Yamahaluver : <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>
Quote (Guest @ Feb. 24 2003,20:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I hate to be the one to raise questions here, but are you guys thinking that there are speakers that produce a flat frequency response in typical rooms (home environments)?
Early reflections muddy they sound (which is why studios use near-field monitors), and reflections (all of 'em) produce comb filters in the room that will prevent a flat response in most cases. I've never seen any exceptions. Every room will also have at least one major mode, where there will be excessive SPL centered around a frequency you can calculate from the room dimensions. One has to take pretty extreme measures to achieve a flat response in the home, and then it may not be acceptable (depending to a large extent on the kind of recordings you like).
There is a huge difference between measuring a loudspeaker under anechoic or semi-anechoic conditions, and even measuring very-near-field can yield results that appear to indicate a flat response. It all falls apart when you put a speaker with wide dispersion into a typical room. That the inaccuracies don't drive us nuts is a tribute to human adaptability.
It is not impossible to get a flat response from a loudspeaker in the home, but it is not simply a matter of placing the speakers in "the proper location" in the room. It takes WAY more than that. Once the speaker reaches a basic performance level, the room becomes the biggest problem.
The Yamaha near-field monitors use to have a very flat response, up close, or in a dead room. Not sure what their more recent products are like, because I have no experience with them. The company makes a number of very fine products for the production and reproduction of music.
Next to the Steinway, I'll take a Yamaha piano every time. I also like their big sport bikes.
Chuck