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CONCERT HALL ACOUSTICS

SESSIONS

Orthogonal Factors Describing Primary and Spatial Sensations of the Sound Field in a Concert Hall
Yoichi Ando
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 Japan
Subjective preference of the sound field in a concert hall is described based on the model of human auditory-brain system. The model consists of the autocorrelation function (ACF) mechanism and the interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) mechanism for signals arriving at two ear entrances, and the specialization of human cerebral hemispheres [Ando, Architectural Acoustics, AIP/Springer, 1998]. From this view point, primary sensations such as pitch or missing fundamental, loudness, timbre, and in addition duration sensation which is introduce here as a fourth are well described by the temporal factors extracted from the ACF associated with left hemisphere. And, spatial sensations such as apparent source width (ASW) and subjective diffuseness are described by the spatial factors extracted from the IACF associated with the right hemisphere

ORTHOGONAL FACTORS
Primary sensations and spatial sensations as well as subjective preference for sound fields are well described by a model of the auditory-brain system. The model includes autocorrelation function (ACF) and interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) mechanisms [1,2]. Important evidences supporting this model were discovered in relation to the auditory-brain activity [2]. This article reviews that primary sensations and spatial sensations are mainly described by temporal and spatial factors extracted from the ACF and the IACF, respectively.

peak. Usually, there are certain correlation between n and n +1, and between n and n+1; (3) Effective duration of the envelope of the normalized ACF, e, which is defined by the tenpercentile delay and which represents a repetitive feature or reverberation containing the sound source it.
(a)
1

1
p()
0

Factors extracted from the ACF


The ACF is defined by +T p'(t)p'(t+ )dt p ( ) = 1 2T -T (1)
-1
0

1
Delay time

[ms]

(b) 0

log | p() |[dB]

-5

where p(t) = p(t)*s(t), s(t) being the ear sensitivity, which is essentially formed by the transfer function of physical system to oval of cochlea. For convenience, s(t) may be chosen as the impulse response of an Aweighted network [1,2]. The ACF and the power density spectrum contain the same information. There are four factors, which can be extracted from the ACF: (1) Energy represented at the origin of the delay, p(0); (2) Fine structure, including peaks and delays (Figure 1a). For instance, 1 and 1 are the delay time and the amplitude of the first peak of ACF, n and n being the delay time and the amplitude of the n-th

-10

-15 0 100 200

Delay time [ms]


FIGURE 1. Definition of independent factors other than (0) extracted from the normalized ACF. (a) Values of 1 and 1 for the first peak; (b) The effective duration of the ACF e is obtained practically by the extrapolation of the envelope of the normalized ACF during the decay, 5 dB initial (b).

SESSIONS

The normalized ACF is defined by p() = p() /p(0) (2)

As a manner shown in Figure 1b, the value of e is obtained by fitting a straight line for extrapolation of delay time at 10 dB, if the initial envelope of ACF decays exponentially. Therefore, four orthogonal and temporal factors that can be extracted from the ACF are p(0), 1, 1, and e .

Auditory-Temporal Window
In analysis of the running ACF, of particular interest is so called an auditory-temporal window, 2T in Equation (1), that must be determined. Since the initial part of ACF within the effective duration e of the ACF contains the most important information of the signal, thus the recommended signal duration (2T)r is given by (2T)r K1(e)min [s] (3)
FIGURE 2. Definition of independent factors IACC, IACC and WIACC extracted from the normalized IACF.

PRIMARY SENSATIONS Loudness


Let us now consider primary sensations. Loudness sL is given by sL = f[p(0), 1, 1, e, D] (6)

where (e)min is the minimum value of e obtained by analyzing the running ACF, K1 being the constant around 30 [7]. The running step (Rs) is selected as K2(2T)r, K2 being selected, say, in the range of 1/4 3/4.

Factors extracted from the IACF


The IACF is given by +T p' l(t)p'r(t+ )dt lr( ) = 1 2T -T

(4)

where pl ,r(t) = p(t)l,r*s(t), p(t)l,r being the sound pressure at the left- and right-ear entrances. The normalized IACF is given by lr() = lr()/[ll(0)rr(0)]1/2 (5)

where ll(0) and rr(0) are autocorrelation functions ( = 0) or sound energies arriving at the left- and rightear entrance, respectively. Spatial factors extracted from the IACF are defined in Figure 2 [2]. In analyzing the running IACF, 2T is selected by Equation (3) also. For the purpose of spatial design for sound fields, however, longer values of (2T)r may be useful, because it is essentially time independent.

where D is the duration of sound signal as is represented by musical notes. It is worth noticing that the value of 1 corresponds to pitch of sound and/or the missing fundamental as discussed below. Since the sampling frequency of the sound wave is more than the twice of the maximum audio frequency, the value 10log (0)/ (0)ref is far more accurate than the Leq which is measured by the sound level meter. Scale values of loudness within the critical band were obtained in paired-comparison tests (with filters with the slope of 1080 or 2068 dB/octave) under the condition of a constant p(0) [2,4]. Obviously, when sound signal has the similar repetitive feature, e becomes a great value, as like a pure tone, then the greater loudness results. Thus a plot of loudness versus bandwidth is not flat in the critical band. This contradicts previous results of the frequency range centered on 1 kHz [5].

Pitch
The second primary sensation applying the ACF is the pitch or the missing fundamental of the noise. It is given by sP = f[p(0), 1, 1, e , D] (7)

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When a sound signal contains only a number of harmonics without the fundamental frequency, we hear the fundamental as a pitch. This phenomenon is well explained by the delay time of the first peak in the ACF fine structure, 1 [6,7]. According to experimental results on the pitch perceived when listening to bandpass noises without any fundamental frequency, the pitch sp is expressed by equation (7) as well, under the condition of a constant (0). The strength of the pitch sensation is described by the magnitude of the first peak of the ACF, 1. For a signal of short duration, factor D must be taken into account.

Table 1. Primary sensations in relation to factors extracted from the autocorrelation function and the interaural crosscorrelation function.

Factors

Primitive Sensations
Loudness Pitch Timbrea) Duration

ACF p(o) 1 1 e D

X X x X xb)

x X X x xb)

X X X X Xb)

X X X x X

Timbre
The third primary sensation, timbre that includes pitch, loudness, and duration, might be expressed by sT = f[p(0),e, 1, 1, D] (8)
X and x : Major and minor factors influencing the corresponding response, respectively. a). Timbre in relation to all of temporal and spatial factors is under investigation. b). It is suggested that loudness, pitch and timbre should be examined in relation to the signal duration.

It is worth noticing that the intelligibility of single syllables as a function of the delay time of single reflection is well be calculated by the four orthogonal factors extracted from the running ACF analyzed for the piece between consonant and vowel sounds [7]. A recent investigation, clearly show that timbre or dissimilarity judgment is an overall subjective response similar for the subjective preference of sound fields in concert hall.

s = f[LL, IACC, IACC, WIACC] where LL = 10 log [p(0)/(0)ref]

(10)

(11)

Duration
The forth-primitive sensation, which is introduced here, is the perception of signal duration, which is given by [12,13] sD = f[p (0), 1, 1, e, D] (9)

One of experimental results has been expressed in relation to 1, 1, and D [8]. Table 1 indicates summarization of primary sensations in relation to factors extracted from the ACF and physical signal duration D.

SPATIAL SENSATIONS Directional Sensation


If ll(0) rr(0), then the perceived direction of a noise source in the horizontal plane is assumed to be described as

And p(0) = [ll(0) rr(0)]1/2, and ll(0) and rr(0) being ACFs at = 0 (sound energies), of the signals arriving at the left and right ear-entrances. In four orthogonal factors in Equation (10), the interaural delay time, IACC, is a significant factor in determining the perceived horizontal direction of the source. A well-defined direction is perceived when the normalized interaural crosscorrelation function has one sharp maximum, a high value of the IACC and a narrow value of the WIACC, due to high frequency components. On the other hand, subjective diffuseness or no spatial directional impression corresponds to a low value of IACC (< 0.15) [9]. Of particular interest is that, for the perception of a sound source located in the median plane, the temporal factors extracted from the ACF of sound signal arriving at the ear-entrances may act as cues . It has been shown that three factors, e, 1, and 1 as a function of the incident angle greatly differ, but few differences may be found in the head-related transfer functions [10]. A remarkable finding is that there are neural activities at the inferior colliculus corresponding to the IACC and sound energies for sound signals that arriving at the two-ear entrance [11]. Also, it is discovered that the LL and the IACC are dominantly associated with the right cerebral hemisphere, and the

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temporal factors, t1 and Tsub, the sound field in a room are associated with the left [2].

Table 2. function (IACF). Spatial sensations in relation to factors extracted from the autocorrelation function (ACF) and the interaural crosscorrelation

Subjective Diffuseness
Factors The scale value of subjective diffuseness is assumed to be given by Equation (10). In order to obtain the scale value of subjective diffuseness, pairedcomparison tests with bandpass Gaussian noise, varying the horizontal angle of two symmetric reflections have been conducted. Listeners judged which of two sound fields were perceived as more diffuse, under the constant conditions of LL, IACC, and WIACC [12]. The strong negative correlation between the scale value and the IACC can be found in the results with frequency bands between 250 Hz - 4 kHz. The scale value of subjective diffuseness may be well formulated in terms of the 3/2 power of the IACC in a manner similar to the subjective preference for the sound field, i.e., Sdiffuseness - (IACC) where coefficients 2.9 and 3/2. (12) Spatial Sensations
ASW Subjective Image Horizontal Vertical Diffuseness Shift Direction Direction

ACF

1 1 e

X X X X x X X X x X X X X X X X X X X X X x x x x x

IACF

ll(0) rr(0)
LL IACC WIACC IACC

X: Major factors influencing the corresponding response. LL = 10 log [(0)/(0)fref], where (0) = [ll(0) rr(0)]1/2; ASW: Apparent source width.

Apparent Source Width (ASW)


It is considered that the scale value of apparent source width (ASW) is given by equation (10) as well. For a sound field with a predominately low frequency range, the long-term IACF has no sharp peaks for the delay range of | | < 1 ms, and WIACC becomes wider. Clearly, the ASW may be well described by factors, IACC and WIACC [7], under the conditions of a constant LL and IACC = 0. The scale values of ASW were obtained by paired-comparison tests with ten subjects. The listening level affects ASW [13], therefore, the total sound pressure levels at the ear canal entrances of sound fields were kept constant at a peak of 75 dBA. Listeners judged which of two sound sources they perceived to be wider. The results of the analysis of variance for the scale values sASW indicates that both of factors IACC and WIACC are significant (p < 0.01), and contribute to the sASW independently, thus
3/2 1/2 sASW a(IACC) + b( WIACC)

REFERENCES
1. Y. Ando 1985 Concert hall acoustics, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. 2. Y. Ando 1998 Architectural acoustics, blending sound sources, sound fields, and listeners. AIP Press/SpringerVerlag, New York. 3. K. Mouri, K. Akiyama and Y. Ando, J. Sound Vib., 241, 87-95 (2001). 4. S. Sato, T. Kitamura, H. Sakai and Y. Ando, J. Sound Vib., 241, 97-103 (2001). 5. E. Zwicker, G. Flottorp, and S.S. Stevens, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 29, 548-557 (1957). 6. M. Inoue, Y. Ando and T. Taguti, J. Sound Vib., 241, 105-116 (2001). 7. Y. Ando, H. Sakai and S. Sato, J. Sound Vib., 232, 101127 (2000). 8. K. Saifuddin, H. Sakai, and Y. Ando, J. Sound Vib., 241, 117-127 (2001). 9. P. Damaske and Y, Ando, Acustica, 27, 232-238 (1972). 10. S. Sato, V. Mellert and Y. Ando, Sound Vib., 241, 5356 (2001). 11. Y. Ando, K. Yamamoto, H. Nagamastu and S.H. Kang, Acoust. Letters, 15, 57-64 (1991). 12. Y. Ando and Y. Kurihara, J. Acoust, Soc. Am., 80, 833836 (1982). 13. M.V. Keet, Proc. 6th Intern. Congr. Acoust., Tokyo, Paper E-2-4 (1968).

(13)

where coefficients a -1.64 and b 2.44. Table 2 indicates a list of spatial sensations with their significant factors extracted from the IACF. Fundamental subjective responses for the sound field in a concert hall may be described by all of significant orthogonal factors. For example, the scale value of subjective preference is well described by four orthogonal factors, i.e., LL, IACC, t1 and Tsub [1,2].

SESSIONS

The Preferred Acoustic Parameters for a Javanese Gamelan Performance Hall


J. Sarwonoa,b and Y.W. Lama
a

School of Acoustics and Electronic Engineering, University of Salford, Brindley Building, Meadow Road Site, Salford M7 9NU, UK. E-mail: R.S.J.Sarwono@pgr.salford.ac.uk b Engineering Physics Department, ITB, Jl. Ganesa 10 Bandung 40132, Indonesia.

This paper discusses the application of a method based on human subjective preference to the acoustic design of a Javanese gamelan performance hall. Some important distinctions between Javanese gamelan ensembles and Western classical orchestra are the tuning system, orchestral blending process, and technique of playing. The results of subjective preference test using the rank order method showed that the subjects preferred 30 ms for ITDG, 600 ms for RT, and the smallest value of IACC. These results, except for the IACC, agree with the acoustic parameters from the room responses measured in a traditional pendopo in Indonesia, which is not a common concert hall but an open-sided hall.

INTRODUCTION
Javanese gamelan is one of the Indonesian traditional music ensembles. There are several important differences between the gamelan and the Western symphony orchestra including tuning systems, orchestral blending systems, and playing technique. According to Ando[1], by using human preference approach through a psychoacoustic test, four orthogonal factors for designing concert hall can be determined. Those four factors are the listening level (LL), the initial time delay gap (ITDG), the subsequent reverberation time (RT), and the Inter-Aural CrossCorrelation (IACC). So far, this theory has mostly been applied for designing concert halls for Western classical music. This paper will discuss an application of the approach to design the preferred acoustic conditions for performing Javanese gamelan in an enclosed hall. Three preferred parameters, ITDG, RT and IACC will be discussed in this paper. Measurement data from a pendopo, an open-sided hall where Javanese gamelan usually played, in Indonesia will be provided as comparison.

METHOD AND EXPERIMENT SETUP


The research combines three major methods, a computer based analysis and simulation, in situ measurements and subjective preference test in anTable 1. Detail of Test Configuration Direct Refl. Reverb. Test Sound ITDG 0o 45o 67.5o, 135o o o RT 0 45 67.5o, 135o o o IACC 0 45 67.5o, 135o Refl. Amplitude 1 dB -1 dB vary

echoic chamber. A computer-based analysis has been used to obtain the most appropriate gendhing for the whole subjective preference test, while computer simulation process was mainly used for preparing the test samples. In situ measurements were conducted in a pendopo in Indonesia to provide comparison for the subjective preference tests. All the subjective preference tests were carried out in an anechoic chamber, using a configuration of 7 loudspeakers to simulate several sound field conditions to be judged by listeners. All the listeners were university students with several nationalities, inclusive all genders. The subjective preference test has been carried out using the rank order method. A studio recording gendhing from the closing part of Kebogiro Glendeng, with minimum e = 27.59 ms (2T = 2 s, interval 100 ms), was used in the subjective preference test. The duration of the stimulus was 9.3 s. All stimuli were stored in a PC, which was also functioned as stimuli player. Seven identical loudspeakers were used to produce the sound. All loudspeakers were placed at distance of 1.35 m from the listener. The horizontal angles of the loudspeakers were 0o, 45o, 67.5o, and 135o. The vertical angles of the loudspeakers were 0o, except the rear loudspeakers for the ITDG and RT tests, which were elevated 6o, relative to the subject's ears. The detail configuration is shown in Table 1.

Reverb. Amplitude -3 dB 2 dB vary

Stimuli 15, 30, 50, 80, 160 ms 0, 0.45, 0.6, 1.2, 2.5, 4.5 s 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.75, 1

Listening Level 73 dBA 73 dBA 73 dBA

Subject 6 17 10

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


1000 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 centre 10 11 15 king

It was shown that there was a low value preference for ITDG (Figure 1) as well as for RT (Figure 2), with the most preferred value of 30 ms and 600 ms, respectively. This means that the subjects preferred good clarity with an intimate sound field for listening to Javanese gamelan in an enclosed hall. These results agree with the ITDG and RT of pendopo Puro Mangkunegaran[2], as shown in Figure 3. It shows the
5

900 800 700

RT (ms)

600 500 400 300 200 100 0

Measurement points
4

RT

ITDG

Rank Order

FIGURE 3. ITDG and RT of Pendopo Mangkunegaran

2 5

Rank Order

15

30

50

80

160

ITDG (ms)
FIGURE 1. Preference for ITDG
6

0 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.75 1

Rank Order

IACC
FIGURE 4. Preference for IACC

CONCLUSION
0 450 600 1200 2500 4500

RT (ms)

FIGURE 2. Preference for RT

ITDG and RT of the pendopo at 5 measurement points, including the centre of the hall (centre), the audience area (10, 11, 15), and the VIP area (king). Figure 4 shows that the lower the IACC the higher the subjective preference. This shows that a spaciousness and enveloping sound field is preferred for listening to Javanese gamelan in an enclosed hall. However, this is not in agreement with the measured IACC of pendopo Puro Mangkunegaran, (IACC = 1) as it is an open-sided hall.

The preferred parameters for Javanese gamelan performance hall were 30 ms for ITDG, 600 ms for RT, and the smallest value of IACC. These agree with the acoustic parameters, except for the IACC, from the room responses measured in a traditional pendopo in Indonesia, which is not a common concert hall but an open-sided hall.

REFERENCES
1. 2. Ando Y, "Architectural Acoustics", Springer Verlag, New York, 1998. Sarwono, J. and Lam, Y.W., "The Acoustics of a Pendopo: A Typical Open-sided Hall for Javanese Gamelan Music Performance", in proceeding of IoA, 2000, Volume 22 Pt 2, pp. 305 - 313.

SESSIONS

ITDG (s)

The Application of Neural Network Analysis to Auditorium Acoustics


F. Fricke
Department of Architectural and Design Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. ferg@arch.usyd.edu.au
Neural network analysis (NNA) is a relatively new research and design tool that has been used in many fields from structural engineering to finance. So far very little use of the technique has been made in architectural acoustics. In this paper the NNA technique is outlined and examples of its use in auditorium acoustics are given to demonstrate its potential. These include the prediction of reverberation time and sound levels in auditoria and the acoustic quality of halls using both acoustic and physical parameters as inputs. The advantages and limitations of neural network analysis are also outlined.

INTRODUCTION
There are at least two approaches to the study of concert hall and auditorium acoustics. One is academic and the other design oriented. The academic approach is directed at finding out what it is that makes concert halls good and what influences opinions about the acoustics of halls. It is also about measuring and calculating various acoustic quantities in halls and trying to apply results of perception experiments, carried out in anechoic rooms, to more complex situations such as that which exist in concert halls. In the second approach the architect or designer wishes to define the acoustics of a space in terms of its size, shape and surface finishes. While the approaches of Beranek [1], Ando [2] and others shows great understanding of the academic requirements these approaches do not give designers the tools they want. These tools are simple rules of thumb that ensure excellent acoustics. Such simple rules almost certainly do not exist but more complex ones possibly do. For instance, the most basic rule of thumb used seems to be the volume per seat even though the volume per seat varies between good halls (Boston Symphony Hall has a V/N of 7.14 while Meyerson Hall has 11.6.). A more complex rule may, for example, involve the optimum volume per seat as a function of the length of the hall. Ultimately the aim of the present work is to investigate whether such complex rules exist and if so, to present them in a designer-friendly form.

NEURAL NETWORK ANALYSIS


Very briefly, neural network analysis (NNA) is a computer-based technique which learns to recognize patterns. These patterns are usually in numerical data but could be in the juxtaposition of pixels or the pitch of notes. The general technique and its applications have been described in many texts eg [3],[4] and its

application to a number of architectural acoustics issues has been described in a several papers by Fricke eg [5],[6] and Nannariello eg [7],[8]. The method is based on the way the brain works where neurons are connected by synapses. In a simple NNA the inputs (eg length and height of a room) neurons are interconnected to a layer of hidden neurons which in turn are connected to an output (eg the reverberation time or acoustic quality of a room) neuron. The network is trained, using data (cases) from existing situation where the inputs and outputs are known. The error between the actual and predicted values of the output is minimised by systematically changing the weights on the connections between the neurons. The advantages over other approaches are that NNA can handle more than 6 input variables (usually considered the maximum possible number for a conventional analytical approach) and can deal with non-linear relationships. Its disadvantages are that it is never possible to determine whether an optimal solution has been found and when a solution has been found it cannot easily be used in the form of an equation though it can be easily used in a spreadsheet format. Often there are not enough cases available to accurately train, verify and test a network and the validity of the analysis is only within the range of the input variables. Also, where there are more than 6 inputs, it is very difficult to represent the output graphically or to produce rules of thumb from the analysis.

NNA OF THE ACOUSTIC QUALITY OF ROOMS


Of the two approaches tried for the prediction of acoustic quality of rooms the acoustic input approach [6] gives better results (Standard Deviation

SESSIONS

Ratio, SDR 0.2) than the geometrical input approach [5] (SDR 0.9). This is not surprising given the large number of geometrical inputs required to define an auditorium (though many of them are related to one another). The geometrical approach required 10 inputs (V, S, N, L, W, H, SDI, MRA, SH and SE) while the acoustic approach required only 6 (5 of Beraneks input parameters EDT, G, IACC, TI, BR and SDI - and either N or V) where V = room volume, S = room surface area, N = number of seats, L, W and H are the maximum length, width and height respectively, SDI = surface diffusivity index, MRA = mean rake angle of seating, SH is stage height and SE = stage enclosure. One modified geometrical approach which has given useful results involves categorising halls into two groups; those with an AQI of 0.7 or greater and those with an AQI of less than 0.7. With this approach there is > 90% success rate using N, L/W, H/V1/3, MRA and SDI/SE as inputs. Another approach is based on Nannariellos work [8] in which acoustical parameters, such as IACC and RT, are obtained from geometrical inputs. These can then be used to calculate AQI. The efficacy of this method should not be in doubt given Nannariellos results for G, RT, and IACC, (and the certainty that room acoustic parameters are dependent on size, shape and surface finishes of rooms), but the final analysis has yet to be carried out.

are to be predicted falls within range of the training data for the neural network. There are limitations on the method and if NNA is to be a success there is a need for a data base on the web where information can be made available to everyone. This is necessary as it is doubtful if any one person is ever going to be able to undertake all the measurements needed on halls in order to carry out satisfactory neural network analyses. As a final comment it must be stated that NNA should not be considered as a new branch of architectural acoustics but rather as a new fertiliser which may help the existing branches bear more fruit.

REFERENCES
1. Beranek, L. L., Concert Halls and Opera Houses, Acoustical Society of America, Woodbury, NY, 1996 2. Ando, Y., Concert Hall Acoustics, SpringerVerlag, Berlin, 1985. 3 Fausett, L., Fundamentals of Neural Networks: Architecture, Algorithms & Applications, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA, 1994. 3. Statistica Neural Networks, (1999) Technical Manual Version 4, StatSoft Inc., Tulsa, OK. 4. Fricke, F. R. & Han, Y. H., (1999), A Neural Network Analysis of Concert Hall Acoustics, Acustica, 85, 113- 120. 5. Fricke, F. R., (2000), Concert Hall Acoustic Design: An Alternative Approach, Building Acoustics, 7, 233-246. 6. Nannariello, J. & Fricke, F. R., (1999), The Prediction of Reverberation Time Using Neural Network Analysis, Applied Acoustics, 58 (3), 305325. 7. Nannariello, J. & Fricke, F. R., (2001), Introduction to neural network analysis and its application to building services engineering, Building Services Engineering Research & Technology Journal, 22, 61-71 8 Nannariello, J. & Fricke, F. R., (2001), The Prediction of Reverberation Time Using suitable Neural Networks, Proceedings 17 ICA, Rome

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS


NNA can be used to predict the acoustic quality of a concert hall or an auditorium though the accuracy of the geometrical approach leaves something to be desired. Both the geometrical and acoustical NNA approaches are useful in understanding the influences on the acoustic quality of auditoria and giving an estimate of acoustic quality early in the design process. It appears likely that much better predictions of acoustic quality, using geometrical inputs and more complex networks, will be developed soon. Once such a network has been developed and the network embedded in a spreadsheet for designers to use. Likewise, NNA can be used to predict acoustical quantities in auditoria such as RT (or EDT), IACC, G, BR and TI provided that the space in which the quantities

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Objective evaluations of chamber music halls in Europe and Japan.


Takayuki Hidaka*, Noriko Nishihara*
* Takenaka R&D Institute, 1-5-1, Otsuka, Inzai, Chiba 270-1395, Japan
Abstract: The room acoustical parameters - Reverberation time RT, early decay time EDT, clarity C80, strength G, initial time delay gap ITDG, and interaural cross-correlation coefficient IACCE, were measured in 18 major chamber music halls in Europe and Japan employing the procedure in accordance with ISO 3382 [1]. By combining architectural data, the intrinsic parameters for the acoustics of chamber music halls are examined.

INTRODUCTION
For symphony halls and opera houses, the results of measurements of current room acoustical parameters have been reported in the literature [2,3]. There are only limited numbers of similar studies on chamber music halls [4]. There is no assurance whether existing data or design guidelines for large symphony halls are also suitable for smaller sized spaces, therefore it seems meaningful to assemble the acoustical data and to survey their features. In this paper, 9 highly-reputed halls of traditional design in Europe and 9 major halls of contemporary design in Japan are compared and studied.

MEASUREMENT RESULT AND SOME DISCUSSION


The measured halls, which are regularly used for chamber music in each city, are listed in Table 1. European and Japanese halls respectively can be classified as those of traditional style and those of modern construction and materials. The seating numbers, N, in these 18 halls vary from 207 to 844, while the volumes, V, and reverberation times (occupied) vary from 1070 to 8475 m3 and 0.9 to 2.0 s, respectively. Many of them (15 out of 18 halls) are shoebox, or at least have rectangle floor plans. The suffix L, M and 3 associated with the measured quantities mean the average over 125/250 Hz, 500/1k Hz, and 500/1k/2k Hz, respectively. The occupied values were transformed from measured unoccupied values using the method in [5]. The measurements were executed without audiences and with no instruments on the stage (sometimes a piano existed at the corner of the stage). The measuring procedure is exactly the same as in [3,5] and coincides with that of ISO 3382 [1]. The correlation matrix for the objective measures shown in Table 2 indicate that the independent parameters are RTM, G, IACCE3, BR, and ITDG. This same correlation matrix is also found in symphony halls and opera houses [3,6]. RT : The volume per person on average is 6.4 m3 for traditional halls and 9.1 m3 for modern halls, thus the

volumes of the latter are about 40% larger. The reason for the size differences appears to come from the fact that modern architects prefer medium-upholstered chairs for greater comfort. Because such chairs absorb more sound, even when occupied, the room volume is larger in modern halls so as to adjust the RT to the volumes shown. The approximate equation with the form, RTM ,occ = K V / S A , is plotted in Fig. 1, where relevant K value falls between 0.13 and 0.14 for chamber halls, similar to the value of 0.14 for symphony halls [2], and RTs seem to converge to ca. 1.8 s. C80, EDT : C80 and EDT are variables not independent from RT, but all these are very highly correlated. However, the subjective impression of clarity in chamber halls is frequently of major concern. As shown in Fig. 2, C80s (occupied) may be classified into two groups, (3.50.4) and (0.11.6) dB. The latter coincides with the optimal range for Mozart music which was proposed by Reichardt et al. [7]. Obviously every hall exceeds the lower limit of -1.5 dB. G : Strengths G in dB for traditional and modern halls are moderately different from each other, except for hall SG, with the largest capacity N=844 (Fig. 3). GL and GM of the former are respectively about 4.5 and 3 dB larger than the latter on average, which is probably caused by the difference in volume, e.g., Beranek has shown G is proportional to 10log(EDT/V) [2]. BR : The bass ratios for occupied condition are distributed from 0.87 to 1.12 and from 1.07 to 1.24 for modern and traditional halls (median values are 1.02 and 1.14), respectively, which are narrower ranges than that of the concert halls, 0.92 to 1.45 in spite of the wider range of V/N. BR highly correlates with GL (r=0.8), although Bradley and Soulodre find that GL is more significant [8]. [1-IACCE,80] : [1-IACCE] is also an independent variable for chamber halls but the variation range is extremely narrow, 0.67 to 0.77. This range is same as the subjective difference limen by [9], namely it can be said that every chamber hall has similar binaural quality, provided [1-IACCE,80] is still valid for chamber hall. This situation is quite different from that for a

SESSIONS

large symphony hall or opera house, where the variation range is 0.39 to 0.72. Physically, there are very many lateral reflections within the first 80 msec in every hall. If we assume that binaural correlation plays a significant role for sound quality in small halls, it is possible to separate them using [1-IACCE,30], where only the information within the first 30 msec is used (Fig. 4). Although there is no precise evidence at the present moment as to why the integration should be limited to 30 sec, the possibilities may be (1) early reflections after 20 msec may deteriorate the localization of stereophonic sound [10], and (2) audiences may relish more detailed information for delicate chamber music.

varied within narrow range so that the integration limit of IACCE should be reduced to the first 30 msec to separate each hall suitably. Further research is required to verify its subjective foundation.

