I really didn't pay attention to the M80 graphs since I don't own any. I did look at the VP150 graphs and was concerned.
I have previuosly stated on this board that the VP150 had not lived up to my expectations. Of course that is in comparison to my M22s and QS8s; both of which I am completely happy with. On another thread I recently mentioned that I have the VP150 on a shelf below my LCD TV and had recently turned it over so that it angled up toward ear level. That has made a positive difference and movie dialog is now generally better and satisfactory.
Still the graphs did concern me. If the graphs were accurate then no placement of the VP150 would give satisfactory performance off axis in the normal home environment. There are too many satisfied VP150 owners for that to be likely.
I am a retired engineer (BSEE, MSEE) but mostly computer background and don't own expensive audio test equipment. Still my old Pioneer VSX-45 does have MCACC so I decided to make use of it. It's an older generation MCACC and takes equalization measurements at 63Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, 4kHz, and 11.3 kHz. Since I have crossover set at 80Hz the 63Hz does not apply.
I made equalization measurements at 5 different room seating locations from dead center front up to 45 degrees off axis. What I found was no more than 4 db difference across each set of frequency measurements. Correcting for trim level the 125Hz ranged from -5.0 to -4.0, the 250Hz from -5.0 to -4.0, the 4kHz from -2.5 to +1.5, and 11kHz from -1.5 to +1.5.
My results were very different from the ninja graphs which show ranges of over 15 db difference off axis. My results can be explained by room variations even if the VP150 were a point source and had perfect 360 degree dispersion. I don't know how to explain the ninja graphs; but something seems very wrong.
In the text with the ninja graphs was the statement " What the listener will really hear can vary greatly even from one ear to the next." Again there are too many satisfied VP150 owners for there to be any truth in that statement. Bottom line is I have to totally discount the ninja information about the VP150; and believe my experience and my ears.
