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Standards For A Recording Studio
Standards For A Recording Studio
> RT60
Reverberation is measured by the time taken for a sound to die away to a specified level.
The most common way of measuring reverberation time is known as RT60, which is defined as the
time taken for a sound to fall to 60 dB below its original intensity. You can calculate the theoretical
RT60 for a studio using the following equation:
RT60 = (0.161 V) (S A)
where
RT60 = reverberation time in seconds
V = volume of studio in cubic meters
S = total surface area of studio in square meters
A = average sound absorption coefficient for all surfaces
The total sound absorption, which is S A, can be obtained using the following equation:
SA = (s1 a1) + (s2 a2) + (s3 a3) + (s4 a4)
where
s1, s2 = surface area for each element of the studio
a1, a2 = absorption coefficient of each element
The sound absorption coefficient for any material is measured in sabines, defined as:
1 sabine = 1 square meter of 100% absorbent material
All of the above equations are only accurate when the average sound absorption coefficient is less
than 25%, although they can still be used for estimates. For precise calculations, the absorption of air
may need to be considered, in which case youll need to use this more accurate equation for
reverberation time:
RT60 = (0.161 V) (-S log(1-A))
Be under 0.3 seconds for a studio whose volume is less than 100 m3. This figure is
particularly important for frequencies up to 2 kHz. Unfortunately, its hard to achieve
without using numerous absorbers, although not so difficult for a large studio.
Be constant between 60 Hz and 8 kHz, although small increases below 125 Hz cant be
avoided in smaller studios. In a large area, where the total volume exceeds 300 m3, there
shouldnt be any increase in the value below 250 Hz.
Give a result at 63 Hz thats less than 50% higher than the figure at 250 Hz.
Deviate by less than 10% between 250 Hz and 4 kHz: a high value in this range can result in
recordings that contain sibilant speech or shrill music.
Source: https://whitefiles.org/b1_s/1_free_guides/fg1mt/pgs/h13g.htm
IV. Design for recording studio