My guess is was referring to the pressure levels at the surface of the woofer(s) compared to that of a horn. The sound pressure of a direct radiator has to be much high to achieve a certain SPL at the same distance of a lower pressure horn.
It is a phrase more commonly used in pro-sound circles. Typical direct radiator types are only capable of producing ~3 acoustical watts for every 100 electrical watts input.
One acoustical watt is ~107 db from an OMNIdirectional source.
I haven't done them math to see how your array compares, but I can surmise that Scott is suggesting that your particular implementation in that room was not up to the task of orchestra, which is considered to be ~1 acoustic watt in power. Probably OK for rock though.
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