Has the level of restoration combined with modern home theater technology achieved a level that surpasses what audiences originally were able to see in theaters?
A facile reply would be, ‘Depends on the theater’.
The theatrical experience in 1977 was compromised by factors such as:
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The duplication stock (projection print) and how the print was made. If you saw a print made by Technicolor in the US, it might have weaker tonality than one made by Technicolor in Rome for the European market because of the high speed duplication preferred by the former. Dupe stock has improved a lot since the 70s as well, so a projection print in 1977 is less likely to have been faithful to the final answer print approved by the director.
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Projection of the print at less than full luminance. This money saving trick is still alive and well, and I noticed it the second time I saw Solo (the first cinema I saw it at were not so stingy).
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Projecting a worn out print.
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Poor maintenance of the projector and not correcting for faults like misfocus, dirt behind the projector lens, motor instability and tears in the optical track.
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Under-powered amplification and damaged speakers, and not enough speakers for Dolby Stereo (hence the need for the SW mono mix).
If you saw a new print at a theater with a good projectionist and a responsible manager, the picture quality would be pleasing but not as sharp as what you would see from a modern 4k projector. However the soundtrack would be nowhere near as immersive, even if it was in Dolby Stereo through decent speakers.
Saying that, in 1977 it is more likely there would have been an usher on hand to kick out people who were talking. And no mobiles 😁