Perhaps this concept is already out there … but … with 2 channel audio:
Why not design a pair of speaker in modules. Separate boxes/cabinets for the tweeter(s), midrange(s) and woofer(s). [Please note…not talking about self powered subwoofers] This would allow the listener to place the modules in their listening area to gain the best sound from the room. The modules would connect to the crossovers using patch cords.
I would think placing the woofer modules closer to the front wall and bringing out the midrange further in to the room with a good distance between the left and right channels along with the tweeter modules with maybe a little less distance between them then the midranges would yield the best sound from the room. Almost as if the speakers were custom made for the room.
I know there are some exotic speakers out there so maybe this exists in a similar concept…
Speaker design is a science and art of trade offs, and what you’re proposing is one possible approach.
Unfortunately, this would place the drivers wildly out of time synch with each other. That would potentially be correctible with digital delays to separate crossovers, but would only be correctible for a point in space. In other words, you’d have to keep your head locked in a single position while listening. Anyone else in the room would get replay badly out of time alignment.
Most speakers approach this by keeping the drivers relatively close to each other, and using crossover design to keep the split signals roughly aligned electronically, while not interfering too much with each other’s natural ranges (one of the many tradeoffs). Current thinking and research suggests that time aligning the beginnings of musical event waveforms is critically important to a sense of realism, and we’ve seen both electronics and speaker designers pay increasing importance to this factor.
The parameters you’re getting at (tonality, in-room response, and direct vs indirect sound) are also super important for our enjoyment of music.
Seems if there is a way to correct alignment/timing through the technology in the crossovers it may have a chance… Speaking of alignment/timing or lack of could be the reason why I hate the sound/use of powered subwoofer(s) in two channel audio…