In most of the measurements I've seen they have a frequency response like the himalayas. Off axis is worse because of terrible beaming, and then you've got all the break up from the large driver being run without a low pass filter.
Whoever has these probably owns lots of CDs that are "badly recorded".
I remain unconvinced any speaker is “marmite” in any sense. You either like speakers or you don’t. Looks, sound, room, personal taste, WAF are all things which come into play and I’ve yet to hear any speaker that everyone agrees or disagrees on.
As for the above comment, what can be said that hasn’t been said a million times before. Do measurements help? Yes, they are indicative of engineering and design choices. Do they tell you anything about what a speaker sounds like or indeed whether you’re going to like it? Very little indeed. The much younger me paid rapt attention to such things right up until I repeatedly heard pair after pair where the measurements told me it should sound like x but it actually sounded like y. Sometimes y was awful. Sometimes y was fantastic. After you’ve heard multiple pairs of speakers which measure broadly the same sound entirely different you either obsess on what other things might be wrong or accept that measurements are but a small part of a much larger equation. When you have paid attention to other things like system matching, room, cables, power, shelving etc. and know nothing else is wrong then you likely have your answer.
What do we have in reality here then? A poster who hasn’t heard them repeating a cliche about measurements and beaming. Let’s pick that apart.
1 - you will not find a single review of the Superfly which talks about beaming or off axis issues. You’ll do well to find mention of such a thing in any Zu review in the last 2 decades. I sit about 3 foot off axis every night for the past decade and frankly it’s well balanced, relaxed, detailed, incredibly coherent and just a joy. My wife sits in the centre position and finds the same. Ditto the 15 year old who sits off axis in the other direction when we’re all listening. Now, the plural of anecdote is most certainly not evidence but here we have an assertion of beaming simply because the poster has either heard that that’s what full range drivers do or had heard other full range speakers do that. If the poster were to make such an unevidenced assertion in any other walk of life they would rightly be picked apart, so, why not here!
2 - Is there break up from the driver? I’m sure there must be if you say so. Frankly the level of enjoyment we’ve had from these speakers is so high that none of us could give a damn. There is nothing which manifests itself intrusively into our listening experience and given the level of enjoyment I don’t ever intend to sit down and try and clinically listen to anything other than music. I’ve tried. I’ve tried to square measurements with what we hear. It’s impossible. The music takes over. Is it therefore perfect? Obviously not. I doubt you’ll be able to find a piece of kit that is. Is it therefore for everybody? Absolutely not? What the heck is? Do I have badly recorded CDs? Er, yes, who doesn’t other than someone who likes sound rather than music. Do they constitute the majority of my 1900 albums? No idea. Too busy listening to my system bring the best out of the night after night. I do wonder about about people who make these sorts of comments. What’s the aspiration? To spend your live on forums telling people how wrong they are or to lose yourself in great music. I know where I stand on that one.
3 - In terms of “long demo” will 3 years do? 5 dealers and 3 years. The list I worked through ran into middling two figures i.e. about 60 different pairs of floor-standers. Zu were the only ones I missed when something wise was subbed in.