A system for measuring the directional parameters of room acoustics

A new system for measuring the directional parameters of room acoustics has been developed. The system consists of five omni‐directional microphones, audio interfaces, DSPs (digital signal processors), and control software. This software synthesizes the directional pattern of the microphones, and calculates the directional parameters automatically. The lateral component (LC), front‐ to‐back ratio (FBR), and left‐to‐right ratio (LRR) of directional room impulse responses are easy to measure with this system. The system was used to take measurements in two halls. The first hall was a concert hall, with the measurements of impulse responses taken at 72 points. The second was a multipurpose hall, the shape of which could be altered three ways (for concerts, conventions, and exhibitions), and the measurements were taken at 12 points for each shape. The total of 108 data points from the four room shapes represents the range of room types. The directional parameters are sensitive to room shape, wall materials, a...