REFERENCES
[1] ISO 3382: 1997, Acoustics - Measurement of the reverberation time of rooms with reference to other acoustical parameters. [2] Beranek, L. L., Concert and Opera Halls, Acoust. Soc. Amer, 1996. [3] Hidaka, T. and Beranek, L. L., J.A.S.A., 107, 368-383 (2000). [4] Barron, M., Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design, E and FN Spon, London, 1993. [5] Hidaka, T., et al., J.A.S.A. 109, 1028-1042 (2001) [6] Hidaka, T., et al., J.A.S.A., 107, 340354 (2000). [7] Reichardt, W., et al., Acustica 32, 126137 (1975). [8] Bradley, J. and Soulodre, G., J.A.S.A., 98, 2590-2597 (1995). [9] Cox, T. J., et al., Acustica 79, 27-41 (1993). [10] Bech, S., 100th Convention AES, Copenhagen (1996). 2.5
RTocc, M vs. V/S A
2.0

CONCLUSION
RT, G, BR, ITDG, and IACCE are independent parameters in the chamber halls studied. However, their values for traditional and for contemporary halls have different ranges except for IACCE,80. IACCE,80
V m3 AC Amsterdam, Kleinersaal in Concertgebouw 2,190 BS Berlin, Kleinersaal in Schauspielhaus 2,150 KH Kanagawa, Higashitotsuka Hall 3,576 KM Kirishima, Miyama Conceru 8,475 PM Prague, Martine Hall 2,410 SG Salzburg, Grossersaal in Mozarteum 4,940 SW Salzburg, Wiennersaal in Mozarteum 1,070 TC Tokyo, Casals Hall 6,060 TD Tokyo, Harumi Concert Hall 6,800 TH Tokyo, Hamarikyu Asahi Hall 5,800 TI Tokyo, Ishibashi memorial Hall 5,450 TM Tokyo, Mitaka Arts Center 5,500 TS Tokyo, Sumida Small Sized Hall 1,460 TT Tokyo, Tsuda Hall 4,500 VB Vienna, Brahmssaal 3,390 VM Vienna, Mozartsaal in Konzerthaus 3,920 VS Vienna, Schubertsaal in Konzerthaus 2,800 ZT Zurich, Kleinersaal in Tonhalle 3,234 N 478 440 482 770 201 844 209 511 767 552 662 625 252 490 604 716 336 610 V/SA RT occ, M EDTunocc, M m sec sec 9.4 1.25 1.49 9.0 1.08 1.33 8.6 1.18 1.11 15.8 1.84 1.80 18.4 1.76 2.19 11.5 1.66 2.06 8.4 1.11 1.33 17.8 1.67 1.79 13.3 1.66 1.83 14.7 1.67 1.82 14.9 1.70 1.84 13.3 1.73 2.28 9.7 0.93 1.08 12.5 1.33 1.42 10.0 1.63 2.37 9.1 1.49 1.79 15.6 1.98 2.54 9.3 1.58 2.11 BRocc. C803B dB 1.21 1.5 1.24 2.0 0.87 3.1 1.12 -0.1 1.12 -1.9 1.07 -1.6 1.09 1.7 1.00 -1.3 1.09 -0.1 0.93 0.0 1.10 -0.8 1.02 -2.2 1.03 2.8 0.90 0.8 1.16 -2.8 1.14 -0.2 1.14 -3.3 1.18 -1.8

Europe Japan

VS KM TI TM TD TH SG PM TC

RTocc, M (sec)

Table 1 Chamber music halls for which objective measurements are available.
GL dB 13.7 12.2 5.4 8.2 12.6 9.9 14.9 7.6 9.8 7.1 9.2 9.1 8.1 7.6 12.8 11.6 14.7 14.1 GM 1-IACCE3 ITDG dB (80msec) msec 12.9 0.69 17 10.9 0.67 11 8.7 0.72 10 8.3 0.75 26 12.6 0.68 11 9.6 0.69 27 14.3 0.77 15 9.4 0.71 15 10.8 0.71 24 8.8 0.71 15 10.8 0.75 19 11.1 0.75 17 10.6 0.73 8 10.7 0.71 20 13.6 0.77 7 10.8 0.70 11 13.6 0.77 12 13.2 0.70 18

VB 1.5 ZTVM

AC KH SW BS 1.0 TS

TT

0.5 5 10 15 20

V/SA (m)

Fig. 1 Plot of RTs (occupied) vs. volume divided by the acoustical area of audience.
5

C80,3B,occ vs. EDT


4 TS KH 3 BS SW AC

3.50.5dB
Europe Japan

Table 2 Correlation coefficients among acoustical factors in 18 chamber halls.


RTM, unocc RTM, occ EDTM C80,3B, unoccu. C80,3B, occ. GL GM IACCE3 BR ITDG Width V N
0.8

C80, occ (dB)

2 TT 1 VM TD KM 0 TH TI TC -1 PM VS -2 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 ZT SG TMVB

RTM unocc 0.93 0.98 -0.96 -0.91 0.30 0.21 -0.25 0.27 0.21 -0.03 0.39 0.40

RTM EDTM C80,3B C80,3B occ unocc occ 0.88 -0.87 -0.94 0.05 -0.05 -0.19 0.08 0.37 0.16 0.61 0.43

GL

GM

IACCE3

BR ITDG Width

0.11.6dB

-0.98 Bold : > 0.6 -0.92 0.95 0.37 -0.33 -0.12 0.32 -0.30 -0.10 0.89 -0.19 0.19 0.15 -0.07 -0.25 0.30 0.12 -0.16 0.26 0.28 -0.25 -0.14 0.20 -0.29 -0.28 -0.07 -0.23 0.07 -0.44 -0.28 0.80 -0.18 -0.56 -0.57 -0.29 0.56 -0.34 -0.65 -0.67 -0.46 0.11 0.07 0.20 -0.08 0.08 -0.04 -0.34 0.49 -0.29 0.66 0.03 0.64

Fig. 2 Plot of C80s (occupied) vs. EDTMs (unoccupied).


0.66 0.61
16

EDT (sec)

0.75

GL vs. BR
14

SW VS ZT AC PM VB BS

12

VM

GL (dB)

0.7

4.5dB
10 TM 8 TT TH TS TC

1-IACCE3

0.6

SG TD TI KM

0.5 80ms 50ms 30ms

0.4

0.3 VB SW TT TM KM TS ZT BS VS TC AC TI TH SG VM TD PM KH

Hall

Fig. 4 Plot of [1-IACCE,t] against the 6 Europe KH Japan names of halls (not rank-ordered). 4 Integration limit, t, was varied from 30 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 BR to 80 msec. Fig. 3 Plot of GLs (occupied) vs. BRs (occupied).

SESSIONS

Optimum Design of a Concert Hall by Genetic Algorithms


A. Takizawaa, K. Otorib, T. Hayashib, H. Sakaib, Y. Andob, and H. Kawamuraa
a

Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Kobe University, Rokkodai 1-1, Nada, Kobe, Japan b Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai 1-1, Nada, Kobe, Japan

Abstract: Recently, Genetic Algorithms (GA), which is one of the evolutionary computing, are applied to various complex engineering problems. An optimization system of a concert hall by employing GA with four orthogonal preferences and three models are discussed. The model 1 is that the form is based on the general shoebox type, and its proportion is optimized. The model 2 is that its plan is optimized. The model 3 is that the form is also based on the shoebox type but each wall is divided into triangles and their vertex positions are optimized. The sound simulation was performed by the image method. The results show that the optimized form of the model 1 is similar to Grosser Musikvertinssal. Those of the model 2 have different characteristics depending on the preference. Those of model 3 are various and complex ones, but they have high sound preferences.

INTRODUCTION
In the field of concert hall design, there is an established theory that a shoebox form has high sound efficiency. On the contrary, if such simple form does not fit to architects sense, circular or elliptical ones with the inevitable problem of sound focus have often been used. Recently, Genetic Algorithms (GA) [1], which are one of the evolutionary computing, are applied to various complex optimization problems. In this paper, GA are applied for a concert hall design in order to search a form having good sound performance free from such preconception. In the following sections, three optimization models and results are discussed. Four orthogonal factors in relation to subjective preference, LL, Dt1, Tsub, and IACC [2], were employed as fitness functions. The sound simulation was performed by the image method. The model 1 and 2 used motif-B, and model 3 used motif-A for evaluation.

figure1. Widths and lengths are almost same with each other, but heights show opposite characteristic. Table1 shows the comparison of proportions between the results and Grosser Musikvereinssaal which is famous as having very good sound performance. Length/width ratios are almost same. The height/width ratio of Grosser is middle of the results. The subjective preferences employed here seem to be appropriate for evaluating a concert hall.
Lager is better. S1 : Initial model = -0.70 Optimized = -0.55
S 4: Initial model = -0.30 Optimized = -0.26

14

14 10

20

35m

36

FIGURE 1. Results of the model 1: (a) the result by S 1 ,


(b) the result by S 4 .

MODEL 1 AND RESULT


Firstly, the proportion of shoebox form is optimized. Width of the initial form is 20m, stage length is 12m, seats length is 30m, and height is 15m. The sound source is put on the center of the stage and 72 listening points are prepared. Each moving range of sidewalls and ceiling is 5 m from the initial form, and each moving length of them is coded on a chromosome of GA. Two values of S 1 and S 4 which are averaged subjective preferences of LL and IACC by all listening points are employed. The results of optimization by S 1 and S 4 are shown in

Table 1. Comparison of proportions between the optimized forms and Grosser Musikvereinssaal.
(a) The result by S 1 (b) The result by S 4
Grosser Musikvereinssaal

length/width 2.50 2.57 2.55

height/width 0.71 1.43 0.93

MODEL 2 AND RESULT


Next, the initial form of the model 1 is changed a little. Front and rear walls are divided vertically to two ones,

SESSIONS

and each sidewall is divided to 5 ones. The coordinates of two bottom vertexes of each surface are parameterized. The moving range of each vertex is 2 m in the direction of the surfaces normal line. Figure 2 shows the results. Front and rear walls have opposite characteristic between (a) and (b). If S 1 is considered, sounds should be reflected to seats directly. This means the decrease of S 4 .

and evaluation values. Figure 4 shows the optimized result of md2. Center of the each wall except for the ceiling is swelling outside. The ceiling is folded along the centerline of the hall. Two protuberances circled in figure 4(b) supply sound especially to the corner of the seats just beside the stage. Table 2. Each models connection pattern and evaluation value
number ceiling sidewall front/rear wall evaluation value md1 1 1 1 -0.55 md2 1 1 2 -0.49 md3 1 2 1 -0.60 md4 1 2 2 -0.52 md5 2 1 1 -0.53 md6 2 1 2 -0.52 md7 2 2 1 -0.60 md8 2 2 2 -0.60

S1=-0.20

S4=-0.15

FIGURE 2. Results of the model 2: (a) the result by S 1 , (b) the result by S 4 . (b)

MODEL 3 AND RESULT


The model 3 uses a little complex model. Shown at 1st step of figure 3, the model is consists of a ceiling, a front wall, a rear wall, two sidewalls, a stage, and a floor. At the 2nd step, vertexes for triangle division are plotted on each surface except for the stage and floor. At 3rd step, each surface is divided to some triangles by connecting the vertexes. Two connection patterns are supposed. The coordinates of each vertex are parameterized and optimized. A value that four preferences are summed and averaged by 20 listening points is used for evaluation.
1st Step 29 10m Front wall Stage 2nd Step
1 2 1 2 3

(c) FIGURE 4. The result of model 3 (md2): (a) the whole view, (b) the front view, (c) the left view.

(a)

CONCLUDING REMARKS
In conclusion, we would like to state the following three points. (1) The subjective preferences used here seem to be appropriate for evaluating a concert hall from the similarity of proportions between the optimized form of model 1 and Grosser Musikvereinssaal. (2) There is a tradeoff on a concert form between the preference S 1 and S 4 . (3) There could be many complex and various forms having higher preference values than the conventional shoebox form.

45 10m Ceiling Side wall 15 5m Floor Rear wall 3rd Step Connection pattern 1

Connection pattern 2

REFERENCES
1. J. H. Holland, Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems, The University of Michigan Press (1975) 2. Y. Ando, Architectural Acoustics, Springer-Verlag New York (1998)

FIGURE 3. The optimization model 3. Combination of each surfaces connecting pattern produces eight different initial models. They were all used for GA optimization. Table 2 shows their details

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

Effects of Scattered Reflections by Array of Columns Measured after Construction of the Tsuyama-MusicCultural Hall
Y. Suzumuraa,b and Y. Andoa
a b

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan, Urban Design Union, Harbor Land Center Bldg. 1-3-3 Higasi-kawasaki, Chuo, Kobe, 650-0044, Japan

The acoustical design of the Tsuyama-Music-Cultural Hall was made based on the theory of subjective preference. The hall is called Bell Fort Tsuyama due to a number of circular columns, realizing the similar effects of scattered reflections by trees in a forest for the sound field of this hall. The array of these circular columns is designed to obtain scattered sound field and to decrease the value of IACC in the audience seats. In order to examine the quality of the sound field, the four-orthogonal-acoustic parameters of the sound field were analyzed using the system developed based on the subjective preference theory. From the measurement of the IACC after construction, it is shown that the sound field of this concert hall is much improved by existing the array of circular columns.

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this work is to show that the sound field in this concert hall is improved by the array of 52 circular columns (diameter: 30 cm) installed in front of the walls both in the audience area and in the stage enclosure. Effects of these columns on the sound field in the audience area have been discussed reconfirmed by a previous study using the 1/10 scale model [4,5]. We described in the study that values of IACC decreased and the initial time delay gap was prolonged due to the effects of the columns. To calculate the effects of scattered reflection on sound field is extremely laborious, in this reason, we adopted the experimental method to evaluate the sound field involving scattered reflections.

in the real hall. An omni-directional loudspeaker was placed at a height of 1.2m above the center of the stage as the sound source. Sound signals were recorded through two microphones at ears entrance of a real head at 15 seat positions. After obtaining the impulse response, four-orthogonal-acoustic parameters were analyzed, and scale values of the subjective preference were calculated. These four orthogonal acoustic parameters are listening level (LL), initial time delay between the direct sound and the first reflection ( T1), subsequent reverberation time (Tsub), and magnitude of the inter-aural cross-correlation (IACC). FIGURE 1 shows the plan of Bell Fort Tsuyama with the array of circular columns and the 15 measurement points.
13 9 5 1 14 10 6 2 15 11 7 3 12 8 4

PROCEDURE
The measurement after construction was made under the similar condition to 1/10 scale model experiment previously performed [4,5]. Unfortunately, we could not make the measurement without the columns array

Loudspeaker

Columns Column 5m Measurement points FIGURE 1 : Plan of the Concert Hall and Measurement Points

SESSIONS

Table 1. Values of IACC Calculated by use of Architectural Scheme and Measured in the Real Hall Calculated and Measured 15 seating Position 1 Simulation without Columns and Reflectors at Real Hall with Columns without reflectors at 500 Simulation without Columns and Reflectors at Real Hall with Columns without reflectors at 1000 Simulation without Columns and Reflectors at Real Hall with Columns without reflectors at 2000 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0.52 0.24 0.28 0.28 0.57 0.36 0.27 0.24 0.58 0.52 0.34 0.22 0.45 0.56 0.26 0.41 0.34 0.36 0.19 0.26 0.40 0.28 0.25 0.15 0.30 0.27 0.28 0.21 0.16 0.20

0.45 0.16 0.25 0.20 0.51 0.27 0.18 0.10 0.44 0.35 0.21 0.24 0.28 0.51 0.31 0.31 0.18 0.14 0.11 0.08 0.23 0.13 0.13 0.23 0.15 0.08 0.12 0.26 0.23 0.09

0.19 0.31 0.18 0.08 0.26 0.24 0.09 0.20 0.30 0.23 0.18 0.23 0.33 0.47 0.37 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.11 0.13 0.09 0.13 0.09 0.14 0.07 0.14 0.07 0.09 0.09 0.08

RESULTS
Table 1 compares results of the simulation by the use of architectural scheme (without columns) and the measurement in the real hall (with columns). These comparisons can be summarized as follows: 1. Values of IACC decrease in side area near the sidewalls (No.9 15) more than the center area (No.1 8). 2. The maximum value of IACC appears, in the real hall, at the center area near the stage at 500 Hz. 3. Measured results shows that values of IACC become small as the frequency increases. And, number of audience seats obtaining smaller IACC increases with increasing frequency due to columns. These results may be as a typical scattering effect by columns.

scattered reflections above 1000 Hz. Columns array has large effects on the quality of the sound field in a concert hall and the values of IACC at the seats near the side walls become small by existing the array of the circular columns. It should be concluded, from what has been clarified in this measurement in the real hall, that these phenomena may be caused by the scattered reflections of the columns array. The array of the circular columns is effective on the values of IACC, especially at above 1000 Hz, and thus improves the preference of the sound field in this concert hall.

ACKNOWLDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank I. Yamamoto, and T. Iizuka for their measurement works of this hall and Masanao Ohwaki for his cooperation.

REFERENCES
1. Y. Ando, Concert Hall Acoustics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1985). 2. Y. Ando, Architectural Acoustics, Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields and Listeners, AIP Press/Springer-Verlag, New York (1998). 3. H. Sakai, S. Sato, and Y. Ando, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 104, 14911497(1998). 4. Y. Suzumura, Y. Ando, M. Oowaki, T. Iizuka, and I. Yamamoto, Forum Acusticum, Berlin (1999). 5. Y. Suzumura, M. Sakurai, Y. Ando, I. Yamamoto, T. Iizuka, and M. Oowaki, J. Sound Vib. 232, 303-308 (2000)

DISCUSSION AND COCLUSION


The acoustical design of this hall was made at three steps based on the theory of subjective preference. The first is the basic shape planning based on the theory of subjective preference, the second is the case study of the shape of this hall using a computer simulation system, and the third step is the study about the effects of the columns array using the scale model of this hall [5]. It has shown in the third study that the diameter of the circular column is effective on the frequency of

SESSIONS

Blending Architectural and Acoustic Factors in Designing an Event-hall


A. Takatsua, H. Sakaib, and Y. Andob
b

Showa Sekkei Co., 1-2-1-800 Benten, Minato-ku, Osaka 552-0007, Japan Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan

To blend architectural design with acoustic design, a design-process consisting of temporal and spatial factors is proposed. As an application of this design-process, a multi-purpose-event-hall, which is the part of complex-architecture, is demonstrated. To examine the sound field, acoustic measurement was conducted to obtain temporal and spatial factors in a sound field after construction. One goal of this project was to solve acoustic problems caused by the round shape of the event hall, where the architectural design was previously determined by a certain competition of the complex, in which the architectural concept and theme was proposed. Nevertheless, the acoustic problems have been solved without unduly affecting the architecture of the hall, and this process would have been considered to be successful. In addition, some knowledge of methods to solve acoustic problems, caused by the round shaped architecture, was obtained through the designing with the process blending architectural and acoustic factors.

INTRODUCTION
A process of designing halls and theatres, in which the temporal and spatial design of architecture is demonstrated by the temporal and spatial factors of acoustics, is proposed (Fig. 1). A round-shaped multi-purpose event hall, the ORBIS Hall (Fig. 2) in a complex (Kobe Fashion Plaza), was designed using this process. The sound field was measured to examine acoustic factors [1,2] after construction.

REQUIRED CONDITIONS requirement of customers social condition natural condition

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT ACOUSTIC CONCEPT CONCEPT

BLENDING ARCHITECTURAL AND ACOUSTIC FACTORS


Both of architectural design and acoustic design were processed by temporal design and spatial factors. In order to blend architectural design and acoustic design, it is necessary to consider blending temporal and spatial design of architecture with temporal and spatial design of acoustics mutually as shown in Fig. 1. (1) Blending the temporal factors of architectural design with those of acoustic design In order to control appropriate Tsub for any kind of events, a hybrid-reverberation control system was adopted. The subsequent reverberation time Tsub of this hall is initially designed for speech. The target value at 500 Hz was 0.7 s in the designing stage. In line with this, in order to accommodate not only speech but also events of acoustic sound, an additional system enhancing subsequent reverberation, which consists of a reverberation-control-room and an electrical acoustic system, was designed. (2) Blending the spatial factors of architectural design with those of acoustic design Various equipment and devices including reflectors were designed to improve IACC and get uniformity of SPL in the seat area.

UTILIZATION FLOW PLANNING PREFERENCE

PLAN SECTION AESTHETICS, PROPORTION ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN (3) (2) DESIGN

(1)

BLENDING ARCHITECTURAL AND ACOUSTIC


t1

IACC SPL ACOUSTIC DESIGN

Tsub

TEMPORAL DESIGN

SPATIAL DESIGN

FIGURE 1. Design process blending architectural design and acoustic design.

(3) Blending the temporal and spatial factors of architectural design with those of acoustic design Under-floor space was taken into consideration in designing a sound field at each seat, since the sound field below the ears is equally important as well as that above ears. To eliminate the SPL-dip in the low frequency range, sound path to under-floor space, which is considered as one of the temporal factors controlled by architectural design, was effective [2]. In the area in front of end-stage, a perforated floor with 5-mm diameter holes in its grid of 15-mm was designed in order to fuse above- and under-floor space. The seating areas to the side and in the back have

SESSIONS

movable chairs that can be stored into the under-floor as convenient storage. At the steel plates of the chair basement under the chair legs, there are drilled holes of a 25% ratio, to the extent that strength permits. This also allows sound waves to pass through to the under-floor space, eliminating the dip of low-frequency-range. In addition, a room for mother and baby directly facing the end-stage was designed to prevent echo-disturbance, whispering gallery effect [3].

(2) Through the spatial design both of architectural and acoustic design, the reflector panels in the side of stage and seating-area are clarified to be efficient to decrease IACC and to get uniformity of SPL [4]. (3) The room projected at the rear-end of the hall, which has 4.0 m in width and 3.0 m in depth, is effective to eliminate echo disturbance whispering gallery effect. (4) Through both temporal acoustic design and spatial architectural design, the SPL-dip in the low-frequency due to the reflection from the floor improved effectively by the perforated floor (Fig. 3) [5].
10 (a) 0

meeting room dressingroom room guest room piano-storage back stage

-10

opening/closing reflector reversible reflecor seating area

officeticket office
-20

cloak room atrium foyer

Relative SPL [dB]

6m 8m 10 m

-30 10 (b)

foyer

room for mothers and children bar corner

-10

center diffusion panel reflecting panel above end-stage small diffusion panel reversible reflector underfloor space heavy-bass speaker

-20

-30 0 200 400 600 Frequency [Hz] 800 1000

FIGURE 2. Plan and section of ORBIS Hall with various acoustic equipment.

FIGURE 3. Relative SPL as a function of frequency up to 1kHz. (a): Relative SPL on the perforated floor; and (b): Relative SPL on the hard floor.

MEASURED RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS


After construction, acoustic measurement was performed. In the results, the various problems, which are usually occurred by the round-shaped form, were excluded. It is thought that efficiency of the proposed design-flow was verified, because acoustic problems could be solved without breaking the architectural concept under such a worst acoustic condition. Efficiencies of the various equipment and methods of acoustic to eliminate acoustic problems of round shaped hall, are as follows. (1) Through the temporal design both of architecture and acoustic design, efficiency of the hybridreverberation control system, which consists of architectural- and electric-acoustic, was verified in multi- purpose event-hall.

REFERENCE
1. Ando, Y ., Concert Hall Acoustics, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg (1985). 2.Ando, Y., Architectural Acoustics, Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners, Springer-Verlag/ AIP Press, New York (1998). 3.Takatsu, A., Sakai, H., and Ando, Y., Journal of Building Acoustics 7(2), 113-125 (2000). 4.Takatsu, A., Mori, Y., and Ando, Y., The architectural and acoustic design of a circular event hall in Kobe Fashion Plaza, in Music and Concert Hall Acoustics, Conference Proceedings from MCHA 1995, edited by Y. Ando and D. Noson, Academic Press, London, 1998, Chapter 30. 5.Takatsu, A., Hase, S., Sakai, H., Sato, S., and Ando, Y., J. Sound Vibration 232(1), 263-273 (2000).

SESSIONS

The Acoustical Renovation of the Palais des Beaux-Arts Concert Hall in Brussels
D. Commins
commins acoustics workshop, 15, rue Laurence Savart, F-75020 Paris, France, comminsacoustics@compuserve.com
Originally, the acoustics of Salle Henry-Leboeuf in Brussels was renowned. Over the years, poor maintenance and clumsy renovations contributed to the deterioration of its acoustics and aesthetics. In the 1990s, measurements were performed and an extensive investigation of Hortas archives, notes and drawings, was conducted. Most of the details built by Horta were then explained and, on this basis, a new renovation programme was decided with, as main goal, the restoration of the original acoustics of the hall. According to users and audiences, the original acoustics seem to have been recovered.

INTRODUCTION
The main Belgian concert hall, the so-called Salle Henry le Boeuf of the Brussels Palais des Beaux-Arts has been inaugurated on October 19, 1929. At the time, it was considered to be one of the very best concert halls in the world[1]. The concept and the actual detailed design were led entirely by the architect himself, Victor Horta, a key figure of the Art Nouveau school. Enquiries conducted in 1945 by F. Winckel and around 1960 by L. Beranek, in particular by questioning major orchestra conductors, has confirmed the reputation of this concert hall: the Salle Henry le Boeuf was rated then at the level of the Grosser Muzikvereinsaal in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Symphony Hall in Boston. The Palais des Beaux-Arts concert hall was famous for its rich bass response, its intimacy and its warmth and for enhancing the sound of the violin. This particular characteristic is of importance since, in those days, the Belgian school of violin was considered, with Moscow, to be the best. Over the years, the hall has been transformed and new technology has been introduced. Its acoustics deteriorated: it became dry and lost its extraordinary bass qualities. The complex wooden stage was replaced by a concrete box.

FIGURE 1: Original stage cross-section by Horta. The main parameters are as follows: number of seats NA : 2150, public area SA = 1300 m2,stage So = 186 m2, total area ST = 1486 m2, V / SA = 8.4 or 9.4 according to various estimates, V / NA = 5.8 or 6.5 according to various estimates, SA / NA = 0,60, height of the stage: 92 cm above main floor, first row. The materials were as of May 1997: ceiling: 75 % plaster on metal grid, 20 % in heavy glass on heavy metal structures, damped by a wire mesh (cf. Horta), 5 % of light systems; walls: plaster on brick residue, painted; columns: plaster on concrete; main floor: pine on 75 mm sleepers on concrete; upper floors: pine glued directly on concrete; stage floor: wooden floor on concrete floor ( under the concrete floor Horta designed a large resonant cavity; originally the floor was pine with oak veneer as top layer); carpeting: thick carpet on foam in the stalls, balcony and boxes (the original carpet was presumably thin or nonexistent); seats of the stalls, dress-circle, balcony and boxes: absorption on all sides, thick seat and back (not the original); galleries: upholstered seats, thick wood layer under the seat and thin wood layer on the back.

A DESCRIPTION OF SALLE HENRY LE BOEUF


The cross-section of figure 1 shows some details introduced by Horta, including a genuine resonant chamber under the stage.

SESSIONS

AN INVENTORY OF KNOWN MODIFICATIONS


Numerous changes have taken place: an absorptive carpet has been installed; the seats have been replaced several times; the original orchestra wooden stage has been destroyed in the early seventies and replaced by a concrete stage with a wooden floor on thin sleepers; a makeshift orchestra pit has been introduced, probably around 1975, in an attempt to make the room multipurpose; the room has been painted and even redecorated several times; the original organ, which did not seem to be a success when it was inaugurated in early November 1930, has been destroyed; lights and other electrical equipment have been modified several times and many openings have been made in the ceiling for cables and lights.

THE 1999 RENOVATION


Extensive acoustical measurements have been performed and a thorough investigation of Hortas archives has been conducted before renovation.
Time (Seconds) 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0

FIGURE 2. View towards the stage


RTBF 1961 Raes 1961 After renovation Before renovation
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000 Frequency

Measurements before renovation


Most of the MLS tests were performed in the empty hall but also with a full audience[2]. The hall was found to be quite dry. It is partly due to the relatively small volume but it is also the consequence of various low, medium and high frequency absorption mechanisms that did not exist in the original design. The room impulse response was close to the typical response expected from a good concert hall of elliptical shape.

FIGURE 3. Measurements before and after

The renovation
From this data, a very careful renovation was planned by Architect Georges Baines in an attempt to recover the original Art Nouveau aspect of the hall and its original acoustical qualities. The key elements were: the reconstruction of a genuine wooden orchestra stage with a resonant cavity, a genuine wooden floor on sleepers in the stalls, the elimination of openings of various nature, indirect air intake and exhaust, acoustical insulation.

CONCLUSIONS
Careless renovations of concert halls and opera houses may considerably alter the acoustics. The example of the Salle Henry le Boeuf shows that it may be possible to recover most of the original features. The author wishes to thank the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Horta Museum for giving him the opportunity to analyse this problem. Special thanks are due to Prof. G. Vermeir for positive contributions during the construction phase.

Measurements after renovation


The measurements performed after completion of the renovation demonstrate that most of the original acoustical characteristics have been recovered.

REFERENCES
1 L. Beranek, How they sound, concert and opera halls, Woodbury: Acoustical Society of America, 1996, pp. 189-192. 2. D. Commins, Proc. Institute of Acoustics, 19, 213-220 (1997).

SESSIONS

Dissimilarity Judgments in Relation to Temporal and Spatial Factors for the Sound Field in an Existing Hall
Takuya Hotehama, Shin-ichi Sato and Yoichi Ando
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
To examine the relationships between the subjective attribute and physical factors of sound fields, dissimilarity judgments for different source locations on the stage were performed. This study is based on the model of the auditory-brain system, which consists of the autocorrelation and crosscorrelation mechanisms for sound signals arriving at two ears and specialization of human hemispheres. There are three temporal factors (1, 1, e) extracted from the autocorrelation function and four spatial factors (LL, IACC, IACC, WIACC) from interaural crosscorrelation function of binaural signals. In addition to these temporal and spatial factors, the orthogonal factors of the subjective preference for the sound field were taken into account. The relationships of the scale value of dissimilarity and these acoustical factors were analyzed by means of the multiple regression analysis. The results show that the calculated scale value of dissimilarity agrees with the measured scale value.

INTRODUCTION
A theory of primary sensations and spatial sensations to environmental noise that is based on the model of the auditory-brain system was previously proposed [1, 2]. Primary sensations -loudness, pitch, timbre and temporal duration- and spatial sensations can be described by temporal and spatial factors extracted from the autocorrelation function (ACF) and the interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) respectively. From the ACF analysis, effective duration of the envelope of the normalized ACF (e), the delay time of the first peak (1), and its amplitude (1) were extracted. From the IACF analysis, the listening level (LL), IACC, interaural delay time at which the IACC is defined (IACC) and width of the IACF at the IACC (WIACC) were extracted. It has been shown that the environmental noises can be characterized by these factors [3, 4]. The speech intelligibility of spoken syllable and the delay time of a single reflection of sound fields can be calculated by temporal factors extracted from the ACF [5, 6]. In concert hall acoustics, the theory of subjective preference allows us to calculate the scale values of subjective preference in terms of four orthogonal factors as follows: LL, the initial time-delay gap between the direct and the first reflection (t1), the subsequent reverberation time (Tsub) and IACC [1]. In this study, dissimilarity judgments for different source locations on the stage in an existing hall were performed in order to examine relationships between the subjective attribute and the physical factors based on the auditory-brain system of sound fields and the theory of subjective preference by means of multivariate analysis.

PROCEDURE
Dissimilarity judgments were performed in the "ORBIS Hall" with 400 seats (Figure 1). An anechoic source of orchestra music ("Water Music" Suite No.2 Alla Hornpipe by Handel) was used as a source signal. Six loudspeakers were placed on the stage. Twenty listeners were divided into four groups and seated at the specific positions. Without moving seat to seat, dissimilarity judgments were performed while switching the source locations to obtain a scale value of dissimilarity. The listeners were asked to judge the subjective difference between the paired stimuli on a scale that have opposite ends: "not different" and "extremely different ". The judgment consisted of fifteen pairs that is the possible combinations of six sound fields at each listener's location. The duration of the source signal was 4 s, and the silent interval between stimuli was 1 s. Each pair of sound fields was separeted by an interval of 5 s, and the pairs are arranged in random order. This session was repeated five times.

FIGURE 1. Plan of the "ORBIS Hall". A~D: listeners locations. 1~6: source locations.

SESSIONS

MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS


In order to examine the relationship between the psychological distance and physical factors obtained by acoustical measurements, the data were analyzed by the multiple regression analysis. For the explanatory variables, a distance between paired stimuli was introduced by applying the factors extracted from the running ACF and the running IACF analysis of recorded sound signals. In this analysis, the acoustical factors in relation to subjective preference were included in the explanatory variables, because the property of sound fields must be taken into account [1]. The explanatory variables were: (1) DLL, (2) D1, (3) D1, (4) DIACC, (5) DIACC, (6) DWIACC, (7) Dt1 and (8) DTsub. In order to construct scale value of dissimilarity among sound stimuli for the dependent variable, the original data obtained by dissimilarity judgment were categorized to seven categories, and a method of successive categories was applied to the categorized data. Correlation coefficients among explanatory variables were examined (Table 1). The results showed that the DWIACC highly correlated with the DIACC. To avoid the effect of multicollinearity, the DWIACC, which less correlated with the dependent variable than the DIACC, were also eliminated from them. In the multiple regression analysis, the distances for factors were combined linearly due to the expression given by D = aDLL+bD1+cD1+dDIACC+eDIACC+fDt1+gDTsub (1) where a, b, c, d, e, f and g are the coefficients to be evaluated. The coefficients were obtained by a stepwise regression method.
TABLE 1. Correlation coefficients among explanatory variables.

The relationship between the scale value obtained by dissimilarity judgments and the calculated dissimilarity at each group of four seats is shown in Figure 2. The correlation coefficient was 0.85 (p < 0.001). Results show that the psychological distance can be well described by the factors based on the auditory-brain system and the subjective preference theory.
TABLE 2. The partial correlation coefficients.

3.0 Scale value of dissimilarity

2.0

1.0

0.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 Calculated dissimilarity

FIGURE 2. Relationship between the distance scale obtained by dissimilarity judgments and the calculated distance scale.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank to the stuff of our laboratory for their cooperation during experiments. We also thank to the students who participated in the experimental sessions.

REFERENCES
1. Ando, Y., Architectural Acoustics -Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners-, AIP/SpringerVerlag, New York, 1998. 2. Ando, Y., Journal of Sound and Vibration, 241, 3-18 (2000). 3. Sakai, H., Sato, S., and Prodi, N., and Pompoli, R., Journal of Sound and Vibration, 241, 57-68 (2000). 4. Fujii, K., Soeta, Y., and Ando, Y., Journal of Sound and Vibration, 241, 69-78 (2000). 5. Ando, Y., Sato, S., and Sakai, H., "Fundamental subjective attributes of sound fields based on the model of auditory-brain system" Computational Acoustics in Architecture, edited by J.J. Sendra, WIT, Southampton, 1999, Chapter 4. 6. Ando, Y., Sakai, H., and Sato, S., Journal of Sound and Vibration, 232, 101-127 (2000).

RESULTS AND REMARKS


By applying the multiple regression analysis to the dependent variables and the explanatory variables, regression coefficients were obtained. The partial correlation coefficients indicated that the effect of DIACC was maximum among all. The D1 and the Dt1 also contributed to the dissimilarity significantly.

SESSIONS

Individual Differences on Subjective Preference Judgments in Relation to the Initial Time-Delay Gap of Sound Fields
Soichiro Kurokia, Masumi Hamadab , Yoichi Andoc and Hiroyuki Sakai c
a

Faculty of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, Hibikino, Kitakyushu 808-0135, Japan b Faculty of Engineering, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan c Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan

Abstract: In this study, subjective preference tests of sound fields were conducted by varying orthogonal factors of the sound field. Ten music motifs with different effective duration of the autocorrelation function (ACF) were used. The results of the most-preferred physical factors of each listener have varied widely. An attempt to clarify a relation between non-physical factors of individual difference and the preferred initial time-delay gap is made.

INTRODUCTION
The scale value of subjective preference was evaluated by 4 orthogonal physical factors (the listening level (LL), the subsequent reverberation time (Tsub), the initial time-delay gap (t1) and the interaural crosscorrelation (IACC))[1,2,3]. Subjective preference in relation to t1 depends on the effective duration (e) of the ACF of a sound source. The value of e is the delay time at which amplitude of normalized ACF becomes 0.1 after the first delay. In this study, value of e of music motif was measured and psychological experiments about non-physical factors influencing the individual differences are conducted.

(Table1). Next, the preferred initial time-delay gap ([t1]p) varies with variation of e. [t1]p s were recalculated by using new e and Eqn (1) showing x coordinate of preference curve.
x = log t1 [ t1 ] p

(1)

PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS
A paired-comparison test was conducted for the total of 33 pairs for every parameter. t1 and Tsub were set around inferred-theory value from e[3]. The direct sound and the reflection were reproduced from surrounding 16 speakers in the room. Subjects were required to report their preference selecting one of two sound fields. Table2. Levels of parameter for each motif
LL (dBA) 70 75 80 85 90 t1 (ms) 1/4p 1/2p p 2p 4p Tsub (s) 1/4*(23e) 1/2*(23e) 23e 2*(23e) 4*(23e) IACC 0.4 0.75 1 p=(1-log10A)e,A=4;total amplitudeof reflection

MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVE DURATION OF MUSIC MOTIFS


Psychological experiments were conducted in the sound-field-simulation room in the Kirishima International Music Hall (Kagoshima, Japan). Ten music motifs with their duration of about 6 seconds were analyzed. Dry sources were reproduced from a frontal loudspeaker in the room and picked up by the microphone at the listening position. After passing through A weighting filter, ACF was calculated. First, the running e values were calculated with the duration 2T=2s, and the minimum running e values were recalculated with the duration 2T equal 30 times e Table1. Sound motifs
Motif A B C E G H I J K L Name of motif Royal Pavane Sinfonietta, Opus 48, Piano, Classical Mood Water Music' Suite Marriage of Figaro Overture Flute, Classical Mood Cello, Solo Violin, Solo Clarinet, Solo Trumpet, Solo te (ms) 26 17 73 40 56 67 29 12 14 11 calculated [t1]p 10 7 29 16 22 27 12 5 6 4

FACTORS INFLUENCING TO [t1]p


Cumulative frequency of [t1]p (Figure1) shows that music motifs were divided into 3 groups; motifs preferred theory value neighborhood (motif E,C), motifs preferred shorter t1 than theory value (motif L,J,K,B,A,I), motifs hardly preferred theory value neighborhood (motif G,H). We gave subjects a questionnaire about their specifics, i.e. inborn, music experience, living style and so on. In this report, the result of [t1]p obtained were compared in relation to the following 6 items ; gender, age, musical experience, age when he or she started musical activity , term of musical activity and

SESSIONS

J I

K L C E

100 Cumulative frequency

LJ

A I

HC

100

The number of the subjects

60

G H

50

[t1]p (ms)

40

10

20

1
0
0.09.9 20.029.9 40.049.9 60.069.9 10.009.9 30.039.9 50.059.9 70.0

10

20

30
e (ms)

40
YES NO

50 60 70 80

[t1]p (ms)

Figure1. Cumulative frequency of [t1]p musical activity at present. Each motif was compared with those items. Table4 shows number of subjects in each item. As the result of analysis of variance (ANOVA), significant difference was obtained on some items as indicated in Table3. As regards musical experience, it relates to individual differences, because three motifs among 10 indicated a significance difference. Distribution of [t1]p on musical experience (Figure2) shows that subjects who had musical experience tend to prefer shorter t1 than subjects who had no musical experience. Table3. Result of ANOVA
Items Gender Age Motif Male vs. Female Under 20 vs. 20s Under 20 vs. Over 30 20s vs. Over 30 Under 10 vs. Over 10 Under 10 vs. Over 10 L 0.203 0.135 0.903 0.459 0.227 0.638 0.890 0.297 0.719 0.244 J 0.928 0.999 0.269 0.150 0.757 K 0.432 0.623

Figure2. Distribution of [t1]p on musical experience

REFERENCES
1. Ando, Y., Concert Hall Acoustics, Springer-Verlag Tokyo, 1987. 2. Ando, Y., ARCHITECTUAL ACOUSTICS Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners, Springer-Verlag Tokyo, 1998. 3. Sakurai, M., Korenaga, Y. and Ando, Y., A sound simulation system for seat selection, Music & Concert Hall Acoustics, Conference Proceeding from MCHA 1995, Academic Press, London, pp.51-59, 1996.
I 0.821 0.344 0.999 0.437 0.474 0.034 * 0.749 0.675 E 0.298 G 0.487 0.412 0.929 0.366 0.073 0.051 H 0.074 0.154 0.119 0.430 0.007 ** 0.836 0.547 0.894 C 0.661 0.752 All 0.187 0.011 * 0.736 0.104 0.021 * 0.158 0.072 0.378

B A 0.600 0.620 0.006 ** 0.746 0.010 ** 0.594

Musical experience Starting age of musical activity Term of musical activity Musical activity at present

0.026 * 0.415 0.004 ** 0.560 0.733 0.720 0.232 0.960

0.013 * 0.807

0.006 ** 0.634 0.005 ** 0.675

0.001 ** 0.042 * 0.761 0.751 0.972 0.439

0.05>p>0.01;*,p<0.01;**

Table4. Number of subjects in each item


Motif Male Female Under 20 Age 20s Over 30 Yes Musical experience No Starting age of musical activity Under 10 Over 10 Under 10 Term of musical activity Over 10 Yes Musical activity at present No All Subjects Items Gender L 18 24 12 27 3 31 11 9 7 5 7 21 7 42 J 11 14 4 16 4 14 10 0 0 9 6 8 0 25 K 34 15 2 47 0 19 29 0 0 10 10 6 0 49 B 32 15 2 41 4 32 15 14 16 3 9 22 8 47 A 16 8 9 9 2 16 4 1 4 0 0 16 0 24 I 46 35 16 55 9 53 26 16 23 12 14 31 12 81 E 19 14 0 29 4 24 9 9 13 6 9 13 9 33 G 19 15 7 16 11 21 13 8 10 2 7 16 4 34 H 26 18 10 24 5 27 16 6 7 9 11 14 10 44 C 12 17 15 14 0 25 4 7 3 4 6 18 7 29 All 233 175 77 278 42 262 137 70 83 60 79 165 57 408

SESSIONS

Effects of Modulated Delay Time of Reflection on the Autocorrelation Function and Perception of the Echo
Junko Atagia, Reinhard Weberb and Volker Mellertb
a

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 Japan b AG Akustik, Physik, University of Oldenburg, D-26111, Oldenburg, Germany

The indoor sound field can be regarded more or less as time-variant system because of air current and other movements. The fluctuation of the sound-pressure-level caused by an air conditioner was measured in a gymnasium. From the statistical analysis of the sound-pressure-level fluctuation, a time-variant model of the impulse response was proposed. The impulse-response model consists of the direct sound and reflections with modulated delay time. In this paper, the physical characteristics of the timevariant sound field with the modulated delay time of reflection is analyzed by the autocorrelation function (ACF) of the sound field in order to compare with the time-invariant sound field with the fixed delay time of reflection. Psychological tests on perception of the echo were conducted changing the modulation interval. The relationship between the ACF and the perception of the echo is discussed.

INTRODUCTION
Previously, Ueda and Ando reported that the fluctuation of sound pressure level (SPL) was observed in a real room, which was caused by an air conditioner [1]. The SPL was measured in a gymnasium using pure tones as sound sources, and clearly fluctuates especially at higher frequencies when the air conditioner is on. Thus, an indoor sound field can be regarded as a time-variant system. Not only large room like a gymnasium but also any indoor sound field includes such a temporal fluctuation in the physical environment. Based on the statistical analysis of the SPL fluctuation, a time-variant model of the impulse response was proposed. In the model, the impulse response is represented by a direct sound and reflections with carrying delay tike. A simulation using the model confirmed the SPL fluctuation at higher frequencies as the measured data when the air conditioner was on. In this paper, physical characteristics of such a timevariant sound field are examined by analyzing the autocorrelation function of the sound field with the modulated delay time of reflection. Also, concerning the subjective evaluation of the sound field variation, the perception of the echo in the time-variant sound field is investigated.

Direct sound

Reflection sound

A0
Amplitude

A1

(A0 = A1 )

Dt1 D

Time

FIGURE 1. A time-variant model of the impulse response including the definitions of the delay time of reflection (Dt1) and the modulation interval of delay time of reflection (D).

PROCEDURE
A musical motif was used as sound source (Royal Pavane by Gibbons, 10 sec). A sound field consists of a direct sound and a single reflection as representative of a set of reflections. The time-variant model of the

impulse response was used to reproduce the timevariant sound field (Figure 1). The delay time of the reflection (Dt1) for the time-variant sound field was controlled by a sinusoidal wave. The frequency of the sinusoidal wave was set to 0.2 Hz, because it was observed to be 0.1-0.2 Hz from the analysis of the SPL fluctuation in the real room [1]. The Dt1 is fixed at 240 ms. The values of the modulation interval (D) were determined by a preliminary experiment on the just noticeable difference (jnd) of the modulation of the delay time of reflection. It was performed with ten subjects. As a result, the average D value of the jnd for all the subjects was 10.6 ms. Therefore, the D values are set at 0 (fixed delay time), 5.3 (1/2 Djnd), 10.6 (Djnd), 21.2 (2 Djnd) and 42.4 (4Djnd) ms.

SESSIONS

THE ACF ACALYSES


To examine the physical characteristics of the timevariant sound field, the autocorrelation function is analyzed [2]. In Figure 2, envelopes of the normalized ACF f(t) of the sound source and the sound fields are shown. By further examining the ACF envelopes, it is found that the ACF envelope of the sound field with the fixed delay time has a peak at 240 ms, which corresponds to the Dt1, and that it is much suppressed by adding the modulation. To represent the difference of the ACF behavior among the sound fields with different values of D, the ratio of the ACF envelope of a sound field to a sound source is defined as follows and shown in Figure 3. f p+1 (t ) Ep +1(t ) = (1) f p (t )

1.2 1.1

0.5

1 Ep+1(240) 0.9

0 0.8 0.7 0.6 -1 0 5.3 10.6 D [ms] 21.2 42.4 0.5

-0.5

where fp(t): the ACF envelope of a sound source fp+1(t): the ACF envelope of a sound field

FIGURE 3. The average scale values of the perception of the echo for all the subjects (open square) and the ratio of the ACF envelope of sound fields to the sound source (filled circle) as a function of the values of D.

PERCEPTION OF ECHO
Paired-comparison test on perception of the echo was conducted using the same sound fields as the ACF analyses as the sound stimuli. The subjects judged which of the two sound stimuli they felt stronger echo. The experiment was carried out ten times repetitively for each subject. Ten subjects aged from 22 to 27 participated in the experiment. Figure 3 shows the relationship between the scale value of echo and the Ep+1(t) value at t = 240 [ms] for each sound field as a function of the values of D. It is found that the average scale value of echo becomes significantly larger with the longer D, while the ratio Ep+1 becomes smaller. The correlation coefficient between the scale values and the ratio is 0.78.
0

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION


It is found that the perception of the echo becomes larger with the longer modulation interval, while the ACF at the delay time of Dt1 becomes smaller. It is considered that the echo can be easily perceived because the total coherence becomes lower than that of the direct sound around the delay time of Dt1 by adding the modulation. The behavior of the autocorrelation function is effective and significant to determine the physical characteristics and the perception of the echo in the time-variant sound field.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to express gratitude to Professor Yoichi Ando for many valuable discussions and his precious advice. Thanks also to the students who participated in the experiments for their cooperation.

-5

REFERENCES
-10

1. Ueda, Y., and Ando, Y., Effects of air conditioning on sound propagation in a large space, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 27712775 (1997). 2. Ando, Y., Architectural Acoustics Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners, AIP Press/Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998. 3. Ueda, Y., Furuichi, H., and Ando, Y., The just noticeable difference in variable delay time of the single reflection, in Music and Concert Hall Acoustics, edited by Y. Ando and D. Noson, Academic Press, London, 1997, pp. 133-137.

-15 0 100 200 t [ms] 300

FIGURE 2. Example of the ACF envelope; thin line: the sound source, circle: the sound field with fixed delay time (D=0), and thick line: the sound field with modulated delay time (D =10.6 ms).

SESSIONS

Using Artificial Intelligence to Enable Occupied Measurements of Concert Hall Parameters


Trevor J. Coxa and Francis F. Lib
b

School of Acoustics and Electronic Engineering, Salford University, Salford M5 4WT, UK Dept of Computing and Mathematics, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK

a,

Objective room acoustic parameters are usually measured using artificial test signals, while subjective sound quality is assessed under naturalistic sound sources. Objective parameters are difficult to measure under occupied in-use conditions due to various logistical and technical problems. Many difficulties would be overcome if the naturally occurring sources in concert halls, such as music or speech, could be used. This paper presents a method to do this using an artificial intelligence engine. Artificial neural networks are trained to extract objective parameters from speech heard in the concert hall through a large database of examples. Careful pre-processing of the speech samples is required, using either an unsupervised network or an envelope spectrum estimator. From simulated speech excerpts, the reverberation time can be estimated to an accuracy of better than 0.1, with a few necessary conditions. It is noted that in low frequency subspace, speech has certain stable statistical features, and so by training artificial neural networks on a large number of different speech examples, it is likely that the network can learn to adapt to different speakers, realizing source independent measurements.

INTRODUCTION
Occupied objective acoustic measurements are not often undertaken because of logistical and technical problems. The use of artificial test signals makes it difficult to get realistic in-use conditions, as the test signals are unacceptable to occupants. It is suggested that many difficulties could be overcome if the naturally occurring sounds in concert halls, such as music or speech, were used. This would give a noninvasive test method. Such a concept is not new, for example Steeneken and Houtgast [1] suggested estimating the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) from running speech to obtain the Speech Transmission Index (STI). The MTF was estimated by comparing the envelope spectra of source and received speech, but at the cost of
Known acoustical parameters (RT) as teachers Reverberated Speech
+

compromised accuracy when compared to using artificial signals. Inspired by the fact that human hearing can sensitively differentiate reverberation times, artificial intelligence methods were recently introduced into room measurements to enable more accurate estimations with speech excitations [2]. In particular, artificial neural networks (ANNs) with purpose designed pre-processors were developed to extract objective parameters from speech. This paper will discuss these ANN methods and present some new techniques and results about the extraction of octave band reverberation time from running speech.

ANN METHODS
The method of using supervised ANNs to extract objective parameters is depicted in Fig.1. There are two phases to developing and applying the ANN regime, namely training and retrieve. In the training phase, the ANN learns to extract reverberation from speech through thousands of examples. For this, reverberated speech examples with known acoustic parameters are used. The speech examples are preprocessed and conditioned to yield input vectors for the ANN. The output of the neural network and the corresponding true acoustic parameter are compared to obtain the error. The training process is to iteratively update the internal parameters of the neural network to minimize the mean square error over all training examples. In this study, a back propagation algorithm is used. The training phase is slow. The signal preprocessing plays a vital role in the systems success and is the focus of the regimes development. For each acoustic parameter, a different pre-processor is needed.

Preprocessor

Neural Network

Adjust NN using error signals

Fig. 1 Training (top) and retrieve (bottom) phases.

SESSIONS

In the retrieve phase the neural network structure is fixed. The ANN will then give accurate acoustic parameter estimation from speech signals. This happens in real time, and the ANN can generalise to examples not previously seen during training. Data sets used to train and validate the ANN are a super set of reality, comprising hypothetically more than all the possible types of room impulse responses. Validation was performed strictly using data that had never been used in the training phase. Current work only includes a very limited set of real measurements, what is presented here is mainly based on simulation.

SEPARATE UTTERANCES
Reverberation times have been successfully extracted from separate utterances (1, 2, 3, 4) [2]. A set of RMS detectors monitor the slope of the rise and fall edges of these syllables - a time domain approach. Results demonstrate that the ANN can generalize. The worst cases have an accuracy of <0.1s for reverberation time. Problems arise if the utterances are not sufficiently spaced and so the reverberant decays are masked by future syllables. This method is ambient noise tolerant - ANNs usually have intrinsic noise tolerance - provided the slopes are not significantly masked by noise (say, S/N>20dB). When octave band reverberation times are estimated, however, accuracy is compromised. The problem stems from a lack of signal excitation in the octave bands. For octave band analysis, more utterances are required to ensure sufficient signal level in each band, but then the time domain pre-processor yields too many input vectors for the ANN. Consequently, a different pre-processor is needed, as outlined below. This pre-processor also has the added advantage of using more natural, running speech.

A high resolution, normalised envelope spectrum estimator is used as a pre-processor. This is based on the Hilbert Transform. A better than 0.1s resolution of octave band reverberation time can be achieved in noise free cases, Fig.2. The normalised envelope spectrum contains both ambient noise and reverberation effects. This makes this frequency domain approach more sensitive to ambient noise than the time domain method. Although ANNs have intrinsic capability to deal with noisy data, this is not true in this case. To achieve a better than 0.1 second resolution, >40dB S/N is typically required. Noise reduction techniques used in speech processing might help, but these have not been tried.

Fig. 2 Accuracy of RT for 1kHz octave band

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS


ANNs can accurately estimate objective parameters from speech. This provides a new method to facilitate in-use, non-invasive measurement of concert halls. An envelope spectrum estimator coupled to an ANN gives octave band reverberation times for running speech. Problems arise with ambient noisy, and when arbitrary speaker/text are considered. Further verification with more real room measurements is required.

RUNNING SPEECH
Envelope spectra are efficient pre-processors for running speech, as the low frequencies give information on the changes to the speech envelopes, such as reverberation effects. Objective parameters are contained in the difference between the envelope spectra of the original and transmitted speech. However, the mapping between the difference of the envelope spectra and objective parameters are complicated and difficult to formulate. The method proposed in [1] only gives approximate estimations, ANNs can map the complicated functions, and so improve accuracy. Furthermore, explicit knowledge of the input signal may not be needed as the average low frequency statistics concerning pronunciation and text can be learnt by the ANN.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project was funded by EPSRC, UK (GR/L89280).

REFERENCES
1 H. J. M. Steeneken and T. Houtgast, Proc. 11th ICA, Vol. 7, Paris 1983 ,P 85-88. 2. T J Cox, F. Li and P Darlington., J.Audio.Eng.Soc. 49(4) 219-230. (April 2001)

SESSIONS

Auditory Evoked Magnetic Fields Corresponding to the Subjective Preference of Sound Fields
Y. Soetaa, S. Nakagawab, M. Tonoikeb and Y. Andoa
b

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, Japan Life Electronics Laboratory, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Osaka, Japan

Previously, the relationships between the brain activities and subjective preference for sound fields have been examined by auditory evoked potential (AEP) and alpha waves range of continuous brain waves. To investigate human cortical responses corresponding to the subjective preference for speech sound field, an attempt is made here to analyze the autocorrelation function (ACF) of magnetoencephalogram (MEG) in relation to the delay time of single reflection. It is assumed that a similar repetitive feature of the a-wave range (8 13 Hz) of MEG in terms of the effective duration of the ACF is related to subjective preference. The source signal was the Japanese word piano of 0.35 s. The delay time of the first reflection (Dt1) was varied at five levels (0, 5, 20, 60, 100 ms). In order to compare results of MEG with the subjective preference, a reference stimulus was first presented and then an adjustable test stimulus was presented. Such a pair of stimuli was presented alternately 50 times for recording MEG in similar manner to the paired-comparison tests. It is remarkable that there is a linear relationship between the subjective preference and the effective duration of the ACF of the a-wave of MEG.

INTRODUCTION
Four significant and independent physical parameters of sound field, which takes account of time and space as they are specialized in human cerebral hemispheres, have been discovered [1]. These parameters are: (1) the level of listening, (2) the initial delay gap between the direct sound and first reflection (Dt1), (3) subsequent reverberation time (Tsub), and (4) magnitude of the interaural cross-correlation (IACC). Recently, the effort to describe such important qualities of sound in terms of the auditory pathways and brain has been brought to bear on the problem. If enough were known about how the auditory system modifies the nerve impulse from the cochlea, the design of the concert hall and opera house, for example, could proceed according to guidelines derived from knowledge of these processes. Concerning the relationship between brain activities and subjective preferences of a sound field, a method of using the autocorrelation function (ACF) was developed to analyze elecroencephalogram (EEG) [2, 3]. They analyzed the effective duration of the envelope of the normalized ACF (te) of the alpha waves when temporal factors Dt1 and Tsub were varied. The results showed that te of the alpha waves is longer only in the left cerebral hemisphere for the preferred conditions of these temporal factors. In this study, to investigate the relationship between brain magnetic fields and subjective preferences of sound fields, the ACF of magnetoencephalogram (MEG) is analyzed.

