Reverberation Time http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/acoustic/revtim.

html#c4

Reverberation Time
The reverberant sound in an auditorium dies away with time as the sound
energy is absorbed by multiple interactions with the surfaces of the room. In
a more reflective room, it will take longer for the sound to die away and the
room is said to be 'live'. In a very absorbent room, the sound will die away
quickly and the room will be described as acoustically 'dead'. But the time
for reverberation to completely die away will depend upon how loud the Index
sound was to begin with, and will also depend upon the acuity of the hearing
of the observer. In order to provide a reproducible parameter, a standard Auditorium
reverberation time has been defined as the time for the sound to die away to acoustics
a level 60 decibels below its original level. The reverberation time can be
modeled to permit an approximate calculation. .

Why 60 dB? What is a desirable reverberation time? Calculation

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Rationale for 60dB Reverberation

Time
The reverberation time is perceived as the time for the sound to die away
after the sound source ceases, but that of course depends upon the intensity
of the sound. To have a reproducible parameter to characterize an
auditorium which is independent of the intensity of the test sound, it is Index
necessary to define a standard reverberation time in terms of the drop in
intensity from the original level, i.e., to define it in terms of relative Auditorium
intensity. acoustics

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The choice of the relative intensity to

use is of course arbitrary, but there is
a good rationale for using 60 dB since
the loudest crescendo for most
orchestral music is about 100 dB and
a typical room background level for a
good music-making area is about 40
dB. Thus the standard reverberation
time is seen to be about the time for
the loudest crescendo of the orchestra
to die away to the level of the room
background. The 60 dB range is about
the range of dynamic levels for
orchestral music.
What is a desirable reverberation time?

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What is a desirable reverberation

time?

Index

Auditorium
acoustics

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The optimum reverberation time for an auditorium or room of course depends

upon its intended use. Around 2 seconds is desirable for a medium-sized,
general purpose auditorium that is to be used for both speech and music. A
classroom should be much shorter, less than a second. And a recording studio
should minimize reverberation time in most cases for clarity of recording.

The reverberation time is strongly influenced by the absorption coefficients of

the surfaces as suggested in the illustration, but it also depends upon the
volume of the room as shown in the Sabine formula. You won't get a long
reverberation time with a small room.

Reverberation time definition Examples

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Reverberation Time Calculation

Approximate reverberation times can be calculated from the Sabine
formula:

Modeling a room of

Height H = m= ft Index
Length L = m= ft Auditorium
acoustics
Width W = m= ft

with absorption coefficients:

awalls= = = for average =
afloor aceiling aavg
, , of
gives an effective absorbing area of = m2 =
Se ft2
for a room of volume V = m3 = ft3.
The corresponding reverberation time is RT60 = seconds.

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Reverberation time definition Table of absorption coefficients Examples

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Examples of Reverberation Times

One way to respond to the question "What is a good range of reverberation
times for concert halls?" is to give examples of some of the most famous
halls in the world. For the overall average reverberation times:

Vienna, Musikvereinsaal : 2.05

seconds Index
Boston, Symphony Hall: 1.8 Auditorium
acoustics
seconds
New York, Carnegie Hall: 1.7
seconds
But the overall average reverberation time does not tell the whole story. The
variation of reverberation time with frequency is also important.:

Examples of the variation of reverberation time with frequency

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