Yes, Orchestra Hall is awful. It's a shame that such a fine orchestra has to play there.
In the most recent remodel, an ugly acoustic reflector was suspended over the orchestra. On the one hand, the sound is brighter and clearer in the balconies, but it acts as a huge microphone and even if the orchestra is playing pianissimo, it ends up being mezzo forte.
If the main floor has any good seats, they're out of my price range; same for the lower balcony. I sit toward the front of the upper balcony, and it's tolerable. I used to sit in the gallery, which is the top balcony, but the sound is horrible there now--no highs at all.
Some conductors manage to scale the sound of the orchestra to the hall. Haitink, Sir Mark Elder, Semyon Bychkov and Jaap von Zweden are quite listenable.
Sadly, Medinah Temple was redone and only the facade remains. It's a moot point since studio recording is dead. The best hall in the area is the Auditorium Theater, but few classical concerts are played there.
Minneapolis has a good hall, way better than Chicago. That's why I've gone there six times in about as many years. The best halls I've heard are the Auditorium, the Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center in Champaign/Urbana, and Dallas. Solti made some CSO recordings at Krannert, including M7.
As far as I know, after the mid-'60s remodel, RCA never recorded in Orchestra Hall again; the late Martinon and the Levine recordings were all done at Medinah. DG and Erato made some decent sounding recordings at Orchestra Hall, but now I don't think it's possible.
