Room and Auditorium Acoustics

1. Criteria in Acoustical Design 2. Problems in Acoustical Design 3. Control of Reverberation Time 4. Design of Auditoriums 5. Home Listening Rooms

Paths of sound in room

Intensity vs. time for pulse

Average Intensity vs. Time

for a constant tone

Ideal Reverberation Times

Acoustical Characteristics
1. Liveness 2. Intimacy 3. Fullness 4. Clarity 5. Warmth 6. Brilliance 7. Texture 8. Blend 9. Ensemble

Liveness
Measure of reverberation time Good or bad?

Intimacy
Room said to be intimate when the first reverberation arrives within 20 ms of the direct sound.
Good or bad?

Fullness vs. Clarity

Refers to the amount of reflected sound relative to the amount of direct sound
Good or bad?

Warmth vs. Brilliance

Warmth increases with increasing TR for low frequencies

Texture

Good texture when at least five reflections arrive within 60ms of direct sound

Blend and Ensemble

Ability to hear the entire performing group on the stage (ensemble) and in the audience (blend)

Acoustical Design Problems

1. Focusing of sound 2. Echoes 3. Shadows 4. Resonances 5. External noise 6. Double-valued TR

Focusing of Sound
Occurs with use of parabolic surfaces either behind performers or at rear of auditorium

Echoes
Highly reflective flat or parabolic wall shapes

Flutter echos from parallel walls

Standing waves between parallel walls

Resonances
Parallel walls
Rectangular practice rooms

Singing in the shower

External noise
Box within a box construction

Practice rooms and concert halls in adjacent areas

Double-valued TR
Playback room with reverberation

Concert halls with side areas

Auditorium Design

General Design Considerations

1. Visual 2. Ventilation 3. Acoustical a. seating b. stage c. room shape d. room walls

Control of TR
TR = 0.050 V / A
Where: TR = reverberation time in second V = room volume in cubic feet A = total room absorption in sabins

TR Calculation
A = a1A1 + a2A2 + a3A3 + a4A4 +
An is one section of absorbent area an is absorption coefficient

TR = 0.050 V/A

Some Absorption Coefficients

Material Concrete/brick Glass Plasterboard Plywood Carpet Curtains Acoustical board 125 0.01 0.19 0.20 0.45 0.10 0.05 0.25 Frequency (Hz) 250 500 1000 2000 4000 0.01 0.08 0.15 0.25 0.20 0.12 0.45 0.02 0.06 0.10 0.13 0.30 0.25 0.80 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.35 0.35 0.90 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.10 0.50 0.40 0.90 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.09 0.60 0.45 0.90

Absorptions (in sabins)

Frequency (Hz)

Material

125

250

500 1000 2000

Unupholstered seat Upholstered seat Adult person Adult/upholstered seat

0.15 3.0 2.5 3.0

0.22 0.25 3.1 3.5 3.8 3.1 4.2 4.5

0.28 3.2 4.6 5.0

0.50 3.4 5.0 5.2

Dekelbaum Concert Hall at the U MD Smith Center

Dekelbaum Concert Hall (front)

Dekelbaum Concert Hall (rear)

Dekelbaum Concert Hall (top)

U MD Tawes Recital Hall

Microphone configuration in concert hall

Loudspeaker configuration in home listening rooms

The End