Vertical directivity seems to be something of a contentious topic, and discussions have popped up in a few different threads on how to deal with uneven vertical directivity and the vertical reflections they cause. It's perhaps complicated because relatively few publicly available measurements provide a full frontal plane of vertical directivity, making it harder to discuss the performance of specific speakers. So I thought it might be worth having a specific thread to discuss the topic.
A few discussion topics:
-How audible is uneven vertical directivity (outside the listening window)?
-How much should speaker designers prioritize even vertical response?
-Barring a coaxial design, is wide horizontal, narrow vertical the way to go?
-How detrimental are ceiling and floor reflections to playback?
It seems like if smooth vertical directivity were essential to good sound, coaxial speakers would be the holy grail of audio. But while many coaxial speakers are very good, they're far from the final word. Conversely, many well-regarded speakers don't seem to have particularly smooth vertical directivity, at least once you go beyond the listening window of ±15 degrees or so. I assume uneven vertical directivity will affect the power response in-room, but it seems that as long as it 'balances' out, it isn't too audible.
A few discussion topics:
-How audible is uneven vertical directivity (outside the listening window)?
-How much should speaker designers prioritize even vertical response?
-Barring a coaxial design, is wide horizontal, narrow vertical the way to go?
-How detrimental are ceiling and floor reflections to playback?
It seems like if smooth vertical directivity were essential to good sound, coaxial speakers would be the holy grail of audio. But while many coaxial speakers are very good, they're far from the final word. Conversely, many well-regarded speakers don't seem to have particularly smooth vertical directivity, at least once you go beyond the listening window of ±15 degrees or so. I assume uneven vertical directivity will affect the power response in-room, but it seems that as long as it 'balances' out, it isn't too audible.
Last edited: