  This paper presents the joint impact of the numbers of antennas,
source-to-channel bandwidth ratio and spatial correlation on the optimum
expected end-to-end distortion in an outage-free MIMO system. In particular,
based on an analytical expression valid for any SNR, a closed-form expression
of the optimum asymptotic expected end-to-end distortion valid for high SNR is
derived. It is comprised of the optimum distortion exponent and the
multiplicative optimum distortion factor. Demonstrated by the simulation
results, the analysis on the joint impact of the optimum distortion exponent
and the optimum distortion factor explains the behavior of the optimum expected
end-to-end distortion varying with the numbers of antennas, source-to-channel
bandwidth ratio and spatial correlation. It is also proved that as the
correlation tends to zero, the optimum asymptotic expected end-to-end
distortion in the setting of correlated channel approaches that in the setting
of uncorrelated channel. The results in this paper could be performance
objectives for analog-source transmission systems. To some extend, they are
instructive for system design.
