How much of this pertains to the efficacy of Youtube reviews/comparisons of speakers? I've heard some reviews where the mic'ing seems to be giving a sense of the "speaker in a room". Is there any utility to this type of comparison?
Hm, good question. We're fast approaching the limits of my understanding as a a layman who dabbles in reading scientific papers! Better to ask some of the real experts on the forum, like @j_j and others