Whichever best maintains health of plant is the one maintianing a health level of nutes around the roots. It's not about rate of use so much as being readily available as far as the ratio and concentration of what should exist around the roots. Not everything enters via mass flow. Some nutrients rely on active transport. that's from a grad school level text book and not a personal extrapolation.
If a plant doesn't have the raw materials to ripen, then it would show symptoms. You may need to test upper/lower threshold of that range (range of concentration that results in 'zero' symptoms, simply stated) but for the most part it's true.
Seems like a lot of sophistry. could be wrong. Ever compared groups of clones where you kept a control group as simple as possible while maintaining overall health? (rhetorical) Might save yourself time and effort, if you can't discern a difference.