Advertised speaker directivity specs can be meaningless for the speech band.

Evidence

What is rarely understood is that the sound of a loudspeaker is primarily determined by its direct sound frequency response (on-axis and listening window) and its directivity (off-axis performance or DI) as a function of frequency. The former can be altered by equalization. The latter is built into the loudspeaker; equalization cannot change it. So, if one purchases loudspeakers having well behaved directivity (constant or smoothly and gradually changing over the midand high frequencies) then an equalizer or tone control can be freely used to create whatever sound is desired. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1847 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Directivity, not equalizable response, is the fixed determinant of loudspeaker sound. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1847; A speaker’s coverage angle roughly doubles for each octave below its minimum directivity frequency.

Related

• Directivity, not equalizable response, is the fixed determinant of loudspeaker sound. (similarity 0.92)
• Fixed reference loudspeakers can turn their flaws into sought-after virtues (similarity 0.89)
• Speaker directivity specifications can be misleadingly marketed without effect on speech intelligibility. (similarity 0.87)
• A speaker’s coverage angle roughly doubles for each octave below its minimum directivity frequency. (similarity 0.87)
• EQ cannot fix directivity problems that a better loudspeaker requires (similarity 0.84)
• Loudspeaker directivity determines which curve predicts the room (similarity 0.83)
• The direct, on-axis sound dominates perceived loudspeaker quality in rooms. (similarity 0.83)
• Increasing speaker directivity reduces the reverberant field like a tone control does (similarity 0.83)
• Highly regarded loudspeakers measured far from flat in anechoic response (similarity 0.83)
• Equalization cannot fix loudspeaker directivity problems because it only changes frequency response. (similarity 0.82)
• Anechoic on-axis and sound power responses suffice to predict perceived loudspeaker quality (similarity 0.82)
• Larger speaker size relative to wavelength enables higher directivity (similarity 0.82)
• On-axis curves alone cannot predict loudspeaker sound quality (similarity 0.82)
• Real loudspeakers show flat magnitude response only below 800 Hz with a midrange dip (similarity 0.81)
• Perceived loudspeaker sound quality depends only on amplitude responses (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• A speaker’s coverage angle roughly doubles for each octave below its minimum directivity frequency. #expands (0.80)
• Directivity, not equalizable response, is the fixed determinant of loudspeaker sound. #expands (0.78) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1847