EXPERIMENTS
The source signal was the Japanese word piano of 0.35 s. The delay time of the reflection was varied at five levels (0, 5, 20, 60, 100 ms). The amplitude of the reflection was the same as that of the direct sound. The sound-pressure level was fixed at 70 dBA. Seven subjects, males, 23 to 26 years old, participated. The auditory stimuli were binaurally delivered through silicon tubes and earpieces. They asked to close their eyes so as to fully concentrate on the speech. Following the paired-comparison method, each subject compared 10 pairs per session, a total of 10 sessions were conducted for each subject. The interval between the stimuli presentations was 1.0 s, and that between comparison pairs was 4.0 s to allow time for the subjects to respond. The subjects were asked which stimulus they preferred to hear. The scale values of the subjective preference of each subject were calculated according to Case V of Thurstones theory [4]. Recording of magnetic fields were carried out in a magnetically shielded room using a 122-channel whole-head neuromagnetometer. During recording, the subjects sat in a chair with their eye closed. In order to compare the results of the MEGs with scale values of the subjective preference, a reference stimulus (Dt1 = 0 ms) was first presented and then the adjustable test stimuli (Dt1 = 0, 5, 20, 60, 100 ms) were presented using a constant interstimulus interval of 1000 ms. Such pairs of stimuli were presented alternately 50 times and the MEGs were recorded.

SESSIONS

Scale value of preference

1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 - 0.5 - 1.0 - 1.5 0 20

r = 1. 00 ( a)

700

r = 0. 99 ( b)

550

r = 0. 94 ( c)

550

r = 0. 91 ( d)

600

600 500 500

500

500

450

400

40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 - 0.5

80

400 100

20

40 60 Dt 1 [ m s]

80

450 100

20

40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 600

400 80 100

20

40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 600

80

300 100

Scale value of preference

450 r = 0. 91 ( e)

r = 0.90 (f)

r = 0.91 ( g)

500 400 400

500

400

- 1.0 - 1.5 0 20 40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 350 80 100 0 20 40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 300 80 100 0 20 40 60 Dt 1 [ m s] 80 300 100

FIGURE 1. Relationships between scale values of subjective preference (LL) and averaged values of te obtained at a certain
channel of MEG over left hemisphere () as a function of Dt1 for all subjects.

To obtain a degree of similar repetitive features of the MEG alpha waves, the effective duration of the ACF, te, defined by the delay t at which the envelope of the ACF becomes 10 dB is determined. 16 channels of the temporal area on both left and right cerebral hemispheres of each subjects head were selected to analyze.

RESULTS AND REMARKS


Figure 1 shows relationships between scale values of subjective preference and averaged values of te over left hemisphere. The averaged values of te derived from the certain channel that showed the highest correlation almost directly related to the scale values of subjective preference. Thus, there is a linear relationship between scale values of subjective preference and the values of te. Correlation coefficient for each subject was more than 0.91 in the left hemisphere. This tendency is much more significant than the results of previous studies on alpha waves of EEG [2,3]. The left hemisphere is mainly associated with speech and time-sequential identification, and the right is concerned with nonverbal and spatial identifications [1, 5]. The response, which corresponds to subjective preference, was only found in the left hemisphere in previous studies [2,3]. In this study, a linear relationship between scale values of subjective preference and the values of te are found both right and left cerebral hemispheres. In the right hemisphere, the correlation coefficient for each subject was more

than 0.87. There was a tendency, however, that the change of te in the left hemisphere was wider than that in the right hemisphere. This may indicate that the left hemisphere dominance of the human brain for such a change of the Dt1 for speech. The auditory-brain model for describing subjective attributes for sound fields, which consists of the autocorrelation and the interaural cross-correlation mechanisms, is proposed [1, 6]. In this study, the linear relationship between subjective preference and the ACF factor, te, is found. This may also imply the existence of the ACF mechanism in human brain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by a Research Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists.

REFERENCES
1. Y. Ando, Architectural Acoustics, Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners, AIP Press, Springer-Verlag, New York (1998). 2. Y. Ando and C. Chen, J. Archi. Plann. Environ. Engng. AIJ., 488, 67-73 (1996). 3. C. Chen and Y. Ando, J. Archi. Plann. Environ. Engng. AIJ., 488, 73-80 (1996). 4. L. L. Thurstone, Psychol. Rev. 34, 273-289 (1927). 5. D. Kimura, Sci. Amer. 228, 70-78 (1973). 6. Y. Ando, J. Sound Vib., 241, 3-18 (2001).

te [ms]

SESSIONS

te [ms]

Subjective Evaluations of Scattering in Rooms


R. R. Torresa, M. Kleinerb, U. P. Svenssonc, and G. Natsiopoulosd
Program in Architectural Acoustics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180, USA Department Chalmers Room Acoustics Group, Chalmers Univ. of Tech., SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden c Acoustics Group, Dept. of Telecommunications, Norwegian Inst. of Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway d Akustikon, Baldersgatan 4, SE-411 02 Gothenburg, Sweden
b a

Generic numerical parameters for the acoustical quality of concert halls (for example, reverberation time) do not adequately describe the finer perception of spectral and spatial attributes of scattering from interior surfaces. In addition, it is helpful to determine what level of computational accuracy is necessary for accurate auralization. Thus, to better understand the perception of scattering, subjective tests have been performed using various computational models of edge diffraction and surface scattering. Results from the studies show interesting relationships among the audibility and perceived quality of the sound, and the type of input signal used in the investigations.

INTRODUCTION
The scattering behavior of faceted and rough surfaces is of particular importance in room acoustics, as it determines the spatial coverage and spectral coloration of early reflections to listeners. For computer simulations, the task, then, is to choose appropriate mathematical models of surface scattering.

bosses (e.g., hemispheres or semi-cylinders). Here we have implemented the boss model proposed in [2] to complement to the wedge-assemblage method, and we present some initial results of listening tests when hemispherical scatterers are placed on the side walls and ceiling of a concert-hall shoebox geometry.

NUMERICAL MODELING
The scattering from an embedded sphere (i.e., a hemisphere on a plane) is depicted in Fig. 1. The total pressure at the receiver is the sum of the incident and reflected specular components, in addition to the incident and reflected scattered components above the plane of the hemisphere. If we group the latter three components together, we express the total pressure as simply the sum of the incident and total scattered components:
sc ptot = pi + p rsp + pinc + p rsc

Previous Subjective Studies


In early studies using a simplified energy-based Lambert diffusion model [1], listening tests showed that changes in the frequency-dependent diffusion coefficient were clearly audible as coloration and spaciousness differences, where the perception of these attributes relied on the input signal. Listeners gave entirely consistent comments regarding perceived coloration changes in different frequency ranges. For higher-accuracy modeling, a hybrid approach [2] would consist of using a wedge-assemblage method (using the Svensson et al. extension [3] of the BTM model [4]) to compute edge diffractions from room surfaces and a boss model to compute scattering from hemispheres on wall surfaces. The application to a stage house has already been discussed in [5], where double-blind ABX listening tests showed that the inclusion of diffraction was audible in the early impulse response even for non-shadowed receivers. These subjective tests indicated possible computational savings, e.g., the omittance of secondorder diffraction computations for non-shadowed source-receiver orientations. The present work addresses surfaces that are not as easily represented as an assemblage of edges. Such surfaces could be statues on walls or other isolated

(1)

pi

pisc

prsc

prsp
FIGURE 1. The total pressure is the sum of the incident and scattered components above the plane of the hemisphere. Moreover, the method combines the method of images and an analytical solution for scattering from a rigid

SESSIONS

sphere. [The Lambert-diffusion model puts magnitude bars around the latter three terms in Eq. 1 and propagates the energy toward the receiver. Thus, the scattered phase cannot interfere with the direct field and thus does not yield the total field.] The test geometry is a rectangular concert hall (Fig. 2). The 12 hemispheres on each side wall and ceiling (36 total) are spaced about 6-8 m apart, which is a conservative, low boss density. (Coupling between bosses has been addressed theoretically by Natsiopoulos [6], but remains to be fully implemented.) The diameters are one-half wavelengths for the frequencies 125 Hz, 500 Hz, and 2000 Hz (radii 69 cm, 17 cm, and 5 cm).

and the results show that the audibility of the boss scattering with early reflections depends on the input signal. It seems reasonable that the audibility of the boss scattering would increase significantly with the number and density of bosses in the hall.
Table I. Audibility of freq. dependence in scattering. (Yes= significant audible difference with p < 0.5) frequency Organ Stg Qtet Chirp Impulse 125 vs 500 Yes Yes Yes Yes 125 vs 2000 Yes Yes Yes Yes 500 vs 2000 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Table II. Audibility of scattering in early BRIR. (Yes = significant audible difference with p < 0.5) frequency Organ Stg Qtet Chirp Impulse 125 No Yes Yes Yes 500 Yes 2000 Yes

R 44 m

FIGURE 2. Test geometry for listening tests.

LISTENING TESTS
Early binaural room impulse responses (BRIR) are computed. Only one order of specular reflections is used, to more easily analyze the early BRIR structure and coloration, and for comparison with a Lambert model with two different implementations for firstorder and higher-orders of reflection. The listening tests have two parts. First, the subjects performed an ABX test to determine whether the differences between the boss sizes were audibly significant. They also rated the general difference on a scale and could describe the perceived difference. Four signals (an organ chord, a string quartet, a chirp, and the impulse itself) are used to judge their effect on the audibility. (Spectrograms and further details are given in [7].) The second part compares the BRIR with and without bosses, to determine whether the difference is audible, despite the large boss spacing between them. The largest boss size is used (corresponding to 125 Hz), along with the four input signals above. The total number of cases studied was necessarily limited to avoid fatigue in the test listeners.

Future work could include applying more physically based values for the scattering coefficients as input data into current auralization programs, and studying whether the perceptual differences are significant between more accurate scattering models and simpler current approaches. Descriptors for the sound quality of scattering would also be useful.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support was provided by the Johnson Foundation and Teknikbrostiftelsen, Sweden.

REFERENCES
1. R. R. Torres et al., Acustica 86(6), 919-927 (2000). 2. R. R. Torres and M. Kleiner, Proc. 137th ASA/2nd EAA (Forum Acusticum)/DAGA, Berlin, March 1999. 3. U. P. Svensson et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 106, 23312344 (1999). 4. H. Medwin, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 69, 1060-1064 (1981). 5. R. R. Torres et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 109, 600-610 (2001). 6. G. Natsiopoulos, Report E 00-05, Applied Acoustics, Chalmers Univ. Tech., Gothenburg, Sweden (2000). 7. R. R. Torres, Studies of Edge Diffraction and Scattering: Applications to Room Acoustics and Auralization, Ph.D. thesis, Report F 00-02, Dept. Applied Acoustics, Chalmers Univ. Tech., Gothenburg, Sweden (2000).

RESULTS
With 12 subjects the ABX results from the first part of the listening tests show (Table I) that the frequencydependence is clearly audible in the scattering alone, as one should expect. In Table II, 24 trials were used,

SESSIONS

Acoustical Behavior of Small Lecture Rooms


J. A. F. Gomesa, M. R. S. Ribeirob
b a

Instituto Politcnico da Guarda, Guarda, Portugal Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

This paper aims to characterise the acoustical behaviour of small lecture rooms with different sizes. Characterization is accomplished by measuring room sound quality parameters such as Reverberation Time, Early Decay Time, Speech Intelligibility, Clarity, Definition, etc. The measured values are compared with those yielded by various mathematical models based on prediction techniques in order to obtain some conclusions. The rooms under study have materials with similar acoustic absorption and diffusibility features. A set of conclusions is presented in order to define the optimal features for sound quality and room acoustics prediction in small lecture .

INTRODUCTION
In this study we analyze the acoustic behavior of small lecture rooms with similar finishing materials and acoustic characteristics (absorption and diffusibility). From this analogy we expect to evaluate the coherence of the acoustical characteristics for each one of the rooms and for the diverse coating materials. All the auditoriums belonged to the same school and they don't have any system of sound amplification. The parallelepipedic shape is the basic pattern. The absorption and diffusibility features of the internal surfaces had been obtained directly from bibliographical references and from the prediction software data. To consider the sound absorption coefficient of the chairs, some difficulties in getting direct values from the literature had been verified, because the available information was insufficient (details absence). The most important architectural lecture rooms data are resumed in Table 1. The ideal reverberation, determinated by the Stephens and Bate empirical method (r=4 for speech), is based in equation (1). From graph that relates optimum reverberation time with auditoria size, Martins da Silva [1] suggest for speech use, values between 0,6 and 1,0 seconds.
T = r 0 , 012

Table 1: Lecture rooms characteristics


Lecture Room Volume V (m3) N of places (Np) Floor surface (m2) Relation V/Np Ideal TR (s)

S53 S4 S7 S9 S23 S25 S56 S6 S8

337 264 264 265 259 259 167 128 128

90 44 44 44 35 35 45 21 21

112 92 92 93 91 91 57 45 45

3.7 6.0 6.0 6.0 7.4 7.4 3.7 6.1 6.1

0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.70 0.65 0.65

ACOUSTICAL MEASUREMENTS
The measurements were carried out in two fases. The first one evaluate the quality of speech communication with respect to intelligibility for the different lecture rooms using the RASTI Index. In the second fase, first we evaluated three 60 dB decay times: T30, T20 and EDT (Early Decay Time) derived from the decays measured in the auditoriums, and then four roomacoustic parameters: Clarity (Early-to-late Sound Index), Definition (Early Energy Fraction), Centre Time and the Total Sound Level. All these measurements had been made for octave-bands between 125Hz and 4kHz.

V + 0 ,107

(1)

Another particularity from the analyzed lecture rooms are the high values of the relation between volume and number of seats verified in most of the rooms (6.0 7.4 m3/seat). B.J. Smith and others [2] considerer as correct volume/person for lecture rooms a value from 2,8 m3/pers. (optimum) to 4,9 m3/pers. (maximum).

PREDICTION METHOD
For acoustic prediction we used software based on the Randomize Tail-corrected Cone-tracing (RTC) CATTAcoustic - developed by CATT (Computer Aided Theatre Technique) from Gothenburg - Sweden. To use the prediction software it's necessary to define the room geometry (corner coordinates and the plane definitions) as well as the receiver's position and source data. As the author refers [3] in the users

SESSIONS

manual the underlying theory is the geometrical acoustics, the reason why for small rooms only the upper octaves 1, 2 and 4 kHz will be well predicted. In the resulting analysis we will try to verify this aspect.

RESULTS ANALYSES
Making a general appreciation of all the measured acoustical parameters, a first conclusion is the coincident behaviour of the rooms, and a relative independence from the lecture rooms volume. One of the most significant results obtained from the in situ measurements, are the extreme high values for the reverberation times, specially for the 125 and 250 octave bands (2.8 - 4.5 seconds). For the 500 to 4000 octave bands the reverberation values vary between 1.9 s (500 Hz) and 1.0 s (4000 Hz). These values are consequence of the coating which has low sound absorption coefficients. We obtained the higher values for reverberation in rooms S23 and S25. The ratio Volume/N of places can be one possible reason. Table 2 indicates the limits (maximum and minimum) corresponding to the extreme octave bands (125Hz e 4kHz) for the remaining acoustic parameters measurements: C80 (Clarity Early-to-late Sound Index), D50 (Definition Early Energy Fraction), Ts (Centre Time) and G (Total Sound Level).
Table 2. Measured Room-acoustical parameter limits Lecture Rooms Room-acoustical parameter S53, 4, 7, 9, 23, 25 S56, 6, 8 Clarity [-5.0; 4.1] [-6.2; 2.6] Definition [0.14; 0.58] [0.12; 0.52] Centre Time [324; 68] [274; 74] Total Sound Level [22.5; 29.4] [24.5; 31.1]

Total Sound Level (Ls), the Definition (D50) and the Reverberation Decays T15 and T30. For the considered Sabine sound absorption coefficients of coating materials we also verify that the decay times obtained from the Randomize Tailcorrected Cone-tracing (RTC) method are more accurate than the results obtained from classical methods (Sabine e Eyring) whose values are always lower than the real ones. The results of previsional model for speech intelligibility evaluation (RASTI Index) are very close to the measured ones. In order to determine one possible acoustical rehabilitation, we tried in some of the lecture rooms to establish a corrective action using the acoustic prediction software. For this proposal we considered a high performance acoustical paneling for ceilings in the rear half area of the ceiling (speaker most distant surface), and a 13 mm thick plywood resonant plate absorber with a regular 5 mm perforation (5,3% of total area), mounted over 60 mm air space filled with porous material in the back wall of the rooms.

CONCLUSIONS
Apparently, by using the simplified prediction model, and for all analysed lecture rooms, we can achieve a reasonable fit with the experimental results, not only in the upper octaves 500 Hz, 1, 2 and 4 kHz bands, but also in the lower octave bands 125 and 250 Hz. One probable reason for same different results may be the inaccurate acoustical absorption/diffusion coefficients of the surface coatings and seats, because no previous measurements of absorption coefficients had been carried out. All the analyzed lecture rooms had similar sound quality parameters. It's possible to improve the acoustical behavior fixing absorbent materials only to the back wall and the rear half area of the ceiling. The reverberation is the main source of interference in the quality of speech transmission for the analyzed lecture rooms.

By the measurements of RASTI Index, the mean values for each room lye between 0.49 and 0.53, corresponding to a FAIR subjective intelligibility. As expected, the front seats have better speech transmission results with respect to intelligibility. After the definition and introduction of room geometry and characteristics on the acoustic prediction software, we obtain estimated values for the same conditions of the acoustical measurements. Making a general evaluation of the results from the prediction method, we get the best approach in the octave bands 500, 1000 e 2000Hz. The worst results are obtained at the 125 Hz octave band. This results confirms the note about the expected good resultes in the upper octave bands frequencies. For the acoustic parameters the most significant deviations occurs for the Clarity (C80) and for Early Decay Time (EDT). We reach the best results for the

REFERENCES
1. Silva, Pedro Martins, Acstica de edifcios, Informao tcnica edifcios 8, LNEC, Lisboa 1978. 2. B J Smith, R J Peters and S Owen, Acoustics and Noise Control, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, England, 1996 CATT-Acoustics v7, Room Acoustic Prediction and Desktop Auralization, Users Manual.

3.

SESSIONS

Auditorium di Roma - A modern centre in a country with a huge cultural heritage G. Mllera, H. A. Mllera and J. Reinholda
a

Mller-BBM GmbH, Robert-Koch-Str. 11, 82152 Planegg, Germany

The city of Rome is building a new Cultural Centre. The concept of the centre as well as the acoustical viewpoints deducted from existing, well reputed halls as well as from scientific insights are described. Some acoustical criteria which were referred to during the design of the halls are listed and the general planning procedure including optical and acoustical tests at scale models is shown. Exemplarily key elements of the building and room acoustical design, that are necessary for a high standard, are discussed.

The city of Rome is building a Cultural Centre for m usic. This Centre consists of a large symphony hall for 2700 spectators, a mid-size hall for 1200 listeners, which can be used for chamber music as well as for symphonic music, a multipurpose hall offering a wide variety of uses including small operas for 700 spectators and an open-air amphitheatre for an audience of up to 3000 persons. Within his prize -winning design, Arch. Renzo Piano paid special attention to acoustical viewpoints. These viewpoints derived from existing, well reputed halls as well as from scientific insights, constraints given by the site and musical presets. They affect seat arrangement, positioning of the audience, volume, and general shape of the halls. The large site of construction outside the historic centre of Rome made it possible to choose an adequate general arrangement of the halls, which permits a highly unrestrained simultaneous use and good acoustical prerequisites. The difficulty of the location was the high noise-impact by the surrounding traffic and the maximum height of the building given by the location near to one of Romes hills .

and a multi-purpose hall for 500 listeners. During the realiza tion of the project the concept of the small hall was shifted towards an even broader spectrum of uses from concert via opera and speech theatre to cinema. Taking into account the site on which the halls should be erected, Renzo Piano's project, which was finally awarded in 1994, has as a concept three individual halls positioned around an amphitheatre, which is orientated towards the most silent area of the site (Fig. 1). The arrangement of the volumes provides good logistical and acoustical prerequisites for a simu ltaneous use of the halls. The connection of the halls by an annular connecting building permits the common use of r ehearsal rooms, technical areas, delivery zones so that both advantages of all in one building and all in separate buildings can be counted on.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In Italy, a huge heritage concerning opera houses, midsize halls and churches offers a large variety for music performances. However, the interest in halls with a large number of listeners taking into account modern aspects of acclimatization, acoustics, comfort, administration and organiza tion of performances lead to a growing number of new halls as e.g. in Torino and in Rome. The fact that in the last decade in Rome also existing large halls such as the Auditorio di Via della Conciliazione were transformed into large and well accepted concert halls proves that there is a high interest in modern cultural infrastruture.

FIGURE 1. General Arrangement of the halls

BUILDING ACOUSTICAL ASPECTS

From the building acoustical point of view, the separation of the three halls will make it possible to use them simu ltaneously without any acoustical interferences. The highly qualified rehearsal rooms are positioned in between the large halls, sufficiently far from them and generally with a noise protection system inside. The halls' protection is twofold, against outside and inside noise. Measurements resulted in outside noise at the site of up to 90-100 dB(A) (peak values of singuBASIS OF THE PLANNING lar events) caused by the heavy traffic on surrounding roads. The original concept of the planning was to build three Thus the delimiting surfaces of the halls have to provide a different concert halls, a large symphony hall for 2700 lis- sound insulation of about 70-80 dB. Along the walls this creteners, a midsize hall for 1200 listeners which can be used ated no problems as foyers or acoustically unimportant zones for chamber music as well as for symphonic music

SESSIONS

generally surround the halls. The roof structure however In order to approach the parameters and to determine the is an acoustical challenge. Due to the limitation of weight general layout of delimiting surfaces, in a first step optical a triple layer structure was chosen (Fig. 2). measurements were carried out. They are aimed to provide a relatively uniform distribution of energy reflected from the ceiling towards the audience. In a second step, room acoustical model tests at the basis of a 1:20 scale model were carried out for the large and the midsize hall.

FIGURE 2. Schematic sketch of the roof structure

This structure has varying curvatures and is thus partly extremely sloped. The functioning of the chosen structure and especially the type of fixing between the lower layers without creating bridges was extensively tested by the building company. The acoustical protection of the auditoria inside the building structure is provided as far as possible by a separate carrying structure of the halls. By this the number and area of joints between the "sensitive" and "less sensitive" zones could be minimized.

FIGURE 3. Scale model of the large hall

ROOM ACOUSTICAL LAYOUT OF THE HALLS


The planning goal for the room acoustical layout of the hall is aimed to fulfil objective room acoustical requirements, which are highly correlated with the subjective perception of musicians and audience. For both groups a background noise level of less than 25 dB(A) is a key prerequisite. The further room acoustical requirements are described by the known criteria, which are based on (partly) binaural impulse responses: The acoustical contact among the musicians and the adequate loudness in the audience is described by the strength index, which considerably depends on the size of the halls. The balance between the instruments for listeners and players correlates with the variance of the strength for different positions on the podium. The timbre of the music is described by the spectral reverberation time, as well as by the frequency dependency of the clarity. The being surrounded by music is physically described by the value of the interaural cross-correlation coefficient and the clarity. The precision of performance and the authenticity of the music for the listeners requires an absence of echoes, a challenge especially considering the size of the large hall. Like in all auditoria the acoustical conditions will depend to a certain extent on the location of the seat, so that the individually varying preferences of the listeners can be taken into account.

Fig. 4 shows the large hall. Due to its size the sala 2700 is designed with an arrangement of the audience around the orchestra, a series of reflecting vine-yard-like surfaces reducing the effective width for lateral reflections and two-directionally curved diffuse reflecting ceiling elements providing a good energy distribution sufficiently diffuse in order to reduce the ris k of delayed strong reflection.

FIGURE 4. Sala 2700

Fig. 5 shows the sala 1200. It refers to classical shoe-boxshaped halls, with a stalls area delimited by parallel, diffuse walls having an optimum distance for lateral reflections. Due to the reduced distances in this hall the ceiling could be designed with less diffusion than in the large hall.

FIGURE 5. Sala 1200

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We thank Renzo Piano and his design team for the excellent cooperation and the motivation to tackle acoustical issues consequently.

SESSIONS

Adaptations to a Church for Chamber Music


M.P.M. Luykx M.Sc.a, R.A. Metkemeijer M.Sc.b
b

Adviesbureau Peutz & Associes BV, Postbox 66, 6585 ZH Mook, the Netherlands Adviesbureau Peutz & Associes BV, Postbox 696,2700 AR Zoetermeer, the Netherlands

In the year 1565 the church The Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, The Netherlands, has been built, nowadays being used mostly as a multifunctional space for art-exhibitions, (dinner-) parties and also concerts. It was desired to adapt this large and reverberant volume of 13.500 m3 and 3,5 seconds in a small concert hall, acoustically suitable for chamber music. Requirements were to shorten the early decay time and increase clarity and intimacy, visually as well as acoustically, as much as possible, but to keep the appearance of the larger volume and late reverberant tail. Therefore it was decided to choose for a semi-open volume build in glass. The adaptations and their acoustical effect and required dimensions have been studied using a computer-model simulation, in which the amount of openings in the smaller, glazed box has been varied. Based on its results, an 60% to 70% closed smaller inner box of 3500 m3 has been designed and implemented, formed by glazed and diffusive elements. Experimental data and listening experience since then show the successful effect. It will give anyone a remarkable experience of being acoustically in a small concert hall but to be visually in a large church, an effect that is opposite of what is usually done by electronic reverberation systems.

INTRODUCTION
The Nieuwe Kerk in the Hague, the Netherlands, being build in 1565 was a typical example of a church with cathedral-like acoustics. Merely suitable for organ and Gregorian chant it was nowadays being used mostly as a multifunctional space for exhibitions, dinners and also concerts. Planning a total refurbishment of the church in 1997 there was a demand to improve its facilities for audience and musicians, and especially to improve its acoustics for chamber music. The principals Nederlands Congresgebouw and Dr. Anton Philipshall asked the architects Zaanen Spanjers Architects and Peutz & Associs as acoustical consultants to make suitable proposals.

sufficiently strong and well defined sound. It was clear that in order to reach an increase of early sound energy compared to late sound energy and to realize smaller acoustics, the acoustical volume had to be reduced by creating a smaller hall inside the church. In that way it was comparable with the earlier project of the fully glazed AGA-hall that was build inside the larger volume of the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, also a cooperation between Zaanen Spanjers Architects and Peutz. But is this case of the Nieuwe Kerk, it was required to maintain the late reverberance of the church and that the provisions should be removable for organ concerts etc. In order to do so the smaller hall clearly could not be fully closed and should be designed with partial openings. To investigate acoustically the optimal amount of reflectors and openings in order to gain maximum increase of clarity a computer model was used.

ACOUSTICAL MODELLING
The existing church that has an acoustical volume of about 13500 m3 and a reverberation time of 3.5 s was acoustically not very suitable for chamber music, especially with a limited audience of 450 people. The acoustics were generally judged as muddy, remote and unclear but with a nice sound. In order to make the church more suitable for chamber music it was necessary to bend the indistinctness of the acoustics into more clearness and also into somewhat smaller acoustics, in which smaller ensembles should give a

FIGURE 1. Computer model with some reflectors.

SESSIONS

After matching the existing acoustics of the church it was studied how ceiling-reflectors and side-reflectors should be added to create the required volume of 3000 to 4000 m3 and at the same time create more intimacy and clearness. The model, represented in figure 1, was mainly used to investigate to what extent the smaller volume had to be acoustically separated from the main church volume in order to create the acoustic properties aimed for. In this computer simulation study the amount of openings between the small and the main volume was varied between 0 and 100%. It was found that optimal acoustics were to be expected if 60 to 70% of the surface area of the smaller volume was closed, assuming that the reverberation of the main volume would be reduced simultaneously to 2 2.5 s. Calculated impulse-responses showed significant increases of early reflected sound energy, leading to a expected increase of loudness of 2 dB and an expected increase of 3 to 4 dB of the clarity-index (C-80, measure for clarity and intelligibility of music). Based on these results glazed and diffusive elements have been implemented above and around the seating area, see figure 2, and additionally retractable curtains have been applied.

