$600 MTM Vertically Oriented Measurements

In order to easily test if the drivers or cabinet are primarily to blame for the off-axis response, or if the MTM configuration itself is the limiting aspect, we then rotated the speaker vertically and ran it through another set of measurements. Fortunately, this speaker’s cabinet is square on the ends and this is actually a possible mounting configuration for your home theater. Would it improve the frequency response?

In the 1/24 octave chart below, it is easy to see that we significantly improved the off-axis midrange response by vertically orienting the speaker. Any peaks in the midrange are very narrow, which is just the way they should be. There is still some off-axis attenuation to the tweeter, but it has also been improved.

In the 1/6 octave chart below, you can see that the wave interference from the two midrange drivers was virtually eliminated. The off-axis response is smooth and consistent up to 40 degrees off axis. The lower treble from the tweeter has even improved, likely due to it now having a narrow horizontal baffle and reduced cabinet diffraction. In this orientation, this speaker would do a terrific job at maintaining intelligibility and clarity across your room. This is the type of performance that truthfully “locks dramatic dialogue to the screen.”

If the variation in frequency response is calculated in the vertical orientation, this speaker scores an average 0.80. Vertically orienting this speaker cut the variation in frequency response by nearly one standard deviation. The chart below shows the center speaker’s off-axis variation in relation to angle. The vertical orientation showed a significantly reduced variation in frequency response.

With a nice set of speaker stands or brackets, three of these beauties vertically oriented would create a great front soundstage. Or, another option would be three of their bookshelf speakers across the front. This company’s matching bookshelf speaker lists for $900 for a pair, so in theory you could once again save money and get better sound for your guests by avoiding the center speaker design. Unfortunately, this company – like most – doesn’t offer their stereo speakers individually, so unless you can find another use for the other speaker, buying three identical speakers for the front isn’t easy. For this product line, three vertically-oriented center channels would be your least-expensive, highest-performance standard option.