For the past 38 years I have owned various different kinds of point source speakers, until 4 years ago when I started building a line array.I did this because people said it was the best way.
I found that most music I listen to in performances are "in my face". If I go to a club to hear a jazz band they are in my face. If I go to the symphony, they are "in my face". If I go to a rock concert, they are way past my face. Being in my face is the quality of most live performances unless you can sit a hundred yards away. So I want this live performance quality.
A second point is dynamic range. The ability of line arrays to deal with very soft passages and then very large passages with the same ease and with enormous speed is legendary.
Finally, line arrays have extremely low distortion at any volume level.
I have yet to have anyone come to my house and not sit spell bound. Last Saturday, we had a couple over, and I put on a bach organ piece called Tocatta and Fugue. He said he felt like he was actually in the church, something he'd never expereinced with any speaker system. Then I put on Little Feat WAITING FOR COLUMBUS. He claimed to have heard things he never heard on the album before. Then he wanted me to crank it up, which I did. And then he marveled at the total lack of any distortion and high volumes.
I'm kind of used to this sound now. Once in a while I will have to listen to "miniature music" on a friends speaker, and I'm so happy to get back to real performances on my speakers.
Some people go to the theater and have to watch so far back so that the movie looks like their 25 inch tv set. I'm not one of them. I want life like.
To each his own.
Marlboro