The Best Sounding Systems can Play Loudly with Low Distortion

Common sense that best systems do that.  

The cleaner the system, the less loud it sounds as the speakers don't go into compression.

https://youtu.be/P1R2dKRDFUk

@helomech 

"I’ve assembled more systems in just the last 15 years than most audiophiles ever would over multiple lifetimes."

You should check my profile, bunch of stuff in there that I've been playing around with over the last couple of years and more that I've hinted at from decades back with more to add along with my own commentary. I'm not a neophyte you know.

If my system sounded like live, amplified music i would junk it immediately.  It should sound much better and at much lower volume levels.  Yes, a great system should do both extremely loud and soft levels, but I prioritize low-level performance and the ability to sound alive at such levels.  That ability I hear much more with low-powered tube amps.

+1 ... After giving it some thought, I suspect these were components that were not capable of strong dynamic swings throughout the frequency range and so lacked the ability to sound "exciting" causing me to turn up the volume in order to establish an emotional connection with whatever music was playing...

A black background, uncompressed macro- and microdynamics, fast transient response, excellent low-level detail retrieval, articulate and tuneful bass, natural timbre, stable imaging with precise instrument separation, and expansive spatial cues all contribute to emotionally satisfying low-volume listening.  At around 55 dB SPL at the listening position, rather than simply quiet the music sounds complete, engaging, and lifelike from my 1st rig system.  This is something I could only dream of a year ago, but now I get to enjoy it every day.