Loudspeaker directivity determines which curve predicts the room

Evidence

Starting with my earliest listening tests in the late 1960s, through a prolific research period in the 1980s (see Figure 5.2), up to the present (see Chapter 12), it has been a monotonous truth that in double-blind listening tests, the highest rated loudspeakers had the flattest, smoothest on-axis and listening-window frequency responses. Listeners liked neutral, uncolored, direct sound. Beyond that, loudspeakers that exhibited similarly good behavior off-axis achieved even higher scores—reflected sounds would then have similar timbral signatures. These findings have remained valid in many different rooms over the years. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1292 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Reverberant rooms make loudspeaker directivity important for sound quality — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 474; On-axis curves alone cannot predict loudspeaker sound quality; On-axis response alone cannot predict how a loudspeaker sounds in a room (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• On-axis response alone cannot predict how a loudspeaker sounds in a room #corroborates (0.90)
• Increasing speaker directivity reduces the reverberant field like a tone control does #expands (0.80)
• Anechoic on-axis and sound power responses suffice to predict perceived loudspeaker quality #contradicts (0.75) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1292
• Direct sound governs perceived quality in rooms, not room curves #complicates (0.75)
• Room response at a listener can be predicted from geometric reflection analysis #expands (0.75)