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Nov 1990

Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S1-S200

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back to top Session 9AA: Architectural Acoustics: Concert Halls and General Architectural Acoustics
Contributed Papers
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Acoustical conditions in three well‐known classical concert halls (A)

J. S. Bradley

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S184-S184 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Measurements of newer auditorium acoustics parameters obtained in the Vienna Musikvereinssaal, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Boston Symphony Hall are compared to show the principal characteristics of these well‐known concert halls. Hall averages as well as the within‐hall variations of reverberation times, early decay times, early/late sound ratios, overall strength or level, and lateral energy fractions are presented. Values of these parameters are also calculated to be representative of occupied conditions. The results give an indication of the values of these newer parameters found in these famous concert halls, as well as an indication of the differences among these halls.
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Measurements of low‐frequency seat dip attenuations (A)

J. S. Bradley

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S184-S184 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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The low‐frequency attenuation of near‐grazing incidence sound over audience seating was measured in a large mutlipurpose hall and over scale model seating in an anechoic room. The low‐frequency attentuation minima are found to be predominantly related to the vertical angle of incidence of the sound. Octave band measurements in 11 concert halls show the influence of the seat dip attenuation to be related to the geometrical details of the halls and in particular to the average height of the hall and the stage. These measurements as well as measurements of a string bass showed that this phenomenon can have a very significant influence on low‐frequency sound levels in auditoria.
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The subjective and objective evaluation of three buildings for music (A)

Richard P. Cervone, Gary W. Siebein, Harold W. Doddington, Wilhelm Schwab, and Jerry L. Fausz

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S184-S184 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Subjective responses and physical acoustic measurements were collected in three rooms: University auditorium and the band rehearsal room at the Univ. of Florida, and Naples Philharmonic Hall in Naples, Florida. An evaluation sheet comprised of nine criteria—clarity, intimacy, envelopment, balance, reverberance, loudness, overall impression, background noise, and echoes—was utilized to gather the subjective data. Objective data were collected by recording pistol shots in each of the rooms and calculating the following parameters from the impulse responses: reflectograms, early‐to‐late and early‐to‐total temporal energy ratios, center time (TS), early reverberation time (R1), early decay time (EDT), initial time delay gap (ITDG), and bass ratio (BRRT). Significant intercorrelations were identified between several of the subjective criteria evaluated and also between several of the objective parameters measured. Independent subjective qualities significantly correlated with overall acoustic impression, objective measurements, and physical room characteristics, as well.
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Musician's preference for concert stage acoustics (A)

Daniel C. Bruck

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S184-S184 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Musician preference studies frequently employ simulated sound fields and anechoic chambers or sound‐attenuated booths for test conditions. The purpose of this research was to examine musician preference for various stage enclosures in an actual concert hall setting while playing standard musical selections in ensemble conditions. Thirty‐six musicians performed in string and brass trios in four stage shell configurations and gave preference ratings for the configurations based on “ease of ensemble,” “ability to hear oneself,” and “ability to hear the other players.” The judgments indicate differences in preference between string and brass players for “ease of ensemble,” and a stage preference across all subjects for “ability to hear oneself.” Aspects of musician loudness levels and the relationship between subjective judgments and early‐to‐late energy ratios will also be reported.
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Applying fuzzy set theory to the evaluation of concert halls (A)

Shuo‐xian Wu

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S184-S184 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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The technique from fuzzy set theory was used in combining the values of several parameters to determine the overall evaluation of concert halls. The factor set was tentatively defined as F = {RT (or EDT), LE, [EDT′(f)], Vmax(10 log LE)}, where LE is lateral efficiency, EDT′(f)} = 1/3 [EDT (2000‐Hz octave) − EDT (250‐Hz octave)], and Vmax (10 log LE) denotes the maximum difference among 10 log LE values in a hall [V. L. Jordan, Apppl. Acoust. 14, 253–266 (1981)]. The evaluation set was defined as E = {excellent, good, acceptable, no good} and the test set was defined as T = {measurement under full condition, measurement under empty condition}. Weight assignation for the factor set and test set was made as WF = (Wf,, Wf,, Wf,, Wf,) = (0.4, 0.3, 0.15, 0.15) and WT = (Wt, Wt) = (0.6, 0.4). The membership function values matrix R, in which the entry rij represents the impact of ith factor upon jth evaluation rank, was constructed. Last, the overall evaluation vector S, in which the value of ith element denotes the possibility with which the hall would be evaluated to ith rank, was calculated by S  =  WF⋅R. As examples, ten halls quoted in Jordan′s paper were evaluated by using this method.
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Perceptual characterization of the room acoustical quality derived from dissimilarity judgments (A)

Jean‐Pascal Jullien and Olivier Warusfel

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S185 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Although acousticians resort to objective criteria when measuring or predicting the acoustical quality of a room, the interpretation of the results still remains critical, because links between measurements and our perception are not completely understood. The room acoustics laboratory of IRCAM has performed a series of perceptual experiments dedicated to this problem. They were based on hypotheses confirmed by previous research [Schroeder, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 56, 1195–1201 (1974); Lehmann, Acustica 45, 256–268 (1980)]. This perception is structured with a limited number of factors that may be derived from experimental methods. An attempt was made to overcome drawbacks encountered with tests based on ratings on a set of predetermined attributes, or based on preference judgments. Therefore, a nonverbal method was preferred, dealing with dissimilarity judgments collected from paired comparison tests and analyzed with the INDSCAL method [Caroll, Psychometrika 35(3) (1970)]. A sound field simulator with computer interface was designed to build the listening configurations with independent control of objective parameters (acoustical criteria or temporal and spatial distribution of reflections). This method provided (1) coherent representation of the perception of room quality, and (2) structured relations between factors and objective criteria. It also led to the design of an automatic translator between perceptual and objective domains.
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Strong lateral low‐frequency components reflection from canopy complex comprising triangle plates in concert halls (A)

