Geoff.
Each of us can obviously only assess relative to what each of us have actually heard.
In my case and I'm sure in the case of many other experienced listeners I have heard a lot of live music and home and pro systems over the years. Many performances, many venues, many genres of music, many systems including many high end systems. I have a lot of practical reference in this area as I am sure many do.
So what I mean by what one can expect "in theory" is each person's personal experiences and understandings.
Theory is probably a poor choice of words in this case. ITs really more about having a reference standard and then attempting to hit it.
Each of us can obviously only assess relative to what each of us have actually heard.
In my case and I'm sure in the case of many other experienced listeners I have heard a lot of live music and home and pro systems over the years. Many performances, many venues, many genres of music, many systems including many high end systems. I have a lot of practical reference in this area as I am sure many do.
So what I mean by what one can expect "in theory" is each person's personal experiences and understandings.
Theory is probably a poor choice of words in this case. ITs really more about having a reference standard and then attempting to hit it.