Evaluation of auditorium acoustics: A practical approach

The acoustical qualities of an auditorium are highly dependent on the listener's own subjective judgments. Correlation between such judgments and measurable acoustical properties has been sought by numerous workers. New and complex measurements have been experimented with, but interpretation remains difficult. Without really breaking new ground, the acoustics of some recently completed auditoria were evaluated by simply measuring (1) the reverberation times, (2) the loudness, and (3) the background noise levels, and by relating the results to “preferred” standards. Ultimate judgment was left to the listener. This paper discusses these measurements and their interpretation, as presented to the layman.