Energy-time curve, 1 kHz. C80= -5 dB.

Integrated energy-time curve, 1 kHz

FIGURE 3. Impulse-response measurement before.

Energy-time curve, 1 kHz C80=+2 dB

Integrated energy-time curve.

FIGURE 2. Plan of church with added reflectors. The curved, glazed elements have been partially intersected with wooden panels to obtain additional sound diffusion and to increase visual intimacy. FIGURE 4. Impulse-response measurement after.

RESULTS AFTER REALISATION


Based on the acoustic parameters and reflection patterns measured an acoustical smaller volume of about 3500 m3 can be deduced, which meets the requirements to realize the acoustics of a small hall. Comparison of impulse-responses measured before and after measures taken, shows that an increase of the clarity-index (C-80) of ca. 4 to 5 dB has been reached. An example of two impulse responses before and after is given in figures 3 and 4, in which the addition of early reflections can be seen.

The increase of clarity is confirmed by listening experience, in which also the late reverberance of the larger church volume can be experienced at for instance music stop chords. It will give anyone a remarkable experience of being acoustically in a small concert hall but to be visually in a large church, an effect that is opposite of what is usually done by electronic reverberation systems. The resulting acoustics after the refurbishment have been widely appreciated, and the musical use of the hall has been growing ever since. Even recording companies seem to have discovered its precise and clear though living acoustics.

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SESSIONS

SESSIONS

A Design Principle for Stage Acoustics in Concert Halls


Z. Maekawaa , Y. Kawaib, and Y. Harac
b

Environmental Acoustics Lab. Faculty of Eng. Kobe Univ., Rokko Kobe 657-8501 Japan Dept. of Architecture, Faculty of Eng. Kansai Univ., 3-3-35 Yamate, Suita 564-0073 Japan c OTO Acoustic Eng. Assoc., Nissei-Buil., 1-1-3 Kitahorie, Nisiku, Osaka 550-0014 Japan

By experimental studies with a scale model of an end stage, it is shown that the stage acoustics can be controlled by the style and slits on the wall surface of stage enclosure in a typical shoe box type concert hall especially in low frequency range. Also, by theoretical studies it becomes clear that the values calculated by BEM are useful for the same purpose.

Among recording engineers and musicians there are latent complaints about stage acoustics at newly constructed concert halls in Japan, such as the acoustics is unnatural, there is some lack of definition and clearness, or there seems to be a choked or stifled tone in feeling, etc.. Almost all of these concert halls have an end stage enclosed tightly with reflecting walls and ceiling, in order not to lose the sound energy. It is considered that the complaints are brought about by the adverse effects of acoustic reflections from boundaries, such as a kind of booming or coloration caused by interference. Therefore, the control of acoustic reflections is very essential to give a good stage acoustics in a concert hall, especially in low frequency range. [1] Among room acousticians, it is said that the tone quality of a concert hall is depends almost entirely on the early reflection until about 100ms after the direct sound arrives. If so, the acoustics on a concert stage will be under the control of the reflections only from stage enclosure itself, since reflection from the audience space must be arriving later. Therefore, in order to study the tone quality of stage acoustics, it should be possible to use the stage enclosure only, without audience space. SCALE MODEL EXPERIMENTS A 1/15 scale model of a stage only ,in a typical shoe box type concert hall with 800 seats, was used for acoustic measurements with various wall styles containing uneven surface and slits, as shown in Fig. 1 and Table 1. Acoustic measurements were performed to obtain the impulse response(IR) with a system of the MLSSA (DRA Lab.), using a 50mm electrodynamic loud- speaker (BOSE MM-2), and a condenser-microphon

530

200

530 660

200

Slit Elevation of Back wall

926 Section


926

167

S1 167

Slit Unevenness

33 133

P2
1200

Plan

Figure 1. Drawings of the stage model Table 1. Configuration of scale models Side Walls Back Wall Case Slit uneven Slits F 0 0 0 A 30mm 0 B 30 30mm 0 C 30 30 30mm 7 D 30 7 F 30 30 30

(B&K type4135). The early stage of IR was transformed in frequency domain and shown with the curves between 20-80 Hz, converting to the real size frequencies. Representative results are shown in Fig.2. An evaluation can be performed comparing unevenness of curves between 40-80 Hz, the smoother the curve the better. 1. Comparing the results of cases A & B, the slits on the side wall are effective to make the dip smaller at near 60 Hz, as shown in Fig. 2-a. 2. Comparing the results of cases B & C, the slits on the back wall makes the deviation of curve smaller, as shown in Fig. 2-b.

SESSIONS

660

140

INTRODUCTION

1100mm

0 -10 -20 -30

30

Case A
20

BEM

R e l a t i v eL e v e l( d B )

Case B

10

Model
0

Fig. 2-a
0 -10 -20

Interval: 0.3Hz
30 20 10 0 -10

Case B

Case C
-30

Interval: 1.2Hz

Fig. 2-b
0

Fig. 3-a Case C


30 40 50 60 70

R e l a t i v eL e v e l( d B )

Case A
-10 -20

Frequency (Hz)
30

Case C
-30

BEM
20 10

Fig. 2-c
0

R e l a t i v eL e v e l( d B )

-10 -20 -30 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 20

Case A

Model
0

Interval: 0.3Hz
30 20 10

Case D

Fig. 2-d
Case C

0 -10

Interval: 1.2Hz

Fig. 3-b Case F


30 40 50 60 70

Case E

Fig. 2-e
30 40 50 60 70 80

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 3. Measured transfer characteristics. And calculated values by BEM

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 2. Measured transfer characteristics In the stage models.

3. 4.

5.

6.

All slits are clearly effective to make the curve smoother, as shown in Fig. 2-c. Comparing the results of cases of A & D, the effect of the angleof side wall is very useful for the same purpose as shown in Fig. 2-d. Comparing the results of cases of E & C, the effect of the angleis not so big, because of the effect of slits on all walls, as shown in Fig. 2-e. Comparing the results of cases of F & A, the results did not show such a difference. But the unevenness on the wall surface was adopted for the sake of higher frequencies. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATION

BEM method. This method shows the results in the steady state. However, it may be interesting to what extent they agree with the results of model experiments shown above. Figure 3 shows the representative results comparing the experiments. It can be said that both results almost agree in style, though there are some differences in detail. Theoretical results, therefore, might be possible as an alternative in place of model experiments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Model experiments were performed in an anechoic room in Kyoto University with the kind help of the staff. REFERENCES [1] Y. Hirasawa and Z. Maekawa; An evaluation method of concert hall acoustics. 16thICA(1998) 2125

Theoretical calculation has been done on the same conditions shown in Figure 1 and Table 1 by using

SESSIONS

The Acoustic Conditions in Finnish Concert Spaces


H. Moller, T. Lahti and A. Ruusuvuori
Akukon Oy Consulting Engineers, Kornetintie 4, 00380 Helsinki, Finland
The paper will describe a series of acoustic measurements currently undertaken in Finnish concert halls. The measurement result will be used in a comparison of the acoustic conditions in Finnish concert spaces with other concert spaces.

INTRODUCTION
It seems to be a common belief in Finland that "we have the worlds best musicians but the worlds worst concert halls". This indeed very strange as it is hardly possible to find any other country which has the same amount of concert seats per capita. The major part of these halls has been built within the last 20 years; a total of about 27 halls of 350 seats or more. This is in a country with about 5.2 million people. And there is still new halls being constructed. The Sibelius house in Lahti opened in the spring of year 2000 and currently there are at least 5 new halls in design as well as the preliminary design for the new Helsinki Music house, which will be the third 1000+ seat concert hall in Helsinki, a city with approximately 1 million inhabitants. The size of the halls of this survey varies in size from 2000 to a typical about 400. In some cases, the halls represent the only performance space in the community, in many other larger cities there are at least one older theater as well as the multi-purpose hall. From an international point of view, it is of course questionable to call a 350-seat space a concert hall. We do however take the liberty to make such a classification as all the halls, even though "marketed" as multi purpose halls, has been build with symphonic music and orchestras as the primary design goal. This means that the stage size has been determined by the size needed for a symphony orchestra and especially that pure acoustic design and details has been given higher priority than the needs of the sound-, light and A/V systems. The volume of all the halls has been dimensioned to give appropriate reverberation time for acoustic music. The measurements described in this paper is a part of a project to is to make a database with acoustic data for all Finnish halls with more than 350 seat. Some of the

halls has previously been documented, see [1], [2] and [3], but the intention of the project is to make a unified database for the halls.
Center name Tapiola Hall, Espoon Kultuuriksekus, Espoo Helsingin Konservatorio, Helsinki Jrvenp talo, Jrvenp Kaukametsn kultuuritalo, Kajaani Kansantaidekeskus, Kaustinen Kuopion Musiikkikeskus, Kuopio Laurentius sali, Lohja Mikaeli kultuurikeskus, Mikkeli Oulun musiikkikeskus, Oulu Promenaadikeskus, Pori Large Hall, Tamperetalo, Tampere Chamber Hall, Tampertalo, Tampere Sigyn-sali, Turun Konservatorio, Turku Martinus sali, Vantaa Hyvinkn Kultuurikeskus, Hyvink Iisalmen Kultuuritalo, Iilsalmi Imatra Kultuurikeskus, Imatra Carelia sali, Joensuun Yliopisto, Joensuu Kuusamo talo, Kuusamo Kuusankoski talo, Kuusankoski Kuhmon talo, Kuhmo Lappeenrantan talo, Lappenranta Lieksn kultuuri keskus, Lieks Poleeni, Pieksmki Kauppaporvarin Kulttuuri- ja kongressikeskus, Raahe Rauma-sali, Rauma Seinjoki-sali, Campus-talo, Seinjoki Seats 780 500 570 550 390 1060 473 690 816 700 2000 500 350 410 450 470 530 600 530 510 670 690 400 350 420 435 360

Table 1: The cultural with 350+ seat halls build in Finland between 1980 and 1999. Measured halls are in italic.

THE MEASURED HALLS


So far 14 halls has been measured, see Table 1. All halls has been empty during measurements. The stage has either been empty or the chairs has been moved so that they obstruct sound paths as little as possible. The measured halls represent quite typical grossshapes: most are more or less shoebox shape, in some cases with slightly angled walls, if not quite fan

SESSIONS

shaped. In most cases the ceiling and the stage is designed in a "directed reflections" manner. This means that the ceiling, especially over the stage is slanted to reflect sound energy to the audience. Most of the halls have back balconies or both back- and side-balconies. The largest hall has 2000 seats and the smallest 350 seat and the average seat count is 600 seats.

Reverberation time, s

1 RT 20 EDT

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK


Even though the measurement series is not yet complete, it is fair to say that quite a few halls with "good acoustics" has been found. When compared with data from equivalent size halls, the Finnish halls actually looks quite good. The main problem from the larger orchestras point of view is that most of these halls are relatively small. Even though the data for the tree "old halls" are not shown in this paper, it is fair to conclude that none of these nor the large hall at Tamperetalo, has room acoustics to match the best halls. Another conclusion is that in general the changeable acoustic system does not work or at least does not produce any significant change in the acoustic conditions in the hall. The only real exception, is the Kaukamets hall in Kajaani in northern Finland, where the use of all the changeable absorption in the audience area and on the stage, gives a significant change in the acoustic conditions, see figure 2. The next steps will be to complete the measurement and analysis of the halls. Also we intend to make subjective testing in some of the most interesting halls.

0 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 f, Hz

Figure 1: Measured reverberation in the Tamperetalo, Large hall


3 Reverberation time, s

1 RT20 RT20 SOFT 1 RT20 SOFT 2 EDT 0 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 f, Hz

Figure 2: Measured reverberation in the Kaukamets Hall, a hall with changeable acoustics REFERENCES

1. Lahti T & Mller H, "Practical experience with concert hall designs with a computer, featuring the glasswalled Sigyn Hall of Turku". Auditorium Design at the Millennium, Belfast 22-24.5.1997. Proceedings Institute of Acoustics Volume 19 Pt3 (1997), 1118. 2. Mller H, Lahti T & Ruusuvuori A, "New design of medium-sized concert halls", Auditoria: The legacy of the 20th Century and beyond 2000, Manchester 2224.10.1999, Proceedings Institute of Acoustics Volume 21 Pt 6 (1999), 117-122 3. Beranek L, "Music, Acoustics and Architecture", New York, 1962, John Wiley and Sons 4. Peltonen T, Lokki T, Gouatarbes B, Merimaa J & Karjalainen M. "A System for Multichannel and Binaural Room Response measurements", AES 110th Convention, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 12-15.5.2001, Preprint 5289. 5. Gade AC, "Akustik i danske koncertsale", Publikation nr. 22, Laboratoriet for Akustik, DTH, Lyngby 1984.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the people at the Helsinki University of Technology working on the VRE/TAKU project as well as our partners in the VRE/BINA project for their cooperation. Also we would like to thank the technical staff of the cultural houses for their help and support

SESSIONS

Relation between Image-Split and Listener Envelopment


a

M. Morimotoa, K. Nakagawaa,b, M. Jinyaa and M. Kawamotoa


Environmental Acoustics Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University, Nada 657-8501 Kobe, Japan b Engineer of Environment Division, Nikken Sekkei Co. Ltd., 541-8528 Osaka, Japan

The authors have suggested a hypothesis that the components of reflections beyond the upper limit of the law of the first wave front contribute to listener envelopment (LEV). In this paper, listening tests were performed to examine the hypothesis for its validity. Test sound fields consisted of a direct sound and two reverberation signals. In the listening tests the relative sound pressure level of reverberation signals to the direct sound was changed randomly. Firstly, the thresholds of image-split, which corresponds to the upper limit, and LEV were measured. The results did not demonstrate a significant difference between those thresholds, which support the hypothesis. Secondly, the thresholds of echo and echo disturbance were measured. The results showed that the threshold of echo disturbance was higher than that of LEV perception by about 20dB. This suggests a possibility to create rich LEV without echo disturbance.

INTRODUCTION
Several papers have demonstrated the relations between listener envelopment (LEV) and temporal characteristics of sound fields[1-5]. However, they are not necessarily in agreement. It is important to make clear necessary conditions for the perception of LEV from the standpoint of auditory event in order to explain the contradiction. Morimoto and Iida [6] show that the acoustic components under the upper limit of the law of the first wave front contribute to auditory source width which is one of two components of spatial impression as well as LEV. From this result, a hypothesis that the components of reflections beyond the upper limit of the law contribute to LEV can be suggested [1,4]. In this paper, to examine the hypothesis for its validity, four thresholds were measured by the listening tests: image-split which corresponds to the upper limit, LEV, echo perception, and echo disturbance.

image-split and LEV, echo disturbance and echo perception, respectively. The task of the subject was to map all sound images which he perceived in case of the threshold of image-split and to answer whether he could perceive each auditory phenomenon in the other thresholds, after each presentation of stimulus. Each subject was tested 51 times for each stimulus. The listening test of four kinds of threshold was performed separately in the order image-split, LEV, echo perception and echo disturbance. Four male students acted as subjects for all tests.

DATA REDUCTION
The data reduction were done separately for each subject. All thresholds was obtained by using the normal-interpolation process. The process is explained showing an example of the threshold of image-split for subject B in Fig. 1. The percentage of image-split was obtained for each stimulus. Z-transformation of those percentage were performed and the regression line and the correlation coefficient were obtained, neglecting data less than 1.0% and more than 99.0%. The threshold (value at z=0) and its standard deviation (values at z=1) were obtained by regarding the data as being normal distribution because the correlation coefficient was almost 1.0. The coefficients for all thresholds and for all subjects exceeded 0.928.

METHOD
The motif used for the listening tests was a 7 s section of the 1st movement of Mozart's Divertimento recorded in an anechoic chamber. The sound field used as a stimulus consisted of a direct sound placed in front and two reverberation signals placed at 135o . Their reverberation times were constant at 2.0 s and their frequency characteristics were flat. Reverberation delays were 80 and 81ms. The sound pressure level of the direct sound were kept constant at 70dBA and the relative sound pressure level (L) of the first component of reverberation signals to the direct sound were changed in random order. L were set at 11 steps from -39.6 to -19.6dB, at 9 steps from -11.6 to -3.6dB and at 11 steps from -52.6 to -42.6dB for thresholds of

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Figure 2 shows measured values of four kinds of threshold with their standard deviations together for each subject. There is little difference between individuals for all four thresholds. The difference

SESSIONS

Z - Value

upper limit. In other words, it is necessary to provide reflections beyond the upper limit in order to make a listener perceive LEV. Meanwhile, the threshold of echo disturbance is higher than that of LEV by about 20dB. This means that reflections beyond the threshold of echo do not always occur disturbance, but contribute to the perception of LEV.

CONCLUSION
The results of listening tests support the hypothesis that the components of reflections beyond the upper limit of the law of the first wave front contribute to LEV.

Relative SPL of Rev. to a direct sound, L (dB)


FIGURE 1. method of data reduction. An example of subject B for image-split.

REFERENCES
[1] J. S. Bradley and G. A. Soulodre, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 97, 2263-2271 (1995). [2] J. S. Bradley and G. A. Soulodre, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 98, 2590-2597 (1995). [3] J. S. Bradley, R. D. Reich and S. G. Norcross,J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 108, 651-661 (2000). [4] M. Morimoto, K. Iida and K. Sakagami, Applied Acoustics 62, 109-124 (2001). [5] T. Hanyu and S. Kimura, Applied Acoustics 62, 155-184 (2001). [6] M. Morimoto and K. Iida, Proceedings of Institute of Acoustics 14, 85-91 (1992).

between thresholds of image-split and echo perception is about 20dB. This means that the subjects could discriminate between them. The difference between image-split and LEV is small for any subject. The threshold of LEV is within the standard deviation of image-split except for subject B. From these results, the threshold of image-split and LEV can be considered to be equal. This supports the hypothesis that the components of reflections beyond the upper limit of the law of the first wave front contribute to LEV, since image-split corresponds to the

Relative SPL of Rev. to a direct sound, L (dB)

Subject

FIGURE 2. Four kinds of threshold and their standard deviations. Open circle; image-split, closed circle; listener envelopment, open triangle; echo-disturbance, and closed triangle; echo.

SESSIONS

Acoustical, musical and social factors in the resolution of early acoustical problems at the Concertgebouw
Pamela Clements
Kirkegaard Associates, 801 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60607 USA
When the Concertgebouw opened in 1888 it was found to have significant acoustical problems. Balance between brass and strings was poor, and the room was considered overly resonant. Poor attendance the result of one inadequate access road exacerbated the problem. The missing organ was blamed, but when the organ was installed in 1891 many thought the sound even worse. Resolution came progressively, and involved a serendipitous combination of renovation of the stage, improvement in the orchestras performance standards, the broad interpretive conducting style of Willem Mengelberg, the popular appeal of Tchaikovskys 6th symphony, and new roads which brought enthusiastic audiences to fill the hall.

INTRODUCTION
Conceived as a grand concert facility that would foster the musical life of Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw was designed with close attention to acoustical quality. The large hall was large indeed, with seats for an audience of over 2000, and a high stage with steep amphitheater-style risers designed for an orchestra of 120 and chorus of 500. After the two major openings that of the large hall on 11 April 1888 and the first concert of the new Concertgebouw Orchestra on 3 November 1888 - it was clear that the hall was less than perfect acoustically. Many considered it too resonant and though the string sound was beautiful it was dominated by the brass instruments.[1] Over the next twelve years the acoustical problems were gradually resolved, through a fortuitous combination of successful renovation, musical events and social change. Fortunately a significant amount of evidence has survived on the early years of the Concertgebouw and the design of the hall by its architect A.L. van Gendt. This paper is based on evidence in scholarly historical works including those published under the auspices of the Concertgebouw, research by architectural historian Lydia Lansink, and on documents held in the Amsterdam Municipal Archives.[2]

EARLY REMEDIES
The resonance of the Concertgebouw its long reverberation time is largely a function of the size of the hall and its geometry. This resulted from early decisions of the founding committee: to build the hall for an audience of 2000, to make the room reasonably wide so that it would not become excessively long, to size the stage for the very large orchestra a nd chorus,

and to make the ceiling reasonably high, which it was felt was necessary for acoustical quality. The hall certainly is reverberant, with a measured RT at mid frequencies of 2.0 seconds occupied and around 2.58 seconds unoccupied, with a very strong bass response.[3] These qualities in the hall are now very much admired throughout the musical world, but audiences and orchestras in Amsterdam of the late 1880s were unaccustomed to this sound environment. The only acoustically excellent hall in A msterdam prior to the opening of the Concertgebouw was the concert room at the Felix Meritus Society, which was a small, oval room for chamber music a very different space acoustically. The other predecessor, the Parkzaal, which with 2000 subscribers influenced the size of the Concertgebouw, had terrible acoustics. The unfamiliar resonance in the Concertgebouw was exacerbated as a result of an apparently unrelated issue of urban development The Concertgebouw was built on land in the municipality of Niewer Amstel, just outside the city limits of Amsterdam proper, in the area that developed into the museum and arts sector of Amsterdam. The building of access roads and horse tram routes was delayed by wrangling between the municipalities, and when the hall opened there was only one access road. It took so long for the carriages to leave after the opening concert that many people cancelled their subscriptions, and thereafter for many years the concerts were plagued with very poor attendance. Reverberation time was thus longer, and was likely made worse by the large areas of flat floor left exposed when management removed the unoccupied chairs to help reduce the sense of emptiness. In the early years the orchestra struggled with the rooms acoustical character. Not only was the reverberation unaccustomed, but the steepness of the risers made balance between brass and strings almost

SESSIONS

impossible to achieve. The orchestra was newly formed and not yet of the highest caliber, and with 66 members it was still r elatively small. Moreover, the choral seating at either side of the stage was empty. Initially it was thought that perhaps the difficulties with balance were being caused by the missing organ, and the curtain that covered the space where it was to be located. But when the organ was installed in 1891 there was no resolution: some felt that the acoustical quality had improved but other felt that the balance was worse, and that the sound quality had now become harsh. [4] Other remedies were tried progressively. Potted plants were placed on stage and in the audience area to soak up the sound. Low wooden screens were installed at the rear of the stage in an attempt to reduce its size. Curtains were installed at the doors and fabric was draped over the screens. Carpet was installed under the percussion and brass, and it was desired also to put carpet in the aisles but there were insufficient funds for this. With poor attendance and a reputation for something lacking in its acoustics, the Concertgebouw in its early years suffered extreme financial hardship.

approach allowed a flexibility of dynamics and tempo that could exploit the halls acoustical character. The late Romantic repertoire performed in a broadly interpretive style was well suited to the halls reverberant character, and the public was now enraptured by the musical experience. As it turned out, the balance problems had not been solved with the Pathtique. Mengelberg now urged what others had suggested rebuilding the stage. Though management feared such a major renovation in case it turned out to be detrimental rather than beneficial, eventually the work went ahead. In 1899 the stage was lowered drastically by 20 cm at front, 2.3m at the rear, and 1.2 m at the sides, and a wall was created behind the orchestra at the base of the organ. The renovation was a great success: orchestral balance was now easy to achieve. The Concertgebouws acoustical problems were solved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks are due to Jan Henk van Weerd and the Concertgebouw for assistance with this research and for permission to use photographs in the presentation slides. Lydia Lansinks research and writing on the architecture of A.L. van Gendt has also been invaluable.

RESOLUTION 1896-1899
In 1895 Willem Mengelberg was appointed to succeed Willem Kes as conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mengelberg was only 24 years old, and there was some doubt in the Amsterdam community as to the suitability of his appointment. But these fears were put to rest with one remarkable concert on 24 September 1896. This was the first Concertgebouw performance of Tchaikovskys Sixth Symphony, the Pathtique. The concert establis hed Mengelbergs ability as a conductor, and proved the orchestras greatness by demonstrating that it could rise to the demands of modern composition. Mengelberg was even able to keep the balance between the brass and the strings despite the halls acoustics.[5] The concert marked a turning point in the Concertgebouws history. Audience enthusiasm for this truly inspirational musical experience was so great that the performance was repeated thirteen times, and thereafter audiences clamored for concert tickets. Fortuitously, there had been a change in municipal boundaries in 1895 which resolved the delays in road building. Newly enthusiastic audiences now poured down newly built roads to fill the hall. Mengelbergs broad, free Wagnerian style of interpretation had captured the imagination of Amsterdams musical public. The orchestras standards, and hence the musicians ability to respond to and work with the acoustical conditions, were now rapidly improving, and Mengelbergs conducting

REFERENCES
1. Lydia Lansink, Het Gebouw: functie en vorm, in Historie en kroniek van het Concertgebouw en het Concertgebouworkest 1888-1988, Zutphen: De Walburg Pers, 1989, vol. 2, p. 90. 2. Evidence in this paper and in the presentation is largely drawn from: S.A.M. Bottenheim, Geschiedenis Van Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam: Joost Van Den Vondel, 1948; Historie en kroniek van het Concertgebouw en het Concertgebouworkest 1888-1988, Zutphen: De Walburg Pers, 1989, 2 vols; Lydia Lansink, De akoestiek van het Concertgebouw historisch bezien, Preludium, 36(8), 3545 (April 1978); Otto Glastra van Loon, Onder de stenen lier: Het Concertgebouworkest, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Ploegsma, 1969; and Wouter Paap, Willem Mengelberg, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1960, tr. R.H. Hardie, P.M. Schouten and D. Tait. 3. See data in Leo Beranek, Concert and Opera Halls: How they Sound, Woodbury, NY: Acoustical Society of America, 1996, p. 613. 4. Otto Glastra van Loon, Onder de stenen lier: Het Concertgebouworkerst, p. 13. 5. S.A.M. Bottenheim, Geschiedenis Concertgebouw, pp.13-17. Van Het

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

Redevelopment of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Part I: Design imperatives


R. L. Kirkegaarda and S. Prettyb
a

Kirkegaard Associates, Consultants in Architectural Acoustics, 801 Adams Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA b Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music occupies a prominent site within a park setting near the Sydney Opera House. Ever since its inception, however, the facility and site have struggled to maintain pace with the Conservatoriums constantly-expanding reputation, educational mission and enrollment. Redevelopment of the Conservatorium of Music and Conservatorium High School has resulted in fine accommodations for music tuition, rehearsal, and performance while preserving heritage elements and the surrounding landscape.

HISTORY OF THE CONSERVATORIUM


Established in 1915 as the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of Australias oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions. With its roots firmly in colonialism, the early years saw an institution dominated by European and British influences. Indeed the building allocated for the Conservatorium was the stables for the former British governor, and the first Director, appointed in 1915, was Henri Verbrugghen, a Belgian-born violinist and conductor of distinction.

FIGURE 1. Ground level plan (1915).

Verbrugghen attracted important musical figures from abroad to staff the institution and enrolled nearly 800 students by the beginning of the 1917 academic year. His initiatives to reach out to school-age students resulted in the 1919 founding of the Conservatorium High School, a publicly-funded institution offering secondaryaged students an opportunity to combine their academic studies with intensive musical training. During the ensuing years, the Conservatorium benefited from the leadership of many prominent national and international figures as Director. The period of the Direc-

torship of Eugene Goossens from 1946 to 1956 was particularly remarkable, but by the end of his tenure, the inadequacies of the stables building were painfully clear. During the period 1962 to 1984, seven separate enquiries into the Conservatoriums accommodation issue were held, each underlining the inadequacies of the existing premises in terms of lack of space and sound isolation between spaces, rising damp, and the intrusion of noise and vibration from the adjacent underground rail tunnels. Accretions unsympathetic to heritage and environmental issues were applied to the stables in wellintended efforts to improve the situation. In the early 1980s, sections of the Conservatoriums activities were removed from the stables site to largely unsuitable office space, and in 1990, the Conservatorium was required to amalgamate with a University. The subsequent alliance with The University of Sydney applied a new layer of political and academic complications that, in conjunction with the split Conservatorium campus, further exacerbated the accommodation crisis. After a lengthy and heated review of alternative sites for the Conservatorium, redevelopment of the original stables site was funded in 1997. All activities of the Conservatorium located within the stables, including the Conservatorium High School, were removed to the Australian Technology Park, an adaptive reuse of inner-city railyard sheds, while the works progressed. Unfortunately, the extent of heritage items remaining from the early colonial settlement of the site had been underestimated, and so, as excavation got underway, controversy about the suitability of the site for redevelopment broke out. The cost of delays and additional work to complete the redevelopment, due largely to heritage and environmental issues, eventually required more than a doubling of the original allocation of funds.

