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Topic: Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response (Read 3328 times) previous topic - next topic
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Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

What are the benefits of a speaker that has a similar response off axis as its on axis response?

From the reading I've done, they say that a speaker with similar on and off axis measurements will be more room friendly, why? If I take my speakers for example according to one of the reviews it has an almost flat off axis response up to 60 degrees, but then the reccomendation is to have them toed in pointing straight at the listeners ears, surely if the measurements are almost the same on and off axis it won't make any difference or maybe a very slight difference..

So what do you gain by having a speaker with similar on and off axis response vs one which varies quite dramatically between the two positions?

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #1 –
Quote
So what do you gain by having a speaker with similar on and off axis response vs one which varies quite dramatically between the two positions?
A lot of sound you hear is in a room reflected off the walls.

The fact that the reflected sound has flat frequency response doesn't solve room-resonance problems, but it helps.

And, not everyone sits in the sweet spot 100% of the time.

And, I don't think it's enough to have similar on & off axis response if that response is crappy....     

Quote
...it has an almost flat off axis response up to 60 degrees, but then the reccomendation is to have them toed in pointing straight at the listeners ears
Maybe, it's the word "almost"?    And, it probably still increases the direct-to-reflected ratio to minimizes "room effects" and create a more accurate "stereo image". 

I'd say aiming the speakers at the listener is almost  always good advice (unless you have omnidirectional speakers  ).

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #2 –
Larger sweet spot, greater listening window, and as has been explained to you several times you do not only hear the direct sound but also early reflections and reverb.

"I hear it when I see it."

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #3 –
I was under the impression that it was not desirable to have flat response both on- and off-axis but rather, off-axis response was supposed to exhibit some high-frequency attentuation? Or did I get some bad info?

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #4 –
Quote
but rather, off-axis response was supposed to exhibit some high-frequency attentuation? Or did I get some bad info?
That could probably evolve into a "big discussion"...

Most listeners probably prefer something that mimics the behavior of a studio monitor with fairly wide dispersion.  That way you are hearing something close to what the mixing engineer was hearing and you have a fairly wide sweet spot so you can move around a little or so multiple listeners can enjoy the same sound.

It's the nature of higher frequencies to be more directional than low frequencies.  A "perfect" speaker might have a 60 or 90 degree angle with all frequencies behaving identically, but physics (nature) makes that rather difficult.

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #5 –
Basically ; So the music sounds as it should wherever you're  sitting.

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #6 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
Quote
but rather, off-axis response was supposed to exhibit some high-frequency attentuation? Or did I get some bad info?
That could probably evolve into a "big discussion"...

Which the OP has either already had or has been involved in directly:
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=109701
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=109441
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=109179
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=106825
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=106933
https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php...st&p=876778

Sorry folks, but we will not be having it here as well.

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #7 –
Some studio nearfield monitors (speakers) have polar graphs of their on/off axis response.  And some of them are marketed as having good imaging this way even though the sweet spot is still a rather precise area. 
Nearfields are designed to be listened to close up so that the room acoustics are less of an issue.
Be a false negative of yourself!

Speaker with same/similar off-axis/on-axis response

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Rich B on
What are the benefits of a speaker that has a similar response off axis as its on axis response?

From the reading I've done, they say that a speaker with similar on and off axis measurements will be more room friendly, why? If I take my speakers for example according to one of the reviews it has an almost flat off axis response up to 60 degrees, but then the reccomendation is to have them toed in pointing straight at the listeners ears, surely if the measurements are almost the same on and off axis it won't make any difference or maybe a very slight difference..

So what do you gain by having a speaker with similar on and off axis response vs one which varies quite dramatically between the two positions?



If a speaker's response varies as you move off-axis, instruments and voices will change their timbre as the listener moves off-axis.

If a speaker's response varies as you move off-axis, the room's reflections of its sound will certainly change because they are varying amounts off axis. They may change anyway because being reflected can change the timbre of sound, but it will be a stronger effect.

I don't know about you but having the change of violins change to violas as I move off axis (as a possible example) doesn't sound like high fidelity reproduction to me.

The most common  situation is that a speaker's off-axis response picks up more deep dips and looses more high frequency response as the listener moves off axis.