How to listen to speakers?

[stevenswall]

I think it in part shows reflected, off axis response in a way you won't get in the sweet spot. According to Sean Olive at Harman, the idea speaker doesn't change at all with off axis response, and had flat frequency response sloping down about 8dB from mids to treble.

[stevenswall]

6 hours ago, HIFI said:

Maybe a good speaker characteristic to avoid?

Or look for the harman Target response, which specifically addresses this issue by tilting the treble down a bit.

[stevenswall]

19 hours ago, HIFI said:

I can't think of any reason why an "off center" listening test has any value or can provide any useful conclusion. 

 

And yes.... The "around the corner" listening observation Jim Smith referred to in his book was corny.   

It could help you in determining whether or not a speaker is super beamy, and if your room isn't an anechoic chamber, it is better for it to radiate sound evenly in a way similar to its on axis frequency response so that the reflections sounds similar to the direct sound.