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Last Updated: 20060322, mei
Saturday, May 20, 14:00 — 16:00T3 - LOUDSPEAKERS AND ROOMS FOR SOUND REPRODUCTION
Presenter:
Floyd Toole, Harman Inc. - USA
Abstract:
The physical measures by which acousticians evaluate the performance of rooms have evolved in large performance spaces such as concert halls. They rely on assumptions that become progressively less valid as spaces get smaller and more acoustically absorptive. In listening rooms the loudspeakers and the rooms interact differently below and above a transition region around 300 Hz. Above this transition we need to understand our reactions to reflected sounds; below it the modal behavior of the space is the dominant factor. A provocative observation in this tutorial has to do with human adaptation to the complexities of reflective rooms and the extent to which it allows us to correctly localize sounds in direction and distance and to hear much of the true timbral nature of sound sources. Although the interactions of loudspeakers and listeners in small rooms are becoming clearer, there are still gaps in our understanding.