SESSIONS

REDEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSERVATORIUM


In order for the redevelopment to be a success, the design team was required to reconcile a broad spectrum of design imperatives. The stables were to be reinstated as a freestanding building. Verbrugghen Hall, the concert hall that had occupied the stables courtyard since 1915, was to be retained as the centre of the new Conservatorium. Further erosion of public lands was to be avoided. Teaching spaces were to represent best international practice in music education standards. All of this was to be achieved within strict heritage constraints and in response to sometime hostile public pressure groups. With input from other design professionals, including architect Phillipe Robert and acoustician R. Lawrence Kirkegaard, Government Architect Chris Johnson lodged a Development Application to replace the existing extensions with buildings on three sides of the original stables after extensive excavation of the underlying sandstone. Topped with landscaped terraces, these buildings contained an opera house, recital halls, lecture theatres, teaching studios, practice rooms, the High School classrooms, and a canteen. A library and car park were located entirely underground beneath a new landscaped plaza that connected the complex to the city. A glazed atrium connected the heritage building to the new facilities and formed a public foyer.

teachers and students in a building sandwiched between railway and expressway tunnels for too much of the day. Alternatives were needed that would allow Conservatorium occupants to enjoy stimulating environments free of noise and distraction. The architects undertook extensive replanning so that the most sensitive recording spaces could be relocated away from the railway tunnels, and where high levels of groundborne vibration were still anticipated, various portions of the building were decoupled from the underlying rock with springs or elastomeric pads. Many teaching studios were moved close to exterior walls and interior courtyards that served as light and air wells. Natural light was brought into the remainder of the studios and practice rooms by placing full-height sidelights alongside all doors at the corridors. The benevolent Sydney climate encouraged the use of fancoil units in conjunction with untempered outside air in all Conservatorium spaces other than performance spaces. Three-stage speed selection allowed users to control personal comfort and varying degrees of acoustical privacy through increased levels of ambient noise. Room acoustical advantages were realised by combining room functions and areas. For example, when the stagehouse was removed from the opera house and its floor area was added to that of a modestly-sized rehearsal hall, the Music Workshop was born. Sections of retractable seating, an orchestra pit cover, canvas ceiling reflectors, and adjustable absorption systems, combined with a generous room volume, resulted in a more flexible space that could now support lectures and multi-media productions as well as opera and large ensemble rehearsals. Similarly, the area of a lecture theatre was combined with that of a small ensemble rehearsal room to form a second Recital Hall. Separated by a lounge, the two recital spaces could now be efficiently cycled back and forth during examination periods. Verbrugghen Hall, however, could not be relocated or entirely rebuilt because of heritage concerns. Its history and transformation into a concert hall are examined in Part II: Integrating acoustical and architectural solutions.

FIGURE 2. Level 1 plan (2001).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The State Government of New South Wales provided funding for the Redevelopment. The Department of Education and Training provided project direction, while project management was provided by The Department of Public Works and Services. Wilkinson Murray Pty Ltd served as Building Isolation Consultants.

The Development Application scheme, however, did not resolve all design conflicts. It had been proposed that Verbrugghen Hall be lowered 7.5m to improve isolation from environmental noise and to match the elevation of its platform with that of the other performance spaces, but cost, structural and heritage concerns eventually forced its return to a ground level position. Furthermore, this conceptual design was thought to bury too many

SESSIONS

Redevelopment of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Part II: Integrating acoustical and architectural solutions
E. McCuea and B. McGregorb
a

Kirkegaard Associates, Consultants in Architectural Acoustics, 954 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USA b Daryl Jackson Robin Dyke Architects, 64 Rose Street, Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia

At the heart of the 30,000m2 Redevelopment of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Conservatorium High School lies Verbrugghen Hall. Situated within the former courtyard of a stables building, every aspect of the renovation of Verbrugghen has been guided by the Heritage Act. The result is a concert hall that conserves archaeological treasures beneath an ample performance platform for a full symphony orchestra and audience seating for up to 550.

GOVERNMENT STABLES
The Government Stables were constructed between 1817 and 1820 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie as part of a building programme within the newly-founded British settlement of Sydney. It was to provide horse stables and servants quarters within a harbourside estate. The architect for these buildings was Francis Greenway, a Bristol architect transported to Australia as a convict following a commuted death sentence for forgery.

construction was rudimentary, and many elements of earlier buildings on the site were simply concealed under a layer of plaster, timber or soil. In 1956, trains began to run in two City Circle railway tunnels constructed immediately to the east of the building, and soon after the Cahill Expressway tunnel was constructed to the west.

VERBRUGGHEN HALL
Government Architect Seymour Wells plan for the concert hall was based upon a 31m long and 18.5m wide rectangle terminated by a semi-circular apse. Soundprojecting walls were provided at the sides of the performance platform equipped with chorus risers, and an orchestra pit was partially recessed under the stage. An audience of 850 was seated on two levels the upper being a wedge-shaped balcony with extensive overhang of the stalls. Lead-light windows, a coffered and boarded ceiling 12.5m above the platform, and spare decorative plasterwork completed the scheme. This shoebox-shaped hall was retrofitted in the 1960s with a proscenium and modest theatrical rigging systems in order to accommodate operatic productions. In the 1970s an organ was commissioned to fill the apse. At this point Verbrugghen Hall was struggling to serve as a theatre, as a concert hall, and as an assembly hall for formal academic convocations. Generations of Sydneysiders were defining their musical experiences in terms of the acoustics of Verbrugghen. Those experiences, however pleasant, were marred by the shortcomings of the halls hybrid design. Verbrugghen Hall was falling well short of the world-class reputation of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

FIGURE 1. Stables within the landscape (1827). With labour provided by convicts, construction of the stables commenced in 1817 in an English gothic style around a central courtyard. From 1820 until Australian Federation in 1901, the stables served the British governors. In 1915 it was chosen to house the new Conservatorium of Music. An 850-seat concert hall was inserted into the central courtyard while teaching and support facilities were located in the refurbished stables and quarters. Because this adaptation was carried out during the stringent war years,

SESSIONS

Design Integration
The Australian system of heritage assessment determined that Verbrugghen Hall was of high cultural significance. The goals of the Conservatorium redevelopment therefore compelled the design team to extract from the historic fabric a new concert hall that could be favourably compared to the halls that serve the worlds most highly-regarded schools of music.

its divisions reorganised in order to fit within the reduced height of the upstage niche. Subtle reshaping of the sidewalls and the careful specification of the audience seating avoided colouration and uneven decay of sound at the seating plane. Finetuning of the reflection sequences in the upper volume was made possible with the installation of adjustable absorption systems of vertically-tracking banners and horizontal draperies.

FIGURE 3. First floor plan (2001). FIGURE 2. Longitudinal section (2001).

To achieve reverberation and energy density appropriate to various performance types, additional acoustic volume and solidity of construction were required in spite of the fact that the existing walls were in places 900mm thick. Replacement of much of the lightweight timber ceiling with a sound-transparent screen material allowed the attic volume to be fully accessed and enabled a displacement air distribution system to be pursued. With the sound-robbing boarded ceiling out of the way, precast concrete roof panels on new trusses could enhance the bass response in the hall and help isolate the interior from the distraction of indigenous birdcalls originating in the adjacent Royal Botanic Gardens. Double-glazed windows, however, were also required to fully mute the raucous cockatoos, kookaburras and kurawongs. Additional room volume was gained by pushing the balcony 7m beyond the outline of the historical stables courtyard. This lengthening placed concert patrons at a more favourable distance from the performance platform and enabled sound and light locks to be introduced at all audience entries. This recessed gallery also freed the stalls from the acoustic shadow cast by the original balcony. Choir seating and antiphonal performer opportunities were obtained by wrapping a shallow gallery around the platform on three sides. The organ was fully restored and

After demolition of the proscenium and the raked stage floor, the resulting 18.5m room width made possible the design of a 13.7m deep platform and riser system that could accommodate a full symphony orchestra. Intended to enable each musician to see and hear every other player, the risers eliminated the acoustic necessity of an overhead canopy of reflectors. In this way, both good ensemble conditions and unobstructed views of the historical ceiling plane and organ niche were realised.

FIGURE 4. Ground level plan (2001).

Well into the documentation process and during excavation within the hall, the remnants of a 1790s bake house were discovered. This condition sealed the decision to replace the original timber floor with a continuous concrete slab mounted on vibration-isolating pads. The reinstatement of a resonant courtyard at the centre of the 1820 stables building is the result of the redevelopment of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

SESSIONS

Listener envelopment in concert halls and sound from behind


M. Barron
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, BATH BA2 7AY, U.K.
It is now generally accepted that there are two audible spatial effects in concert halls: source broadening and listener envelopment (LEV). Bradley and Soulodre have proposed the late lateral level as an objective measure for listener envelopment. But this measure takes no account of sound arriving at the listener from behind. This paper reports on measurements of the front/back ratio in two large concert halls and whether this quantity appears to relate to perception of sound from behind.

The work described here was based on the belief that hearing sound from behind is a desirable component of concert hall listening. Two tentative hypotheses were involved: 1) that sound from behind is inaudible to listeners close to or under balcony overhangs and 2) that hearing sound from behind is related to the front/back ratio for sound at the listener. The first hypothesis was based on limited personal observation, while the second could be tested from measurements in concert halls. The front/back ratio was measured in two large British concert auditoria.

BACKGROUND
Prior to 1967, the spatial aspect of perceived sound was associated with the reverberant sound and the state of diffusion. Damaske [1] produced a key result: to appear surrounded by sound the listener must receive sound from four principal directions in the horizontal plane, such as front-left, front-right, rear-left and rearright. Discussion of spatial hearing shifted in 1967 to the effects of early lateral reflections, as proposed by Marshall [2]. Morimoto and Maekawa in 1989 [3] were the first to suggest that there were two components to spatial hearing: source broadening and listener envelopment (LEV). Bradley and Soulodre [4] have conducted extensive experiments to derive an objective measure relating to LEV: the late lateral level (GLL). The late lateral level is the level of sound arriving from the side more than 80ms after the direct sound. To detect the lateral sound, the same technique is used for GLL as for the early lateral energy fraction, the measure for source broadening. Barron [5] has shown that the major determinant of GLL in actual halls is the total acoustic absorption: the measure predicts high degrees of envelopment in small halls and low degrees in large halls. In 1993 Morimoto and Iida [6,7] suggested that the front/back sound ratio might be significant for concert hall listening. This was the first time serious consideration of sound from behind had been discussed. Subsequently several authors have

commented that Bradleys measure, GLL, is completely independent of sound from behind; though Evjen, Bradley and Norcross [8] have tested that this is subjectively correct. However Hanyu and Kimura [9] and Furuya et al. [10] find evidence that listeners are influenced by sound both from directly in front and from behind in their judgement of listener envelopment. Hanyu and Kimura consider that a uniform directional distribution of sound provides the greatest sense of listener envelopment, very much in line with the suggestion by Damaske in 1967 [1]. They proposed as a measure for listener envelopment the spatially balanced centre time, SBTs, though this particular measure omits the level aspect which also influences envelopment judgements. There are clearly differences of opinion concerning the significance of sound from behind. The work discussed here is based on the assumption that the simplest objective measure, the front/back ratio, might relate to subjective observations.

OBJECTIVE RESULTS
Measurements were made of the front/back ratio in two large concert halls: the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (2400 seats, volume 25 050m3) and the Belfast Waterfront Hall (2230 seats, volume 30 800m3). The platforms of each hall were empty at the time of the measurements, which may influence the results. Impulses were radiated from an omnidirectional loudspeaker on stage and consecutive recordings made of the impulse response with a microphone first pointing forwards and then backwards. A hypercardioid directivity was used for the microphone. The front/back ratio was calculated for three time periods: the early sound (0-80ms), the early reflected sound (5-80ms) and the late sound (>80ms). The frequencies used were the 125 - 1000Hz octaves, except for the early reflected measurement, for which the 250 - 1000Hz octaves were used. Ratios are expressed in dB averaged over the frequency range.

SESSIONS

Table. Means and standard deviations of front/back ratios in the two concert halls Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Mean St. Dev. 5.7 2.7 2.3 0.5
11 10 Regression line Early front/back ratio (dB) 8

Early front/back ratio (dB) Late front/back ratio (dB)

Waterfront Hall, Belfast Mean St. Dev. 6.0 2.3 2.0 0.8

The two halls are different in design, the Manchester hall is parallel-sided whereas the Belfast hall follows the vineyard terrace scheme. However the front/back ratios are remarkably similar in the two halls, see Table. The early and late results for the Belfast hall are shown in the Figure. The early front/back ratio decreases from the front to the rear of the hall. We would expect this behaviour due to the direct sound. However the early reflected sound also behaves in a similar way, decreasing as one moves away from the stage. A possible explanation is that when one is close to the stage, early reflections come from the front of the hall; when one is towards the rear of the hall many reflections arrive from behind. The behaviour of the late front/back ratio came as a surprise: it is basically constant. Though the constant value indicates uniformity, the mean value of 2dB shows that more reverberant energy arrives from in front. This is not true diffuse behaviour and is, as far as is known, a new result. The original hypothesis was that late sound from the rear might be weak near balcony overhangs. A weak rear sound would produce a high front/back ratio. In the figure there is no evidence of this, the opposite appears to be more the case with lower values of the ratio at overhung seats than elsewhere.

4 Exposed seats: 2 1 0 4 10 20 30 Source-receiver distance (m) 40 Overhung seats:

Late front/back ratio (dB)

-2 0 10 20 30 Source-receiver distance (m) 40

FIGURE. Individual measured front/back ratios in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.

CONCLUSIONS
On the evidence of this preliminary exercise, there is no indication that the front/back ratio matches the subjective observation of reduced envelopment perceived near balcony overhangs! The perception of listener envelopment and sound from behind is clearly subtle. The differences of view on listener envelopment among researchers needs of course to be resolved. There is also a major need for subjective evidence from real concerts of perceived LEV and sound from behind. The measurements reported here provide interesting new evidence concerning the directional distribution of reverberant sound in concert halls, though results from more halls would be welcome.

REFERENCES
1. P. Damaske, Acustica 19, 199-213 (1967) 2. A.H. Marshall, J. Sound Vib. 5, 100-112 (1967) 3. M. Morimoto and Z. Maekawa, Proc. 13th ICA, Belgrade, 2, 215-8 (1989) 4. J.S. Bradley and G.A. Soulodre, J. Acoust. Soc. Am 97, 2263-71 and 98, 2590-7 (1995) 5. M. Barron Applied Acoustics 62, 185-202 (2001) 6. M. Morimoto and K. Iida, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 93, 2282 (1993) 7. M. Morimoto, K, Iida and K. Sakagami, Applied Acoustics 62, 109-124 (2001) 8. P. Evjen, J.S. Bradley and S.G. Norcross, Applied Acoustics 62, 137-153 (2001) 9. T. Hanyu and S. Kimura, Applied Acoustics 62, 155-184 (2001) 10. H. Furuya, K. Fujimoto, C. Young Ji and N. Higa, Applied Acoustics 62, 125-136 (2001)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful for the help of Dr. J.Y. Jeon during the measurements.

SESSIONS

Investigation of the Factors Most Important for Determining the Acoustic Quality of Concert Halls
Y. J. Choi* and F. R. Fricke
Department of Architectural and Design Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia, *E-mail:ycho0054@mail.usyd.edu.au
The purpose of this study is to investigate the acoustic factors that contribute to the overall acoustic quality of concert halls (AQI). The analysis was undertaken using Beranek's six orthogonal parameters (EDT, TI, IACC, Gmid, SDI, and BR) and other factors such as the number of seats and the hall volume. A neural network analysis was used with inputs of Beraneks parameters over the frequency range 125-1000Hz. Various combinations of acoustic factors were tried to determine which of Beraneks six parameters are most significant in accurately predicting AQI and what other facotors are important. It is shown that Beraneks six factors can give good prediction of AQI. It is shown that some other combinations of parameters can give predictions as good as those using Beraneks parameters.

INTRODUCTION
Recently, Beranek [1] suggested six acoustical features that must be provided for achieving good acoustics: EDT (Early Decay Time), IACC (Inter-Aural Cross Correlation), Gmid (the average intensity of the sound at mid-frequencies), Time to the first reflection (TI), Bass Ratio (BR) and Surface Diffusivity Index (SDI). Moreover, he indicates how each feature contributes to the overall acoustic quality of a hall and provides the preferred values of six features as follows: IACCE3 of 0.3, Gmid of 4 to 5.5 dB, EDT of 2.2 s, TI of 20ms or less, BR of 1.8 s and SDI of 1.0. Beranek's work is based on Ando's investigation[2] but with two additional factors, BR and SDI. Ando[3] expressed concern about the two added factors and their orthogonality. This study is aimed at determining the combination of factors required for a good concert hall. As a first step, an independent evaluation of Beranek's approach was undertaken using Neural Network Analysis. Also, a modified version of Beranek's theory that used a combination of some of Beranek's parameters with geometrical parameters, was examined to see whether this might give better results.
EDT IACC Gmid TI BR SDI Volume Seats

Input Hidden Output Layer Layer Layer

Acoustic Quality Index (AQI)

FIGURE 1. Diagram of the neural network architecture.

RESULTS
Neural Network Analyses were undertaken to investigate the factors which contribute to the prediction of the acoustic quality of concert halls. Using the data on 20 halls from Beranek's book[1], neural networks having different combinations of inputs were trained over the frequency range 1251000Hz. Networks having different combinations of acoustic and geometric input parameters were trained. These 17 networks are No.1 (Beranek6+Geo2), No.2 (Beranek6+N), No.3 (Beranek6+V), No.4 (Beranek6), No.5 (Beranek6-BR+N), No.6 (Beranek6-BR+V), No.7 (Beranek6-SDI+N), No.8 (Beranek6-SDI+V), No.9 (Ando4+BR), No.10 (Beranek6-TI), No.11 (Ando4-TI+SDI,V), No.12 (Ando4-TI+SDI,N), No.13 (Ando4), No.14(Ando4-TI+SDI), No.15 (Ando4TI+BR), No.16 (Ando4-TI+N) and No.17 (Ando4TI+V). Before a Neural Network Analysis was undertaken, the correlations between the input values were checked using Statistica software to determine the orthogonality of the inputs. The inputs are approximately orthogonal. The correlations in each octave are slightly different, EDT and Gmid are the most highly correlated for every frequency band.

NEURAL NETWORK ANALYSIS


In the past two decades, Neural Network Analysis has been extensively studied and applied in solving a wide variety of problems. NNA is useful for solving non-linear problems that are not well suited to traditional methods of analysis. In particular, NNA[4] is good at pattern recognition and as robust classifiers, with the ability to generalize in making decisions about imprecise input data. The following figure shows the neural network architecture of this research. In the present study, eight inputs and one output were used. A neural network with one hidden layer containing two neurons was trained.

SESSIONS

The results are summarized in Table 1, with standard deviation ratios (SDRs), over the seven frequency bands. The SDRs show the degree to which the data has been fitted (A standard deviation ratio of 0.1 or lower indicates very good regression performance). The network models that are shown without their SDRs in Table 1 indicate poor prediction performances. The SDRs indicate quite different trends over each octave band, even though the network has the same input variables.
Table 1. Standard Deviation Ratios (SDR) for 17 Networks over the four octave bands 125Hz-1000Hz and three combined frequency bands. (No.4 is Beranek's model and No.13 is Ando's model) No.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Fig.2-1 AQI as a function of Gmid and EDT

Frequency Bands
125Hz 250Hz 500Hz 1kHz 125250Hz 5001kHz 1251kHz

0.05 0.19 0.35 0.28 0.14 0.47 0.28 0.35 0.39 -

0.45 0.16 0.21 0.17 0.09 0.14 0.22 0.03 0.09 0.05 -

0.21 0.11 0.52 0.02 0.36 0.03 0.21 0.07 0.25 -

0.10 0.26 0.02 0.02 0.29 0.10 0.14 0.10 0.52 -

0.16 0.07 0.14 0.31 0.38 0.05 -

0.09 0.23 0.14 0.11 0.20 0.05 -

0.24 0.16 0.10 0.07 0.34 0.13 0.12 -

Fig.2-2 AQI as a function of N and EDT FIGURE 2. AQI Response Surfaces for the best network in the 250Hz using a modified version of Beranek's model.

be 2000-2400 though the relationship with the N is non-linear.

CONCLUSIONS
In conclusions, there are several network models, besides Beranek's model which present a good performance to predict AQI. Further more, those models consist of some of Beranek's factors together with the number of seats and the volume. This indicates a possibility that geometrical factors could be one of the significant parameters as well as the objective parameters to lead to good acoustics quality. Even though Beranek's model presents one possibility to give a good prediction of AQI, there is still a considerable need for further practical investigation of Beranek's approach on the preferred values and weightings.

According to the results, Beranek's model shows a mostly good performance over the each frequency band. In addition, there are several other network models that gave good prediction of AQI. The model having EDT, 1-IACCE3 , Gmid , BR and SDI is good enough to predict AQI and some factors of Beranek's six inputs combined with geometrical data (EDT, 1IACCE3 , Gmid , BR, SDI and the number of seats or volume) show good performances as well. However, the SDRs do not indicate the interaction between the inputs. To better understand the relationships between inputs, Fig.2 presents the AQI response surface for the factor of Gmid and N on the best trained network in the 250Hz octave, using a modified version of Beranek's approach (EDT, 1IACCE3, Gmid, BR, SDI and the number of seats). The results indicate that the low IACC gives the highest AQI, as per Beranek and an EDT of 1.71s would tend to be good. As shown in Fig.2-1, the highest Gmid of 8-9 dB is preferable, while the preferred value of TI of 12 ms is the lowest. The preferred value of SDI would be 1.0. Finally, Fig.2-2 indicates that the preferable value of N would seem to

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank Prof.Y.Ando, Dr.J.S.Bradley, Prof.A.C.Gade, Dr. T.Hidaka, Prof.G. Vermeir and Prof. M.Vorlaender for allowing access to the measurement data on specific halls.

REFERENCES
(1) Beranek, L.L.,Concert Halls and Opera Houses: How they sound, American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, 1996. (2) Ando, Y., Concert hall Acoustics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1985. (3) Ando, Y., Architectural Acoustics: Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998. (4) Bishop, C., Neural Networks for pattern Recognition, OUP, Oxford, 1995.

SESSIONS

Analysis and structural adjustment performed to improve the acoustics of the "Strehler Theatre" in Milano
G. Zambon and E. Sindoni
Dip.to di Scienze dell'Ambiente e del Territorio, Universit degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
The analysis and the structural adjustment performed to improve the acoustics of the "Strehler Theatre" in Milano is discussed. The theatre was originally designed only for drama and, later on, when the Management decided to perform chamber music and light opera as well, the inadequacy of the acoustic hall soon arose. The Acoustics Laboratory of the Milano-Bicocca University was addressed to solve the very serious problem.

INTRODUCTION
In 1997 the new theatre "Strehler" was opened in Milano. The theatre was originally designed only for drama and, later on, when the Management decided to perform chamber music and light opera as well, the inadequacy of the hall acoustics soon arose. Not only the concerts and the opera have been heavily criticized in the news, but many critics complained even about the quality of the acoustics for drama performances. For this reason the Acoustics Laboratory of the Milano-Bicocca University was addressed for finding a possible solution to improve the acoustic performance.

especially considering that the lower values are taken when the source is placed in the orchestra pit.

Sound pressure level (LP )


The LP values decrease very fast with distance from the source. From the formula of the sound distribution within a room an approximate value of 0.8 for the absorption coefficient is obtained and therefore the theatre hall is fundamentally sound absorbing.

FIRST IMPROVEMENTS
In order to improve the acoustics of the theatre a series of operations to be carried out gradually was proposed. The first operation consisted in the replacement of the absorbing material placed on a large portion of the side walls (heavy cloth) with a reflecting material (wood). A second operation was the replacement of the fitted carpet of the stalls with a wooden parquet. Thanks to these operations the reverberation time improved as shown in Figure 2.
0.4 0.35

FIRST MEASUREMENTS Reverberation time (T30 )


The reverberation time averaged over all the positions of the theatre hall versus frequency is plotted in Figure 1.
3.5 3 2.5 T 30 (s) 2 source on stage source on pit orchestra

0.3 T30 variation (s) 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 first operation second operation

1.5 1 0.5 0 10 k 8k 6.3 k 5k 4k 3.15 k 2.5 k 2k 1.6 k 1.25 k 1k 800 630 500 400 315 250 200 160 125 Frequency(HZ)

0
160 125 250 200 400 315 630 500 800 1,6 k 1,25 k 1k 2k 3,15 k 2,5 k 5k 4k 8k 6,3 k 10 k

-0.05

Frequency (Hz)

FIGURE 1. Reverberation time averaged over all the measurements positions.

FIGURE 2. Increment of reverberation time after the two operations.

It can be noticed that while the T30 values are right for drama and opera, they are inadequate for concerts,

An additional result was the improvement in the distribution of LP .

SESSIONS

ADVANCED MEASUREMENTS
The first changes improved the acoustic quality of the theatre, but the result was not yet optimized for some kind of performances such as musical events. A more accurate characterization of the hall was obtained by measuring the acoustical parameters: C80 , D50 , IACC, ITDG and RASTI in the displayed positions.

grows up, while the stage contribution decreases. A further confirmation of this hypothesis is supported by the comparison between the shape of the impulse response of the nearest positions and the farthest ones.

Inter-aural cross correlation (IACC)


The values of IACC are rather high away from the walls and even higher near the symmetry axis of the stalls. Moving away from the symmetry axis as far as the sector of the theatre where the seats are turned toward the center of the stage, the IACC values decrease. Further there is an increase due to the fact that the signals coming from the stage are again similar (Pos. 06 and 08). From these considerations we can infer that relatively far from the walls the IACC is determined by the direct component of the sound.

Initial time delay gap (ITDG)


As expected, this delay, for positions far from the walls, is very long. A detailed analysis of the impulse response shows that Lp of the first reflection is also very weak.
FIGURE 3. Position of the receivers.

Rapid speech transmission index (RASTI)


Table 1 shows the parameters values calculated from the impulse response.
Table 1. Acoustical parameters in the theatre. Pos. D50[%] 01 40.98 02 37.66 03 33.85 04 35.87 05 31.82 06 43.91 07 44.84 08 57.73 09 50.94 10 62.83 C80[dB] 0.19 1.41 0.35 1.01 2.46 2.14 3.50 3.57 5.26 4.43 IACC 0.82 0.55 0.59 0.42 0.54 0.63 0.48 0.56 0.50 0.40 ITDG[ms] RASTI 35.72 0.90 19.91 0.86 25.72 0.85 39.51 0.69 38.86 0.63 25.39 0.69 31.89 0.65 17.06 0.67 35.74 0.66 10.51 0.64

The RASTI is badly affected by the reverberation time and is quite high within the whole theatre. It decreases moving away from the source and from the walls as Lp of the direct and reflected sound are reduced.

NUMERICAL MODEL
The analysis of the results after the structural changes performed to date reveals that the acoustics of the theatre is far from being satisfactory. This result may be attributed to the quasi total lack of both near and far reflections from the sources. Considering the structure of the hall and the imposition to avoid any substantial architectural change, an improvement is possible by introducing new reflecting surfaces of low visual impact. The first group of such surfaces should be placed on the sides of the stage and will consist of pillars resembling roughly half columns cut vertically: the plane sides will face the stage while the concave sides will face the audience. Two more roughly shell shaped reflecting surfaces should hang from the ceiling: one just above the boccascena and the orchestra pit to increase the reflections within the stalls, the second hanging from the central part of the ceiling to increase the reflection in the balcony. To test the effects of the above changes, an acoustical response model (RAMSETE) was applied to a CAD simulation of the hall. The results show a substantial improvement of all the principal acoustical parameters.

Clarity and Definition index (C80 , D50 )


The analysis of the data shows that the values either for C80 and D50 are low at the first rows but grow to unacceptable values for concert and symphonic music away from the stage and the center of the hall. This behavior is due to the excessive theatre width, the presence of a leaning-out gallery and a poorly reflecting ceiling, whose main effect consists in the severe reduction of the delayed reflections. Near the stage, where there are no close reflective surface, few early reflections and many delayed ones generated from the stage itself are measured. Moving away from the center and the front of the hall the contribution of early reflections, coming from side and rear walls,

SESSIONS

Three-dimensional Reverberation-sound Rendering based on Distribution Statistics of Poles and Residues in Transfer Functions
M. Toyamaa, M. Kazamab and Y. Kamiyaa
a

Department of Informatics, Kogakuin University,Tokyo, 192-0015 Japan b Institue of Spatial Science,Waseda University, Japan

A new method for rendering 3-D reverberationbased on the transfer-function statistics in terms of poles and their free oscillations has been developed. The rendering procedure consists of four steps: (1) modal frequency generation based on a modal spacing histogram; (2) superposition of decaying free-oscillations of modal frequencies with random magnitude and phase; (3) addition of direct sound and early re'ections; and (4) the generation of a pair of binaural impulse responses according to angular distribution statistics of re'ections. Signi`cant parameters of a reverberant sound `eld, such as room volume, reverberation time frequency dependency, modal statistics, initial echoes, and spaciousness can be implemented into this rendering process. As a result the rendered reverberation sound sounds natural.

