how do you gauge and judge "timing"?

I think the vast majority of terms used by audiophiles to describe what they are hearing, i.e., imaging, soundstage, detail, transparency, attack/decay, etc, are related to something real, acoustically speaking. 

I have yet to hear an explanation, rooted in acoustics, that could account for one system being more rhythmically accurate than another. 

As far as one system eliciting someone to bob their head or tap their foot with the music, that is much more likely to be other sonic factors, that just cause the individual to be more engaged with the system.

The only timing issues I believe are audible, are drivers being badly misaligned, causing step response, phase and time arrival problems. But these would relate to transient response, imaging/soundstage, vertical/horizontal off axis response issues. 

@simonmoon 

Having had systems that were dull with respect to pace, timing and rhythm as well as systems that were too over the top frenetic sounding there are definite electronic attributes that cause this.  Keep in mind the above was true for each system with the same recording.  

Has nothing to do with speaker driver alignment.  

So how does one system sound dull and anemic while another can sound too fast and frenetic? 

Variables-

Total system voltage gain from source through preamplifier and power amplifier.  

Speaker sensitivity.

System component signal storage capacitor banks.  

Amplifier topology. 

I dont tap my foot listening Bach works...

I can tap my foot listening "Hey Jude" of the Beatles...

 The term PRAT is dated to turntable marketing linked to the music pop growing listeners crowd of the era...

If a system/room is acoustically controlled you will tap your feet with the beatles because all balanced acoustics factors implied will make it possible...

 but a bad set of speakers in a Hippie living room will do the same but for others reasons ...

 Acoustics explain everything in audio but not by  the objectivist meaningless stance which erased our subjective hearing ...

Acoustics at least  put the problem in front of us...And gave us the tools to seize it in an optimal yet imperfect way (we dont understand hearing yet and more most confuse  Fourier theory applied in design with  the way we must use Fourier tools  relatively to our hearing own time domain ) 

Is "prat" not a good thing anymore?

Out Damn PRAT!