Speedbump, are you a mind-reader or something?
So, as I read this thread last evening while listening to a movie on my VP150 CC system, I thought to myself - "you know, this center channel speaker integrates so nicely with my 15" subwoofer that it sure sounds pretty much like a full range speaker."
On the other hand, if the frequency response curve is ruler flat for the VP150 and also for the VP180, why do they sound different at normal listening levels? Could it be that frequency response curves are not really determinative of a speaker's sound quality?
Oh the horror for the positivist-reductionists among us.
The on-axis frequency response will tell you some but the VP150 and VP180 are apples and oranges comparisons. Different design - bigger cabinet, crossover, driver complements, and one is a full range speaker that can be crossed over to a sub much lower than 80hz while the other cannot. With that many changes the tonal and overall sound/performance differences of the two speakers would be different for sure (more than what would be shown with the on-axis response) and each will perform much more differently off-axis. Axiom does not post its off-axis response curves for either model but for a center channel (any speaker for that matter) off-axis is super important on the overall perceived sound quality. Add in a spectral decay plot at the very least for each speaker and you will have a pretty good idea how a speaker will perform.
