Is the perception of ?good sound quality? progressive?

When people first heard early 20th Century sound recordings, did they
think they were hearing ?good sound quality?? Or were they so amazed
at hearing any sound at all that that issues such as distortion,
variable speed, fuzziness, and static were ignored?

I?m sure the changeover from acoustic to electrical recording changed
people?s perceptions of what ?good sound quality? was, just as there
probably was a change when high fidelity was introduced. Did each
improvement in the technology change the way people perceived sound?
In other words, did they go back to their older records and realize
they didn?t sound as good as they thought they did?

And, finally, when we play an original 78 rpm disc today on vintage
equipment ? assuming the disc and the equipment are in excellent
condition ? do we really hear the music exactly as it was heard when
it was new? (and does this mean we have to "train" our ears to ignore
the distortion, fuzziness, etc.?)

Maybe these are technical questions, maybe they are philosophical
questions, but thanks for the attempt!

I remember listening to 78rpm records in the late '40s and early '50s.
My dad used to gripe all the time about the poor sound quality, even
though it was the best that was available at the time. When the
"hi-fi" boom got underway in the late '50s, folks like my father were
very excited about the improvement in sound quality.

I think it is progressive to a great extent.  You have to know  - have
experienced  -  the better quality in order to recognize that the
other is not as good.  With recordings, we accept that they are not a
live concert and were happy with 78s until LPs and hifi came.  Then
most people were satisfied with an early turntable, until the neighbor
came over and pointed out distortions, so we listened to his, and then
recognized them ourselves.  Same with TV, monitors, software, autos,
maybe also members of the other sex.
If you don't know what you are missing, you're happy with what you've got.

But back to recordings:  Persons with a trained ear, musicians, will
have a better concept of what they expect to hear and a recollection
of how a concert sounded, and thus are able to be more critical  - not
just of a recording but also during a rehearsal or at a concert.
People who set standards have a higher concept of what can and should be achieved.
Then there are the stories about people who always turn up the bass
and are disappointed at a live concert because the sound does not
agree with their distorted expectations.