Originally Posted By: grunt
When you sit off to the side do you notice any “beaming” effect like the sound from the VP180 is coming out of a tunnel?

Dean, rest assured that the VP180 sounds far from coming from a tunnel, the best way to put it is as Hnut said:
Originally Posted By: htnut
There is a very slight dropoff in SPL and a very slight change in FR as you move left/right. The dropoff is more significant as you move towards the extreme left/right. You can still hear the VP180 loud and clear and detailed, just not as loud or prominent as in the sweetspot, which is direct centre.

I completely agree with this statement also it seems to me from your previous posts that you are more picky or should I say expert in this type of things and you might hear things that most people won't.
Originally Posted By: grunt
Based on your comment’s it sounds like you would have to A/B compare the VP180 directly with the M80s playing the center to hear any difference (and then location and orientation could be the cause), would that be an accurate assessment?

You are right. The only comparison that I did was between the VP180 and the M80s with a phantom channel and as I said, the 2 sounded way more similar in terms of SPL, timbre and overall sound as the VP150 would ever dream of. As for comparison between a VP180 and a M80 as center, I would like to hear a review on that (maybe by you wink ) as I think they will be nearly identical at the sweet spot and will start differing when shifting left/right due to the horizontal design.
Originally Posted By: htnut
OTOH, the vertical off axis performance of the VP180 is fantastic. I know this matters little to most people, but my VP180 sits close to the ground and needs to reach an elevated back row of seats. Whether I'm sitting on the ground or standing on the elevated platform, there is almost no difference in sound. Simply amazing.

ALMOST yes but there is.
Originally Posted By: htnut

I want to add that the horizontal dropoff is difficult to notice if/when the mains and/or surrounds are playing content at the same time (ie. under normal conditions).

I really hope so but I can't comment since I don't have surrounds yet cry

Bruno
M80s/VP180/QS8s/EP600/AVR-890
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"The problem is choice..."