd parties is a huge part of their popularity.

Why wouldn’t you want to listen to them on a nice system?

That's a good point. I withdraw my criticism and admit my error.

> Why wouldn’t you want to listen to them on a nice system?

They just aren't my cup of tea.

Gotcha.

What it comes down to is that for a lot of people, operating and owning certain equipment is what gives them joy. You see this in a lot, maybe all, of hobbies and pleasure. It’s like the guy who spends $1k on a 3d printer to make trinkets that you can buy at the dollar store.