Tatsumi Nakajima, Yoichi Ando, and Keisuke Fujita

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S185 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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By using the line integration along the edge of thin rigid plates, which is derived from the integral theorem of Helmholtz‐Kirchhoff by Maggi‐Rubinowicz transformation, the impulse response of triangle canopy panels of various shapes was calculated. The transfer function (TF) in the frequency domain is obtained by its fast Fourier transformation. Numerical calculations of TF showed that the optimum inner angle of the equilateral triangle, which gave a flat response extending to lower frequencies, was in the range of 95° to 115°. It is interesting to note that the canopy in Tanglewood Music Shed satisfies this optimum inner angle. The TF of small‐sized triangle panels installed above the stage in FUJITA HALL 2000, a concert hall designed and constructed by our group, clearly indicates the strong lateral low‐frequency components of reflections for the audience. The higher‐frequency components of the reflection, however, are from the triangle panel complex suspended in front of the top of the proscenium arch. In this hall it was thus realized that both the lower‐and higher‐frequency components by reflection made the IACC values at the audio‐frequency range low and uniformed expansion of the sound field better.
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Acoustical characteristics of some Serbian Orthodox worship spaces (A)

Miomir M. Mijié

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S185 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Compared to other Christian communities, the functions of the human voice in services of the Serbian Orthodox church call for a special view of acoustical characteristics of worship spaces in which they are held. This, as well as the fact that no such investigation has yet been undertaken, justifies the analysis of such spaces. Reverberation time and stationary state sound levels have been measured in several Serbian Orthodox worship spaces of different volume and form. Results are discussed from the point of view of worship services.
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Evidence of diffuse surface reflection in rooms (A)

Murray Hodgson

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S185 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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In order to determine how to accurately predict the reverberation time and sound propagation (the variation of steady‐state level with distance from a source) in rooms, predictions have been compared with measurements for an empty scale‐model room and in various nominally empty factories. In the case of rooms with disproportionate dimensions, predictions by the method of images, which accounts for room shape but assumes specular surface reflection, were found to deviate in a consistent way from experiment. The reverberation time is always too high; the short‐distance sound propagation tends to be slightly low and the large‐distance sound propagation is always too high. This result suggests that diffuse surface reflections were occurring. To test this hypothesis, further predictions were mad.e using a ray‐tracing model that accounts for diffuse surface reflections. It is found that excellent prediction accuracy is obtained as follows: (a) scale model—if all surfaces are 10%–10% diffusely reflecting; (b) real factories—if the ceiling and walls are 70%–90% diffusely reflecting.
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On the equation for reverberation time in acoustics (A)

Domenico Stanzial

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S185 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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A new derivation for the reverberation time equation is here proposed. From the accurate analysis of a model describing the acoustics of enclosed spaces in terms of a feedback system, a surprisingly easy and deep insight of the complex phenomenon of reverberation is readily obtained without any loss of formal rigor. While the experimental consistency of the approach is pointed out by directly measuring the average absorption coefficient of the room, its theoretical consistency follows from the ability of the model to deduce the well‐known Norris‐Eyring formula for the reverberation time. Finally, starting from a new definition of reverberation time considering the phenomenon of reverberation essentially connected with the whole history of the sound field and not only with its transient parts (buildup or decay), a new equation for reverberation time is obtained.
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Evaluation of reverberant room impulse responses, including the effects of head shadow (A)

Michael W. Hoffman, Michael J. Link, Kevin M. Buckley, Sigfrid D. Soli, and Sriram Jayaraman

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S185-S186 (1990); (2 pages)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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Simulation and analysis of multimicrophone hearing aids in realistic environments require accurate knowledge of room impluse responses at various points on or near the head. A two‐step method is presented that provides the room impulse responses for arbitrary locations around the head. The first step uses the method of images [J. B. Allen and D. B. Berkley, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65, 943–950 (1979)] to compute the impulse delay and attenuation from each of the various images. The second step factors incorporate the measured responses at various points on the head (or manikin) into the total room/head impulse response. The obtained responses can be used to process speech or other materials to simulate reverberant environments, and to generate array response vectors for multimicrophone hearing aid processors. These vectors can in turn be used to evaluate the sensitivity of the microphone array response to changes in the soundfield and to indicate the level of robustness required for hearing aid processors.
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Low‐noise terminal design for HVAC systems (A)

David W. Kahn and David Greenberg

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 88, Issue S1, pp. S186-S186 (1990); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 14 Aug 2005

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In the design of noise‐critical spaces such as music and theatre performance and rehearsal spaces, low background noise levels are essential. Therefore, noise emanating from the supply and return air terminals of the HVAC system must be kept to a minimum. This requirement often dictates the need for many large terminals. This approach can be a very expensive alternative. In addition to the expense, the large area of duct terminals can have a negative impact on the room acoustics, particularly in a concert hall where sound absorptive materials/openings must be kept to a minimum. A number of different supply and return air terminals that create a minimum amount of noise at relatively high outlet velocities (up to 600 fpm) have been designed and tested. The results of these tests and guidelines for the design of low noise terminals will be discussed.
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