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A possible acoustic design approach for multi-purpose auditoria suitable for both speech and music
- Source :
- Applied Acoustics. 115:42-49
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2017.
-
Abstract
- In several auditoria, it has been observed that the reverberation time is longer than expected and that the cause is a horizontal reverberant field established in the region near the ceiling, a field which is remote from the sound absorbing audience. This has been observed in the Boston Symphony Hall, Massachusetts, and the Stadthalle Gottingen, Germany. Subjective remarks on their acoustics suggest that there are no unfavourable comments linked to the secondary sound field. Two acoustic scale models are considered here. In a generic rectangular concert hall model, the walls and ceiling contained openings in which either plane or scattering panels could be placed. With plane panels, the model reverberation time (RT) was measured as 53% higher than the Sabine prediction (frequency 500/1000 Hz), compared with 8% higher with scattering panels. The second model of a 300 seat lecture theatre with a 6 m or 8 m high ceiling had raked seating. In this case, the amount of absorption in the model was increased until the point was reached where speech had acceptable intelligibility, with the early energy fraction, D ⩾ 0.5. For this acceptable speech condition with the 6 m ceiling, the measured mid-frequency T 15 was 1.47 s, whereas the Sabine predicted RT was 1.06 s. The sound decay was basically non-linear with T 30 > T 15 > EDT. Exploiting a high-level horizontal reverberant field offers the possibility of acoustics that are better adapted as suitable for both speech and unamplified music, without any physical change in the auditorium. Using secondary reverberation in an auditorium for a wide variety of music might also be beneficial.
- Subjects :
- Engineering
Reverberation
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Energy Fraction
Acoustic design
business.industry
Acoustics
Acoustic scale
Sound field
Intelligibility (communication)
01 natural sciences
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
0103 physical sciences
030223 otorhinolaryngology
business
010301 acoustics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 0003682X
- Volume :
- 115
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Applied Acoustics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........cce15bcf6bcceade5be0ac64d129a5c9