INTRODUCTION
Arti`cial reverberators have been developed as part of immersive audio technology for computer network communication, and such technology requires the modeling of acoustic events to include three-dimensional(3D) spatial sound effects[1]. Reverberation plays a key role in 3D effects as well as in sound image localization. Accordingly, we have developed an algorithm for rendering binaural room impulse responses from transfer function statistics, including modal spacing distribution and angular distribution.

pressed by decaying free-oscillation with random magnitude and phase.

STAGE 3: EARLY ECHOES


Both direction sound and early echoes can be added to the generated impulse response. The levels, time gaps, and the frequency characteristics of the early echoes are appropriately controlled. The impulse response including the early echoes is shown in Fig. 4, and the magnitude of its frequency response is illustrated in Fig. 5.

RENDERING PROCESS
The rendering process is outlined in Fig. 1. Each of rendering stage is described in below.

STAGE 4: BINAURAL REVERBERATION RENDERING


Binaural properties such as spatial effects pose a signi`cant problem for reverberation rendering. We assume that the reverberation sound comes to the binaural receiving position randomly according to the angular distribution of sound. An example of a pair of binaural impulse response records is illustrated in Fig. 6 where the distance between the two binaural points is assumed 30 cm[3].

STAGE 1: MODAL FREQUENCY GENERATION


First, a series of the modal frequencies is generated according to the modal spacing histogram[2] shown in Fig. 2. In this stage, only the non-overlapping modes at high modal density are taken. Figure 3 illustrates an example of the resulting series of modal frequencies.

SUMMARY
We have developed binaural 3D-reverberation rendering based on random-sound-`eld statistics. Reverberation-sound is made by superposition of modaloscillation with random magnitude and phase. Room acoustic parameters including reverberation time, early echoes, and angular distribution can be implemented. Informal listening tests con`rmed natural reverberation

STAGE 2: IMPULSE RESPONSE GENERATION


The impulse response is obtained assuming complex random residues by summing all modal responses ex-

SESSIONS

sounds. This research was partly supported by TAO, JAPAN.

REFERENCES
1. L. Sacioja et alli, J. Audio Eng. Soc., 47, (9), 675-705 (1999) 2. R. Lyon J. Acoust., Soc. Am. 45, 545-565 (1969) 3. M. Tohyama, et al. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 85, 780-786 (1989)

(1) Modal frequency generation according to Fig. 2

(2) Impulse response generation by superposition of modal oscillations

(3) Adding direct sound and early echoes

(4) Binaural reverberation renderring

FIGURE 1. Rendering Process FIGURE 4. Generated impulse response

FIGURE 2. Modal-frequency-Spacing Histogram

FIGURE 5. Magnitude frequency response of the impulse response shown in Fig. 4

FIGURE 3. A sample of modal-frequency-sequence Reverberation Time

FIGURE 6. Binaural reverberation impulse response.

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

Are current room impression criteria suitable for multiple source situations?
M. Blaua and V. Ermischa
a Institut

fr Akustik und Sprachkommunikation, TU Dresden, D01062 Dresden, Germany

Room impression or spatial impression is considered a major acoustical attribute of concert halls. In order to quantitatively predict this attribute (or its subattributes) for evaluation and design specication purposes, various objective criteria have been proposed over the past 40 years or so, such as Glow , -C80 , LF, 1-IACC, and more complex ones. They all have in common that they are based on single-input impulse responses, many of them were developed and optimized in anechoic test rooms where the direct sound emerged from just one loudspeaker. On the other hand, in concert halls one usually does not have just one source (performer) but rather a group of sources (e.g., an orchestra) occupying a certain space on the stage. Preliminary listening experiments conducted in a 16-channel virtual sound eld at TU Dresden suggest that with spatially divergent sources fewer early reections are needed than with monaural direct sound to produce a comparable spatial impression. The results of these experiments and practical observations are discussed together with implications for further research.

INTRODUCTION
Room impression or spatial impression is considered a major acoustical attribute of concert halls. As there are many interpretations of what spatial impression means, we cannot resist to contribute yet another one, based on the outline given by S CHMIDT [1]: The widely accepted starting point is that a listener unconsciously makes judgments about properties of the room he or she is in, as well as about his or her position and that of the sound sources in that room. These unconscious judgments may then give rise to more complex emotional impressions such as sense of community, sense of being enveloped by sound, sense of being in one room with the performers, all of which are desired enrichments of musical performances. Spatial impression in the sense that acousticians should be concerned about could then be dened as the result of the acoustical contributions (in absence of other contributions such as optical ones) to these complex emotions. Note that this denition implies that acoustical and non-acoustical contributions do not interact (although non-acoustical contributions may dominate acoustical ones). As this denition illustrates, spatial impression is a complex attribute with several sub-components. Historically, reverberance was considered the most important sub-component [2]. Today, the most widely accepted interpretation is that of two important sub-components (apparent source width and listener envelopment) and further perhaps less important ones (such as room size, intimacy, reverberance seen independently of envelopment, etc.). In order to quantitatively predict either spatial impression as an integral attribute, or its sub-components, various objective parameters have been proposed over the past 40 years or so, such as Glow , -C80 , LF, 1-IACC [3], and more complex ones. They all have in common that they are based on single-input impulse responses. Many of them were developed and optimized in anechoic test

rooms where the direct sound emerged from just one loudspeaker. On the other hand, in concert halls one usually does not have just one source (performer) but rather a group of sources (e.g., an orchestra) occupying a certain space on the stage. This paper is an attempt to explore the implications of this apparent contradiction.

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
The effect of whether a spatially spread source contributes to the sound eld at the listeners place or not can impressively be observed at the upper balcony of Dresdens famous opera house1 . Leaning forward and back just a few centimeters, such that the orchestra is either visible or not, causes an enormous change in the perceived acoustical impression. This change is described mainly as a vanishing of the sense of being in the same room with the performers.

A LISTENING EXPERIMENT
In order to explore the effect of spatially spread sources, a preliminary listening experiment was conducted in a 16-channel virtual sound eld at TU Dresden. In this admittedly articial situation, the only means of changing the spatial extent of the source is to switch between monaural and stereophonic source material. The question to be answered was, whether or not it is possible to create a comparable spatial impression with the two source conditions (mono vs. stereo) and how such sub-

Thanks to Dr. Ederer of Akustik Bureau Dresden for providing this example.

SESSIONS

0ms,1.9dB 0ms,1.9dB 0ms,0dB 43ms,2.9dB 0,0 41ms,1.9dB 53ms,5.0dB Reverb,4.0dB 47ms,3.9dB 73ms,2.8dB
0 3 , 0
85,0

23ms,1.9dB 27ms,1.9dB 0ms,0dB 31ms,3.0dB


+10,39

+4

21ms,4.0dB 53ms,4.0dB Reverb,4.0dB 54ms,4.0dB 67ms,2.9dB

+85,0

stereophonic source material need less early reections than those based on monaural source material, in order to create a similar spatial impression, with an average difference of 0.15 (IACCE 3 ) and 0.08 (LFE 4 ), respectively. The two other sets of sound elds that were judged slightly more dissimilar but still comparable (the stereophonic elds were then judged to create slightly more spatial impression, whereas the monaural ones created the impression of a more distant source) had slightly weaker reections and were less spacious. The difference in objective parameters was similar to that reported for the rst set above.

+3 0

, 0

,3

35

,3 35 ,3 1

Reverb,4.9dB 0ms,+2.1dB 31ms,0.8dB 41ms,+1.6dB Reverb,4.0dB


4 5 ,3 1

+10,39

0,

+3

+4

,3

4 5 ,3

25ms,+1.2dB 37ms,+1.3dB 47ms,+1.3dB Reverb,4.0dB

+1

Reverb,4.9dB

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION


The observations reported here appear to conrm that the spatial spreading of sound sources does inuence aspects of spatial impression. In the opera hall example, only the direct sound is changed. The effect associated with a spatially spread direct sound appears to be best described by a gain in the sense of being in one room with the performers. In the listening test, both direct sound and reections were altered. Whereas in the set that was judged the most comparable (g. 1), the reections were so strong that the properties of the direct sound were masked to quite some extent, the direct sound was more dominant for the other two sets, for which again a sense of a distant source began to evolve. This suggests that the effect of a spatially spread source cannot be reduced to direct sound alone. Rather, it appears to make a difference whether or not reections are based on partially incoherent source material. Further research is needed to clarify this issue and its implications for concert hall acoustics. In other words, using currently established objective parameters means to do something principally wrong, but for the time being we dont know whether this has important consequences nor how to do better. It may be wise though to store full impulse response measurements (not just the parameters), just in case.

0,0
3 0, 0

61ms,0.4dB

85,0

+85,0

53ms,+1.5dB

+1

,3

35

35

,3

Reverb,4.9dB

Reverb,4.9dB

FIGURE 1. Example of two sound elds that were judged highly comparable in terms of spatial impression by 4 subjects. Source material was an anechoic recording of the 4th movement of Mendelssohns Symphony No.3 in a minor. Top: Sound eld based on stereophonic source material. Light background designates left channel source, dark background right channel source. Bottom: Sound eld based on monaural source material. The reverberation (transparent background) for both sound elds was created using a software plug-in (StudioVerb by DSPFX) working on stereophonic source material.

jectively similar sound elds would compare in terms of the known objective parameters. As a result of a long iteration process, three sets of sound elds were found whose spatial impression were judged comparable to a certain extent by 4 subjects. The set with the highest similarity in spatial impression is depicted in g. 1. In terms of objective parameters, the sound eld based on monaural material had a LFE 4 of 0.16 versus 0.07/0.09 for the left and right parts of the sound eld based on stereophonic material, respectively. Similarly, IACCE 3 was 0.31 for the monaural eld versus 0.47/0.41 for the left and right parts of the stereophonic sound eld. This suggests that sound elds based on

REFERENCES
1. W. Schmidt. Qualittsbeurteilung von Rumen fr Musikdarbietungen. In: W. Kraak, W. Schommartz, eds. Angewandte Akustik Bd. 4. Verlag Technik, Berlin, 1990, pp. 110124. 2. W. Reichardt and W. Schmidt. Die hrbaren Stufen des Raumeindrucks bei Musik. Acustica 17, 175178 (1966). 3. Acoustics - Measurement of reverberation time of rooms with reference to other acoustical parameters (ISO 3382:1997).

SESSIONS

Effect of Stage Risers on the Sound of Lower String Instruments


Y. Yasudaa and T. Sakumaa
a

Institute of Environmental Studies, The University of Tokyo,7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 113-0033

In order to clarify the effects of stage risers on the sound of lower string instruments, sound elds where a riser is placed on an innite rigid oor with a point source and with a point force are analyzed numerically. For the analysis, the boundary element method is used for the sound eld and the mode expansion method for the elastic board. The effects of the height and sideboards of the riser, the stiffness of the top board and the point force applied to the top on the surrounding sound eld are discussed in this paper.

INTRODUCTION
It is often discussed whether stage risers enhance the sound radiation of lower string instruments such as violoncellos [1]. However, the acoustic effects of risers and its mechanism have not been claried. It is considered that these effects are caused by the vibration of the risers boards and by the acoustic reection from the risers. In this paper, we approach the acoustical effects of risers through numerical vibro-acoustic coupling analysis for a sound eld where a violoncello and a riser are placed.

sound pressure difference vector between two sides of the board, wp is the displacement vector of the board, 0 is air density, and Q is volume velocity of the point source. On the other hand, the application of the mode expansion method with the function sin(mx/a) sin(ny/b) to the equation of motion for the board gives the following expression: [D(( n m 2 mn + Fmn , ) + ( )2 )2 2 p h]Wmn = P a b (2)

NUMERICAL METHOD
z point source point force a = 1.2 0.7 H y

where D = Eh3 /12(1 2) is the boards exural rigidity with E the Youngs modulus, the Poissons ratio, h mn and Fmn board thickness, and p board density. Wmn , P are expansion coefcients for displacement of the board, sound pressure difference between two sides of the board, and external force, respectively. Discretization of Eq.(2) corresponding to that of Eq.(1) leads to + B A f, wp = B A T p where Ti j =

(3)

riser

b = 0.9

infinite rigid floor

ni y mi x Ai j = e j sin( a ) sin( b )dxdy, 4i j m j xi n y , Bi j = sin( a ) sin( jb i ), mi 2 ni 2 2 ab[D(( a ) +( b ) ) 2 p h] xf yf ) sin( ni f i = F sin( mia b ), and F is a point force located at (xf , yf) on the board. Solving Eqs.(1) and (3) gives

FIGURE 1. Geometry of the model with a point source, a point force and a riser.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, a riser made of thin boards is placed on an innite rigid oor with a point source and a point force . In this model, we can replace the innite rigid oor with the mirror image of objects to the oor. By applying normal derivative form of KirchhoffHelmholtz integral equation to the replaced model, we can obtain the following equation [2]: S p = 2 0 wp + j 0 Qd, where Si j =

i ,rq )) 2 (G(ri ,rq )+G(r dSq , ej ni nq exp( jk jrprq j) G(rp , rq ) = (4jrp rq j) ,

sound pressure difference between twosides of the board on each boundary element, and the substitution of the values of elements into the integral equation for the sound eld gives sound pressures at points in space.

(1) di = p is the

Type 0

Type 1 (H = 0.1) Type 2 (H = 0.1) Type 3 (H = 0.2) point force infinite rigid floor elastic board rigid board

s ,ri )) (G(rs ,ri )+G(r , ni

FIGURE 2. Illustration of 4 types of models.

SESSIONS

Normalized SPL [dB]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Four types of models are dened as illustrated in Fig. 2 for case study. For the numerical analysis, we dened the amplitude ratio of the point force to the point source as R( f ) = F ( f )/( j 0 Q) and determined jR( f )j = 0.2 on the basis of measurement with a real violoncello. Risers top board stiffness and , phase of R( f ), are considered as parameters for the study. In all of the following gures, sound pressure level is shown without direct sound, and receiver points for frequency response functions are xed on (x, 0.0, 1.2). Characteristics of the top elastic board are as follows: E = 1010 [N/m2 ], p = 600[kg/m 3], h = 0.03[m], and = 0.2. Effect of top boards stiffness and point force. Fig. 3 shows frequency response functions for 4 cases of Type 2 normalized by the sound pressure level in Type 0 . It can be seen that the effect of top boards stiffness appears at the frequencies near the natural frequencies of risers top board and cavity. The point force enhances the magnitude of peaks and dips of natural frequencies, and its frequency range changes with the phase of R( f ). Effect of risers sideboards and height. Fig. 4 shows frequency response functions for 3 types of the risers having elastic top boards without point forces. In Type 2 and Type 3, where sideboards are placed, there is a wide range of gains approximately from 120 to 300 Hz at all receiver points, and the gains increase with the risers height. Fig. 5 shows sound pressure level distributions at 200 Hz for all types with a rigid top board. It can be seen that the types considerably differ in distributions, and that the existence of the sideboards and the increase in the height produce gains in the horizontal direction.

6 0 -6

x = 10.0

100

Frequency [Hz]

500

rigid board elastic board without a point force elastic board with a point force ( = 0) elastic board with a point force ( = 3/2) natural freq. of the board natural freq. of the cavity

FIGURE 3. Effects of a point force and top boards stiffness of a riser in Type 2.
6 0 Normalized SPL [dB] -6 6 0 -6 6 0 -6 100 Type 1 Frequency [Hz] Type 2 500 Type 3 x = 10.0 x = 5.0 x = 3.0

FIGURE 4. Effects of risers sideboards and height in 3 types of the risers having elastic top boards without a point force.
3 Type 0 2 1 35 30 25

CONCLUSION
The conclusions are as follows: 1) the stiffness of the top board and the point force affect the reected sound eld only at the frequencies near the natural frequencies of the board, and its frequency range changes with the phase difference between the point force and the sound pressure from the point source, 2) the existence of the side boards and the increase in the height affect the reected sound eld in a wide range of frequency.

0 3 2 1 z [m] 0 3 2 1 0 3 2 20 25 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 x [m] 7 8 30 35 30 35 20 30 25

Type 1

Type 2 25

Type 3

REFERENCES
1. L. L. Beranek et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 36, 1247-1262 (1964). 2. T. Terai, J. Sound Vib., 69 (1), 71-100 (1980).

1 00

10

FIGURE 5. Effects of risers sideboards and height at 200Hz in 4 types of the risers having rigid top boards.

SESSIONS

Binaural hearing models for the rating of ASW in room acoustics.


J. Beckera,b
a

Institut fr Elektrische Nachrichtentechnik, Aachen University of Technology, 52056 Aachen, Germany b now Ford of Europe, Acoustic centre cologne (ACC), 50725 Kln, Germany

In psychoacoustics different models of hearing have been developed for the localization of sound. With the help of these hearing models several phenomenons in binaural hearing can be explained and evaluated. Different interaural correlation methods (EC, gliding cross correlation ...) have been investigated as one part of these models. This presentation focuses on the results of different binaural hearing models for the rating of ASW. The results of binaural models are discussed with the help of synthetic sound elds which allow to change the impression of ASW innitely variable. The inuence of two different correlation methods are discussed.

INTRODUCTION
Spaciousness is without doubt an important term for characterizing the acoustic quality of a concert hall. It is of great interest to nd the physical reasons for the amount of spaciousness which a sound eld evokes. For the judgement of spaciousness in modern room acoustics the quantities ASW and LEV have been established more and more in the last years. In order to predict these quantities several high correlating objective measures have been determined. On the one hand the sole search for physically measurable quantities which highly correlate with spaciousness bears the danger of not noticing all parameters which are responsible for this spatial perception. On the other hand the sufciency of the test signals is not obvious and highly correlation quantities may correlate less for another set of test signals. In recent publications a discussion arises about IACC as an objective measure for spaciousness especially for small rooms, although the human sense of hearing uses a system comparable to the analysis of correlation for localization. Models for this correlation processing exist already for a long time [1]. These models have been developed and modied in order to explain phenomenons in binaural hearing like trading experiments [2] or to distinguish between complex stimuli like NoS and NoS0 signals [3].This progress offers the possibility to use these models as an objective measure for spaciousness. Good results become more likely due to the fact that interaural time delay uctuations which can be calculated with these models are said to be responsible for the perception of spaciousness [4].

with an articial head no additional head related transfer function had to be modulated. The time invariant middle ear transfer function has been modulated according to [5]. The spectral resolution of the model is given by a lterbank which mirrors the processing of the inner ear. For this purpose 36 Roex lters are calculated with a spacing of 1 lter / ERB [6].

FIGURE 1. Responds of different auditory systems on a hard switched noise signal (duration 2 s) binaurally recorded in the test room (Decay time 1 s). a: bandpass lter output; b: auditory nerve output (normalized on maximum); c: maximum detection after correlation

HEARING MODEL
The model used for this research consists of several units. Due to the fact that all recordings have been made

For transition of mechanical waves to neural pulses a model of auditory nerves was chosen [7]. The limitation of the dynamic ranges of this model makes it not always applicable. In this case the temporal processing could be described by a system of 5 cascaded adaptation loops [8]. Figure 1b shows the output of this model on a hard switched noise signal of 70 dB which was binaurally

SESSIONS

FIGURE 2. Incident angle of sound sources depending on a: different values, b: SPL, c: seating positions. Solid line listening test results with standard devation, dashed line time delay determination according [3], dash-dotted line correlation according [2]

recorded in the test room and ltered with the Roex lter a 6 ERB (Figure 1a). The nonlinear processing leads to high amplitudes in the beginning of the signal. This behaviour is essential for the modeling of the temporal processing of the sense of hearing and it is responsible for several masking phenomenons. Due to the limitation of human sense of hearing noise at threshold level is added. The output of these auditory nerves processors is coupled with two different algorithms for determination of the interaural latencies. The rst algorithm contains an extended correlation method [2] and the second one a subtraction method of the monaural signals [3]. The interaural time delay at the extreme values is marked (Figure 1c) and the distribution density function of these marks is calculated with the mean value and its standard deviation. While the mean value indicates the position of the sound source in the horizontal plane the standard deviation could be transformed in an incident angle as a measure for the extension of the sound source. As a rst approximation the average of all critical bands was calculated for the evaluation of the incident angle of sound source.

A listening studie with these sound elds was made for 0 15 30 45 75 90o (c=100). Before starting the 11 test persons were instructed in the meaning of ASW. During the test the subjects had to move an acoustic pointer at the left and right border of the sound source. The difference of the pointer positions was noticed as the incident angle of the sound sources [9]. Figure 2a shows the results of the incident angle for the synthetic modied sound eld. Because of the rst order t the model results match the listening test results nearly. Due to the fact that the hearing models contain nonlinear elements the models can reect the dependence of ASW on SPL [10]. Figure 2b shows the results for different SPL while Figure 2c shows the results for binaural recording on different positions in the room. The simple adapted models reect the listing test results well especially for different SPL. In further studies the contribution of the different critical bands have to be investigated.

REFERENCES
1. Lloyd A. Jeffress, J. Comp. Physiol. Psych., 35-39 (1948) 2. W. Lindemann, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 80, 1608-1622 (1986)

RESULTS
Since it is not known whether the standard deviation or any other value of the distribution density function represents the incident angle of a sound source the hearing models have to adapted to listening test results. For this purpose a monaural recording was made in the seminar room of the institute [9]. This monaural recording was converted into a pseudo binaural recording by a pair of lters with the transfer functions Hl f and Hr f . With these lters the IACC could be varied from 1 ( 0o ) to 0.17 ( 90o ).

3. Jeroen Breebaart and Steven van der Paar and Armin Kohlrausch, Proc. 16th Int. Congress on Acoustics, ICA98, 2, 851-852 (1998) 4. D. Griesinger, Acoustica, 83, 721-731 (1997) 5. H. Hudde and A. Engel, Acoustica. 84, 1091-1108 (1998) 6. B.J.C. Moore and B.R. Glasberg, Hearing Research, 28, 209-225 (1987) 7. R. Meddis, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 83(3) 1056-1963, (1988) 8. D. Pschel, Prinzipen der zeitlichen Analyse beim Hren, PhD. Thesis, University Gttingen (1988) 9. Jrg Becker and Markus Sapp, Applied Acoustics, 62 217228 (2001) 10. W. Keet, Proc. 6th Int. Congress on Acoustics, E53-E56 (1968)

Hl f Hr f

cos c log 2 f cos c log 2 f

SESSIONS

Spatial Factor of Sound Fields for Gamelan Bali Concert Halls


I G.N. Merthayasaa, I.B. Ardhana Putraa and M. H. Hanzena
a

Department of Engineering Physics, Institute Of Technology Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10 Bandung 40132 ignmerth@tf.itb.ac.id , Indonesia

In order to find out the most suitable conditions of sound fields in Gamelan Bali Concert Hall, a serial investigations has been conducted concerning variation of the spatial and temporal parameters of Gamelan Bali sound fields. The subjective judgement test according to Ando's Theory [1] was performed to a group of subjects by varying the value of Interaural Crosscorrelation (IACC) of sound fields while the temporal factors was kept at the same conditions. Using a piece of oleg tambulilingan as a music signal, the results show that all subjects mostly preferred the small value of IACC. These results confirm Ando's theory, but at some conditions to achieve the same subjective preference, Gamelan Bali Music need more spatial Concert Hall compared with classical music of motif A.

INTRODUCTION
The Gamelan Bali Music is already well known as unique Balinese traditional music, it is a percussion orchestra music, has been fascinated many Western composer and felt influenced for over a century in European and North American Music. The concerts of this music has been perform at many concert hall all over the world, by many Balinese Gamelan groups and also by more than a hundred foreign gamelan groups based outside of the country. The present paper was presented based on the comment from the Balinese musician who had experienced to perform their music at some concert halls. Their traditional paradigm state that Gamelan Bali Music is an outdoor music based on their acoustical power it could present. And at last their question is: what are the optimum objective parameters should be used to design a concert hall special for their music? Throughout an intensive investigation it has been concluded that all of the significant objective parameters that describe the sound field in the concert hall are the level of listening, the delay time of early reflection, the subsequent reverberation time and the interaural crosscorrelation. The spatial factor of the sound field is describe by the last parameter i.e. the interaural crosscorrelation (IACC)[1]. Following the comprehensive study of subjective preference, and the related model of auditory brain system, a theory of the acoustics design of a concert hall was developed. In general, the design solution is known as an inverse problem, there are many possible shape of the hall which will satisfy the subjective preference goals of the design [2]. The present study was intended to find

out the optimum preferred condition of IACC value for Gamelan Bali music concert hall.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
In this experiment, beside the IACC value, others parameters value was kept constant. The early delay time between direct sound with the reflection sound was kept at 20 ms, while the total listening level received by the subject is kept at 78 dBA. Since we perform the experiment in a semi anechoic room, we assume that the reverberation time was also constant. Stimuli that simulating actual Gamelan Bali sound fields were provided by loudspeakers set up. The loud speakers set consist of four speakers (I-IV) i.e. the first one at the frontal of the subject position (I), and the others (II IV) were placed at an angle of 360 , 540 and 900 , respectively, with the frontal speaker. In order to vary the IACC value of the sound field at the subject position the sound pressure level of the signal from each of the speaker was set, in such a way, that the measured IACC [3] in the subject position is shown in Table 1 .
Table 1. Simulation of the IACC value of the Gamelan Bali sound field. Signal at Amplitude ratio Measured Speakers IACC I + IV 1 : 1 0.3 I + II 1 : 1 0.4 I + II 1 : 0.75 0.5 I + II 1 : 0.5 0.6 I + III 1 : 0.25 0.7 I + II 1 : 0.25 0.8 I 0.9

SESSIONS

Scale Value of Preference

In order to compare the results with the music of Motif A [1], the same psychoacoustical testing, i.e. paired comparison methods was applied. As a music signal we chose a piece of music from Oleg tambulilingan music, which is one of a popular orchestra that used as a music for performing the Oleg tambulilingan dance. Each stimuli, 5second length, which has a certain IACC value, was compared with other stimuli in a pair with a silent of one second. And there is a silent of 5 second between a pair at which the subject gives their response regarding the stimuli they preferred. At one session of preference judgment all pair was presented randomly, and the presentation was performed 25 times for each subject. The subjects were eight male students between 19 and 21 years old, who had a normal hearing ability. The subject's responses were transformed into the scale value of preference by using the law of comparative judgment [4].

Table 2 . Significant difference between stimuli. IACC 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.3 X 95% 99% 99% 99% 99% 0.4 X 95% 99% 99% 99% 0.5 X 99% 99% 99% 0.6 X 95% 0.7 X 0.8 X 0.9

0.9 99% 99% 99% 95% X

0,0 -0,5 -1,0 -1,5 -2,0 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 IACC

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


The scale value of preference for each subject was plotted in Figure 1 .
Scale Value of Preference 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 -0,5 -1,0 -1,5 -2,0 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 IACC 0,8 1

Figure 2. Comparison between scale value of preference between Gamelan Bali music (solid line) with music Motif A (dashed line). For an example, decreasing the IACC value of Gamelan Bali up to 0,7 almost does not rising the preference of the audience, at which music Motif A has a scale value of preference about almost 50% its optimal value. For the same scale value, Gamelan Bali needs the IACC value between 0.4 to 0.5. Therefore, we conclude that Gamelan Bali music need more spatial Concert Hall compared with classical music of motif A.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thanks The RUTV Projects of GoI for their financial support to this project.

Figure 1 . The scale value of preference of all subjects.

The ANOVA was performed to the results in order to find out the significant difference of the scale value of preference between the each stimulus, and the results are shown in Table 2. This analysis shows that there is no significant difference between the stimuli with the IACC value of 0.7 up to 0.9 and between the stimuli with the IACC value of 0.6 with 0.7. And there is a difference at least with 5% significant level for the pair of stimuli other than mention above. In order to compare the subjective preference of IACC value between Gamelan Bali music with the music of Motif A, both data was plotted at the same graph as shown in Figure 2. From Figure 2, it is shown that to reach the same scale value of preference, Gamelan Bali music need a smaller IACC value compared with music Motif A.

REFERENCES
1. Ando, Y., Concert hall acoustics , Springer Verlag, New York, Chapt. 1, 3 and 4 (1985). 2. Ando, Y. and Singh, P.K., Global subjective evaluation of sound fields and individual subjective preference for seat selection , in Music & Concert Hall Acoustics, Conference Proceedings from MCHA 1995 , edited by Y. Ando & D. Noson, Academic Press, London, 1997, pp.39-49. 3. Nakajima, T., Yoshida, J. and Ando, Y., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 93 , 885-891 (1993). 4. Torgerson, W.S., Theory and methods of scaling , John Wiley & sons Inc, New York, Chapt. 3, (1963).

