Would you buy a pair of speakers by just looking at the measured freq. response?

Many years ago, a magazine did a review of a Dunlavy speaker with a remarkably flat response, both on and off axis, very little resonance evident in the waterfall plot, and the closest thing I ever saw to the ideal impulse response.  I thought it showed promise of being the best speaker I had heard until I actually heard it; it wasn’t bad, but it sounded dry, and lifeless compared to some speakers that did not test so well. 
We should also keep in mind that frequency response tests are only rough approximations given that ideal testing setups are hard to achieve.  In Washington State, there is a testing company that has a test chamber inside of a nuclear reactor that was never commissioned.  The chamber is something like 500 feet long and nearly as wide.  The company guarantees accuracy of a speaker response test down to something like 35 hz.  This makes me wonder about tests done under less ideal conditions.y

No, that's just hoping the speakers actually are to your liking and hope is not a plan

Won't buy without listening but will certainly reference measurements too.

Actually, speakers are the audio component where there is the best correlation between measurements and sound.

However, I would never buy a speaker based on measurements, because, while they tell you a fair amount, they don't tell you enough.

@deKay - LMAO

@yoyoyaya - Love the handle!

@OP - Look at your speakers as a musical instrument. They will sound different in every environment. Most houses are not built for good sound reproduction from our systems. You have to tailor a system for each room.

I LOVE my Dynaudio’s. The same exact setup sounds amazing in one room in the house…. But… when I take the same system and put that in my bedroom it sounds awful. 

So, point is that stats don’t mean all that much. Speakers, like instruments, are personal preference and no amount of statistics should sway you away from your ears.

Just like a guitarist seeks ‘their sound’ (or voicing) you will do the same thing with you speakers.

Most of this I am sure you already know as I am not revealing any great secret knowledge as this has all been repeated ad nauseam.