SESSIONS

Effects of Temporal Structure of Reflections and Listening Level on Listener Envelopment


T. Hanyu a, S. Kimurab and K. Hoshib
a

Department of Construction, Nihon University Junior College, 7-24-1 Narashinodai, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan b Department of Architecture, College of Sci. & Tech., Nihon University, 1-8 Surugadai, Kanda, Tokyo, Japan

The authors have proposed the spatially balanced center time (SBTs) [1] as a new objective measure for evaluation of listener envelopment (LEV). The SBTs quantifies the spatial distribution of reflections using the center time Ts for each direction. First we conducted several psychological tests in order to determine the influence of the temporal structure of reflections on LEV. In these tests, LEV changed even though either C80 or reverberation time (RT) was kept constant. Accordingly, the effect of temporal structure of reflections on LEV could not be evaluated by C80 or RT. The Ts and EDT were the measure that correlated well with the psychological scores of LEV in our tests. Next, we conducted tests on the influence of listening level on LEV. The tests of listening level were conducted in different situations of temporal or spatial structure of reflections. As a result, it is clear that the effect of listening level on LEV depends on the temporal and spatial structure of reflections.

INTRODUCTION
Bradley and Soulodre found late lateral energy to be significant for LEV [2]. They proposed the late lateral sound level LG, for a measure of LEV. As for LG, because absolute sound level after 80ms is being used, the influence of direct sound and initial reflected sound isn't being taken into consideration at all. Is the LEV really unrelated to direct sound and the relative level of reflected sound? Generally, the ratio of early energy to late energy, such as C80, is well used in order to evaluate temporal structure of reflected sound. On the other hand, there are other kinds of measures, such as Ts or EDT, for quantifying the decay of reverberation. Which is the better one to evaluate the effects of temporal structure on LEV? In this study, four subjective tests were conducted in order to examine the effects of temporal structure of reflections and listening level on LEV.

waveform convolved with a portion of the first movement of a Mozart divertimento about ten seconds long. The tests were conducted according to Scheffes paired comparison method. Each pair of sound fields was randomly presented. Ten subjects rated the LEV of the second sound field of each pair on a seven-point scale in comparison with the first one. First, we examined the influence of direct sound on LEV (Test 1). In this test we used five loudspeakers located at the front, 45 and 135 degrees relative to straight ahead of the listener. The front loudspeaker radiates only direct sound and other loudspeakers radiate reverberant sound. Five sound fields were used in this test. The direct to reflected ratio (D/R) varied from 6dB to 6dB at equal intervals of 3dB. Only the level of direct sound varied so that the absolute level of reflected sound was kept constant. Therefore the listening levels of each sound field became as follows: 71, 72, 73, 75, 77dBA. The reverberation time (RT) of all the sound fields was 2.2s. Second, we conducted a subjective test in order to determine which measure is the better one to evaluate the effects of temporal structure on LEV (Test 2). In this test we used 16 loudspeakers. The front loudspeaker radiates direct sound and reverberant sound. Other loudspeakers radiate reverberant sound. We prepared five sound fields in which reverberation time varied from 1.2s to 3.2s at equal intervals of 0.5s. By expanding time intervals between each reflection after 80ms, the reverberation time was expanded. Therefore the C80 and the listening level (72dBA) of all sound fields were kept constant.

TEST METHOD
A total of four tests were conducted using a simulated sound field in an anechoic chamber. We installed 16 loudspeakers at a distance of 1.5m from the listeners at equal intervals of 22.5 degrees in the horizontal plane including the two ears of a listener. When carrying out the tests, we selected the required number of loudspeakers from among the sixteen and reproduced direct sound or reverberant sound. The directional response required for reproduction was synthesized from the virtual sound source [1]. As a stimulus, we used a sound composed of the directional response

SESSIONS

Psychological Scale of LEV

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Y(0.05)=0.20

Psychological Scale of LEV

Next, two subjective tests were conducted in order to examine the effects of listening level on LEV. In both tests the listening level was set to three conditions of 60dB, 70dB and 80dB in two different situations. Therefore, six sound fields were prepared in each test. The first test of listening level was conducted in two different situations of RT=1.2s and 2.2s (Test 3). In Test 3 we used 8 loudspeakers at equal intervals of 45 degrees in the horizontal plane. The front loudspeaker radiates direct sound and reverberant sound. Other loudspeakers radiate reverberant sound. Another test was conducted in two different situations of arrival directions of reverberant sound (Test 4). In Test 4 we used three loudspeakers located at the front and 22.5 or 90 degrees. The front loudspeaker radiates only direct sound and other loudspeakers radiate reverberant sound. In Test 4 the temporal structure of reflections was exactly the same. Therefore the reverberation time of all the sound fields was 2.2s.

Results of Tests 3 and 4 are shown in Figure 2. LEV increases as the listening level increases, even if the sound field does not change completely. The change width is dependent on reverberation time (Test 3) or arrival direction of the reflected sound (Test 4). The interaction in reverberation time and listening level and in arrival direction and listening level were statistically significant (p<0.05). These effects cannot be explained only by quantifying absolute level like LG.

3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3
0 1 2

Y(0.05)=0.40

Test 1
-9 -6 -3 0 3 D/R (dB) 6 9

Test 2
1.2 1.7 2.2 2.7 3.2 RT(s)
3 4 5 6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Results of Tests 1 and 2 are shown in Figure 1. The correlation coefficient between objective measures and LEV psychological scores are shown in Table 1. Although the absolute level of reflected sound does not change completely, when the result of Test 1 is observed, LEV becomes small as the level of direct sound increases. The values of LG and RT are constant, because they are unrelated to direct sound level. Thus, they are not correspondent to the change of LEV. On the other hand, the correlations are high in the other measures where the value is changed by the ratio D/R. This result shows the necessity of considering the effect of direct sound for evaluation of LEV. Although the C80 and LG do not change completely, when the result of Test 2 is observed, LEV becomes large as the reverberation time increases. The value of LG is also fixed, because the absolute level of reflected sound after 80ms does not change completely either, and it is not correspondent to the change of LEV. On the other measures that quantified the decay of the reverberation, a high correlation was obtained. Ts, EDT and SBTs could obtain the high correlation in both experiments. C80, LG and RT could not evaluate both experimental results at the same time. These results show that not only the absolute level of reflected sound but also the level relative to direct sound should be considered in order to evaluate LEV. Additionally, it is shown that the temporal structure of reflected sound must be quantified by both direct sound and the decay of reverberation. Ts and EDT can evaluate both effects reasonably.

FIGURE 1. Psychological scale of Tests 1 and 2.


Table 1. Correlation coefficient between objective measures and LEV psychological scores. **p<0.01 Test 1 Test 2 RT N/A 0.959** EDT 0.992** 0.953** Ts 0.977** 0.953** -0.992** N/A C80 LG N/A N/A SBTs 0.972** 0.952**
3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 Y(0.05)=0.25

Psychological Scale of LEV

Psychological Scale of LEV

3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Y(0.05)=0.31

Test 3
60 70

2.0s 1.2s

Test 4

22.5 90.0

80

60

70

80

Listening Level [dB]

Listening Level [dB]

FIGURE 2. Psychological scale of Tests 3 and 4.

REFERENCES
1. T. Hanyu and S. Kimura., Applied Acoustics 62(2), 155184(2001). 2. J. S. Bradley and G. A. Soulodre., J.Acoust.Soc.Am., 97(4), 2263-2271(1995).

SESSIONS

Concert Hall Design with Auralization, a Case Study


A. Nagya, A. Kotschyb
a

Department of Telecommunications, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Sztoczek u. 2. St.206. Budapest, H-1111 Hungary b R&M Construction and Isolating Ltd., Acoustic Engineering Office, Akna u. 2-4. Budapest, H-1106 Hungary

Room acoustic design is an iterative process. Computer aided acoustical modelling is an efficient instrument to help the design. The aim of this paper is to show the design process of a Hungarian concert hall. We have performed analyses with a ray-tracing based software at every stage of the iteration, determined impulse responses at several receiver points, the distribution of reverbaration time and other acoustical properties. We have also auralized sound samples in order to achieve the optimal sound quality. The concert hall is now under construction. Measurements are to carry out, thus a comparison of the simulated and measured parameters can be done.

INTRODUCTION
Designing a concert hall is an iterative process with lots of compromises. In the last decades computer aided design has become an everyday tool also for acousticians, which makes this iterative process easier and faster. During the design of a new concert hall in Hungary, we have used a ray-tracing based modelling software to verify each stage of the design process. Figure 1 shows the model of the concert hall. We have performed several analyses to determine acoustical parameters of the auditoria. We have also used auralization to make the results audible, which let us consider subjective opinions too.

GEOMETRICAL ACOUSTICS
Each room acoustical simulation program has its own modelling method, but the basis of most of these methods are common: geometrical acoustics. Geometrical acoustics is based on three main conditions: the medium of the wave propagation is homogeneous and quiescent; the boundary surfaces are ideally rigid and the sizes of the room are large compared to the wavelength. If these conditions are fulfilled we can assume that wave propagation is rectilinear and that when a wavefront is reflected from a surface the angle of its incidence equals the angle of the reflection. This allows us to represent wavefronts as soundrays, and thus to use techniques based on image source method (ISM) or on ray-tracing (RTr). ISM works with generating a virtual source for each reflection path, so the number of these virtual sources increases rapidly with the reflection order. Beacuse of this and other disadvantages the pure ISM is used only for the early reflections. In RTr the sources emit sound

rays that propagate and are reflected from surfaces. The path of the rays are traced and the detection of them at the receiver points are logged. The advantage of RTr is its robustness and that parameter maps are easily determined. The problem in modelling is that the conditions mentioned above are often hurt. In larger halls the temperature may change with height; acoustic absorbers and membranes have flexible surfaces and there are complex structures with sizes smaller than wavelength, eg. the audience. There are also other phenomena, such as diffusion (scattering) and diffraction that are to take in account. Software packages differ mainly in the way they handle these problems. Lots of advanced and hybrid methods exist, the discussion of them is beyond the scope of this paper.

MODELLING ROOMS WITH ORCHESTRA, CHOIR AND AUDIENCE


When designing a concert hall we must not forget about modelling the audience and the orchestra (or choir), for they mean surfaces with high absorption and diffusion. There are several approaches. In our models we have represented both the audience and the orchestra with simple brick shaped objects. The height of these bricks were 1 meter, which is the average shoulder height of a sitting person (when modelling the choir a higher and thinner brick was used). The absorption coefficients were set according to results of earlier measurements in which statistical values of absorption in each octave band were determined. The diffusion coefficients were set as suggested by Dalenbck [1], starting from 20 percent at 63 Hz and increasing with 10 percent per octave.

SESSIONS

Another question of modelling orchestra is positioning the source(s). In real life a great part of the emitted sound is scattered by the bodies of the players. To model this we have used omnidirectional sources placed slightly above the upper plane of the orchestra brick. Thus the rays going downwards reflect from this plane with high diffusity.

absorption which was essential. The effect of the changes on RT60 at a receiver point can be seen in Table 1. With some iteration steps we have reached the results given in Table 2.
Table 1. Reverberation times at a receiver point. Frequency At an early stage At the final stage of design of design 125 Hz 2.88 s 2.25 s 250 Hz 2.65 s 2.22 s 500 Hz 2.09 s 2.02 s 1000 Hz 2.00 s 1.96 s 2000 Hz 1.75 s 1.58 s 4000 Hz 1.42 s 1.40 s

A0 01

FIGURE 1. Geometrical model of the concert hall (volume 3900 m3, audience 400 people)

Table 2.The expected acoustic parameters (occupied hall) Parameter Value Mid-reverberation time (RT60) 1.99 s EDTaud / EDTstage 0.97 Lateral efficiency 0.29 +2.7 dB Clarity (C80)

AURALIZATION
Auralization is the process of rendering audible by modelling the sound field of a source in a space, and simulating the listening experience at a given position in the modeled space ([2]). In order to auralize a sound sample we need binaural impulse responses (BIR) of the examined source-receiver arrangement, with which the sample can be convolved (filtered). There are several types of auralization depending on the sort of listening (headphone or speaker, 2 or more channels, etc.). The largest problem in auralization is the speed of convolution. An interesting solution is given in [3].

Although the clarity values were higher than optimal the subjective opinions about the auralized samples were good. The differences between each step were hardly audible for untrained ears. When comparing the first and the final stage of the design the difference was obvious.

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we presented a concert hall design. We have outlined the problems of the modelling process and have shown an approach for modelling audience and orchestra. With the help of auralization subjective judgement was available at each step of the design. The predicted acustical quality of the auditorium is high, which are to be compared to measurements as the concert hall is built.

THE DESIGN PROCESS


After consultations the first model of the concert hall was created. Several analyses were performed with a ray-tracing based program. We have determined impulse responses for different source-receiver arrangements and auralized sound samples. We have also determined parameter maps of reverberation time (RT60, RT30), and that of other parameters above the audience. Beside these we have also averaged the EDTs above the audience and compared to the averaged RTs and to the EDT expected on the stage as suggested by Jordan [4]. The results showed high spatial dependency of acoustical parameters and that the reverberation time was too big in the lower octaves. In order to achieve better quality we have placed diffusors along the side walls. These diffusors also gave low frequency

REFERENCES
1. B-I. Dalenbck, CATT-Acoustic v7.0 Users Manual, Gteborg,
1998 2. M. Kleiner, B-I. Dalenbck, P. Svensson, Auralization-An Overview, J. Audio Eng. Soc.,1993, pp. 861-874 3. L. Savioja et.al., Creating Interactive Virtual Acoustic Environments, J. Audio Eng. Soc., 1999, pp. 675-705 4. V. L. Jordan, Acoustical Design of Concert Halls and Theatres. App.Sci.Publ., London, 1980

SESSIONS

The Prediction of Reverberation Time Using Suitable Neural Networks


J. Nannariello and F. Fricke
Department of Architectural and Design Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
A neural network approach to predicting the reverberation time, RT60, at the conceptual design stage of auditoria is presented. As the number of input variables that can be readily identified and quantified at the early design stage is small, the objective of this work is to reduce neural network size, and to obtain suitable or optimal neural networks. The results showed that the generalization performance of neural networks with simplified internal representation is efficient.

INTRODUCTION
Nannariello [1] previously undertook an investigation of the efficacy of neural networks to predict the low frequency and mid frequency reverberation times, RT60(125-250) and RT60(500-1000) respectively for unoccupied auditoria. The results of the previous work indicated that neural networks trained with as many as 15 input variables provided accurate low-band RT60(125-250) and mid-band RT60(500-1000) predictions for the tested enclosures. One of the objectives of the present work is to investigate the efficacy of neural networks (NN) presented with an optimal data set acquired by way of a dimensionality reduction, i.e. a reduction in the number of input variables, thus reducing the network size and simplifying internal representation [2, 3]. The present work draws on the results from Nannariello [1] and attempts are made to reduce network size and to obtain optimal neural networks. The results of investigations carried out to ascertain the efficacy of these optimal networks to predict low-band RT60(125-250) and mid-band RT60(500-1000) for concert halls, auditoria, and churches are presented. Another objective of the present work is to interpret the meaning of network size reductions by way of investigating: 1) the significance of pruning and combining geometrical and descriptive input variables, and 2) the non-linearity of relationships between the input variables and the predicted reverberation time.

previously used by Nannariello and Fricke [1]. In the present study, a number of feature selection and optimization algorithms supported by the neural network software model, STATISTICA Neural Networks [5] were used to detect interdependencies between input variables. The designated input variables used in the present study represents the same simplistic information available to an architect and acoustical consultant at the conceptual design stage. Optimal neural networks were used to make low-band and midband reverberation time predictions and to show relationships between the input variables and the predicted reverberation time.

RESULTS USING OPTIMAL N-NETS


A series of neural networks with various set-up functions, consisting of several combinations of the designated set of input variables, were trained, and verified. Table 1 shows the results of thirty-four neural networks trained with seventeen different set-up functions for each of the low-band and mid-band frequency reverberation times. The table shows that an eight input variable neural network model (SF7) produced the best results for both low-band and midband frequencies; with an R2,(RMS error),[SDR] of 0.91,(0.20),[0.34] and 0.97,(0.13), [0.31] respectively. Tables 2 and 3 show the results of low-band and midband reverberation time predictions made by the optimal neural networks for six enclosures respectively. Fig. 1 shows RT60(125-250) as a function of tube ratio, TR, and the subjective enclosure rating coefficient, EAR, and illustrates the non-linearity which exists between some of the input variables and reverberation time.

INPUT DATA AND PROCEDURE


The neural network analyses were carried out using a transformed [4] and contracted version of the data

SESSIONS

Table 1. Correlation coefficients (R2), Root Mean Squared errors (RMS), and Standard Deviation Ratios (SDR) for neural networks trained with different set-up for low-band (RT60(125-250 Hz)) and mid-band (RT60(500-1000 Hz)) predictions. RT60(125-250 Hz) Set-up function SF1 SF2 SF3 SF4 SF5 SF6 SF7 SF8 SF9 SF10 SF11 SF12 SF13 SF14 SF15 SF16 SF17 Input variables f (RV, CAS) f(RV, CAS, EAR) f(RV, TR, CAS, EAR) f(RV, TR, CAS, TSA, EAR) f(RV, TR, CAS, TSA, AFA, EAR) f(RV, MAH, TR, CAS, TSA, AFA, EAR) f(RV, MAW, MAH, TR, CAS, TSA, AFA, EAR) f(RV, MAH, CAS) f(RV, MAH, TR, EAR) f(RV, MAH, TR, CAS) f(RV, MAH, CAS, EAR) f(RV, MAH, TR, CAS, EAR) f(RV, MAH, CAS, TSA, AFA, EAR) f(RV, MAW, TR, CAS, TSA, AFA, EAR) f(RV, MAH) f(RV, MAW, MAH, TR, CAS, TSA, AFA) f(RV, MAW, MAH, TR, CAS, AFA) R 0.08 0.78 0.37 0.63 0.60 0.85 0.91 0.08 0.47 0.11 0.58 0.86 0.77 0.79 0.06 0.13 0.16
2

RT60(500-1000 Hz) SDR 0.96 0.46 0.81 0.72 0.70 0.43 0.34 0.96 0.76 0.95 0.67 0.41 0.49 0.48 0.97 0.93 0.93 R2 0.83 0.87 0.64 0.85 0.92 0.80 0.97 0.70 0.85 0.80 0.84 0.80 0.78 0.92 0.70 0.80 0.80 RMS 0.31 0.44 0.46 0.44 0.34 0.34 0.13 0.47 0.31 0.32 0.43 0.32 0.43 0.27 0.44 0.30 0.31 SDR 0.47 0.71 0.74 0.67 0.50 0.55 0.31 0.74 0.50 0.51 0.68 0.51 0.69 0.41 0.70 0.48 0.50

RMS 0.58 0.28 0.49 0.48 0.48 0.26 0.20 0.58 0.46 0.58 0.42 0.24 0.31 0.29 0.59 0.57 0.57

Table 2. Results of SF7 for RT60(125-250) Auditorium MRT60(125-250)a 1 2.10 2 2.30 3 2.40 4 2.48 5 1.60 6 3.60 PRT60(125-250)b 2.02 2.04 2.63 2.14 1.70 3.67 %Ac 96 89 94 86 94 98

surface plots have shown interesting trends of the relationships between the input variables and the predicted reverberation time.

Table 3. Results of SF7 for RT60(500-1000) Auditorium MRT60(125-250)a PRT60(125-250)b %Ac 1 0.80 0.79 99 2 1.80 2.00 90 3 2.30 2.48 93 4 2.65 2.82 94 5 2.40 2.33 97 6 2.40 2.37 99 a MRT60 = measured reverberation times (sec.) b PRT 60 = predicted reverberation times (sec.) c %A = % agreement (MRT60 and PRT 60)

FIGURE 1. Surface plot of RT60(125-250) as a function of tube ratio, TR, (m-1) and subjective rating coefficient, EAR

REFERENCES
1. Nannariello, J., and Fricke, F.R., Applied Acoustics, 58, 305-325 (1999). 2. Stein, R., AI Expert, 8(2), 42-47 (1993). 3. Mozer, M.C., and Smolensky, P., Connection Science, 1(1), 3-16 (1989). 4. Stein, R., AI Expert, March 1993, 32-37 (1993). 5. STATISTICA Neural Networks, StatSoft Inc, Tulsa, OK, (1999).

CONCLUSIONS
Generally, the low-band and mid-band RT60 prediction accuracy of the optimal neural network models, for the six enclosures tested, is within the range of the subjective difference limen (DRT/RT 5%) where RT = reverberation time in seconds. A number of response

SESSIONS

The Effect of Location of the Sound Source upon the Subjective Acoustic Indicators of a Hall
V. J. Stauskis
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Traku 1/26, LT 2001, Vilnius, Lithuania

The position of the sound sources influences strongly the listeners seated at the front of the hall, whereas the listeners in the back rows are almost unaffected. The larger the distance from the orchestra, the smaller the difference. As the distance between the orchestra and the listener is increased, the values of the C80 index decrease from 0 dB in the front rows to 8 dB in the back rows. When the organ is playing, the change in the index values is not so significant: from 8 to 12 dB. The largest difference in C50 and C80 indexes is seen in the front rows, with large negative values. In the middle and back rows, the values of this different become positive and almost stable. When the orchestra is playing, the variation of the low frequency index C80 (3L) is slight in the front rows is slight but they decrease sharply as the distance from the sound source S1 becomes larger. In case of organ music the values of the index are only negative and are almost not dependent on the listeners position.

The investigations were conducted in St. Johns (v.


43 . :7. 3 ' 3 :8 98 03 9 94 9 0 , 9,7 8  2

width at the altar is 24.5 m, and the maximum height is 20.4 m. The volume of the hall is 27,000 m3. Table 1 Sound source S1 S2 1 3 41

The sound source S1 is on the floor plane and S2 is 7.8 m above the floor plane. Therefore, the distances from each measurement point to the sound sources S1 and S2 will be different. These distances are presented in Table 1.

Measurement points and distances to the sound sources, m 3 5 7 8 9 10 3.5 7.5 15 20 25 30 36 31 23 19 14 10

11 35 6.5

THE DEPENDENCE OF THE SUBJECTIVE ACOUSTIC INDICATORS OF A NON-FILTERED SIGNAL UPON THE POSITION OF THE SOUND SOURCE
The evaluation of the hall acoustics by the listener is always subjective. Subjective indicators are connected with the relationship between the early energy and the late energy. A smaller interval of early energy is taken for speech, and larger for music. The energy ratio changes along with the change in the position of the sound source. Fig. 1 depicts the change of C50 and C80 under the action of S1 and S2 at all points of measurement in the hall.


The graph shows that when the orchestra is playing (sound source S1) and the distance between the listener and the sound source becomes larger, the value of C80 changes strongly: it decreases from 0 dB at the front rows to 10 dB at the back rows. When the sound source S2 is located at the back of the hall and the organ is playing, the changes in the value of C80 are not significant: from 9 dB at the front rows to 7(8) dB at the middle and back rows. This means that when the orchestra is playing the early energy prevails in the front rows, while the late energy prevails under the organ music in the same rows. As the organ is playing, only late energy formed by the multiple reflections from all planes prevails in all rows. Fig. 2 shows the changes in C80 at various rows, with the separate action of sound sources S1 and S2.










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0,8:7020398 54 398

FIGURE 1. The Dependence of the Speech Clarity Index C50 and the Music Clarity Index C80 upon the Position of the Listener and the Sound Source. 1 - index C50; 2 index C80.

FIGURE 2. The Dependence of the Music Clarity Index C80 upon the Position of Sound Sources S1 and S2. 1 S1 is active; 2 S2 is active.

SESSIONS

When the orchestra is playing (source S1), the value of C80 strongly depends on the listeners position. When the distance to the source is small, the index values are equal to 0.5-0.6 dB. In the middle rows, a sudden drop to 9 dB is observed, whereas no significant change is seen in the back rows. When the organ is playing (sound source S2), there is little change in the C80 index: from 7.1 to 9.5 dB. This means that, in case of orchestra music, the listeners in the front rows are most affected by the early energy which is determined by strong direct sound and several early reflections. In case of organs, all listeners irrespective of location are almost equally affected by the late energy determined by the long reverberation time. In a hall filled with listeners the reverberation time will be shorter but the regularity will remain the same.

increase in the distance from S1. In case of organ music, this energy is low in all rows. Fig. 4 depicts the change in the low frequency index C80(3L) which was obtained by averaging out the low and medium octave frequencies of 125, 250 and 500 Hz.
/


3/0  





 ,7 9


  

0,8:7020398 54 398

FIGURE 4. The Dependence of the Low Frequency Music Sound Clarity Index C80(3L) on the Position of Sound Source. 1 sound source S1; sound source S2.

The Dependence of Subjective Acoustic Indicators on Frequency and Position of the Sound Source
Any work of music is perceived by the listener as a great deal of sounds whose frequencies and energy varies within very broad limits. So far the changes in indexes were examined for an unfiltered signal. Fig. 3 presents the average results of investigations of the C80(3) index at the frequencies of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz.


When the orchestra is playing (sound source S1), the values of C80(3L) are quite stable in the front rows (around 0). As the distance from the sound source increases, these values are equal to 10 11 dB at the back of the hall. When the organ is playing (sound source S2), the values of the index are only negative and are almost not dependent upon the position of the listener.

Conclusions
1. The position of the sound sources influences strongly the listeners seated at the front of the hall, whereas the listeners in the back rows are almost unaffected. The larger the distance from the orchestra, the smaller the difference. 2. When the orchestra is playing, the variation of the low frequency index C80 (3L) is slight in the front rows is slight but they decrease sharply as the distance from the sound source S1 becomes larger. In case of organ music the values of the index are only negative and are almost not dependent on the listeners position. REFERENCES 1. Bradley J. S. Experience with New Auditorium Acoustic Measurements. // J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. Vol. 73, 20512058 (1983). 2. Bradley J. S. Auditorium Acoustics measures from Pistol Shots. // J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. Vol. 80(1), July , 199205 (1986). 3. Stauskis V. J. Acoustic of Musics halls. Vilnius, 1999, 412 p. 4. ISO 3382: 1997 (E). Acoustics Measurement of the reverberation time of rooms with reference to other acoustical parameters.

 ,7 9  3/0  










   

0,8:7020398 54 398

FIGURE 3. The Dependence of the Music Sound Clarity Index C80(3) on Frequencies and Position of Sound Source. 1 sound source S1; sound source S2.

When the orchestra is playing, i.e. where the sound source is in the position S1, positive values of the index (0.6-0.7 dB) are recorded in the performers area. As the distance from the sound source increases, C80(3) index decreases suddenly to the values from 9.5 to 11 dB in the middle and at the back of the hall. When the organ is playing, i.e. with the sound source S2 active, the C80(3) index is only slightly dependent on the distance and its values are negative, varying from 9.5 to 11 dB. This means that, as the orchestra is playing, the high frequency energy prevails in the performers area; it decays significantly with the

SESSIONS

La Fenice - acoustical planning in the scope of a historical reconstruction G. Mllera and J. Reinholda
a

Mller-BBM GmbH, Robert-Koch-Str. 11, 82152 Planegg, Germany

The famous Teatro La Fenice in Venice was built in 1792. This typical Italian opera house burnt down in 1836 and again in 1996. Opera enthusiasts, musicians, critics as well as town officials demanded a precise reconstruction. They expected that thereby the well accepted "acoustics" of the famous opera could be achieved again. However, when starting any rebuilding, immediately modern requirements on security, stage machinery, air-condition and enlarging of the orchestra pit arise. The relatively high demands on the room acoustical quality of the house, the extremely limited space of the whole building complex in connection with the requirement of an increased number of rooms require a sophisticated room and building acoustical planning and realization.

REQUIREMENTS SET BY THE COMPETITION


Already in 1996, i. e. shortly after the destruction of the theatre, the city of Venice put a very detailed competition out to tender. The competition regulations stated that the audience area and stage area should be reconstructed completely according to the historical model by using the original materials and applying historical working techniques in order to restore the excellent acoustical conditions. A total reconstruction is also required for the Sale Apollinee, which includes the foyer and entrance zones and also some rehearsal rooms. For the wings adjoining in the north and in the south, in which the side stage, several rehearsal rooms, changingrooms, and cloakrooms, workshops, and the administrative rooms are situated, more freedom was granted although the partly existing outer shell of the building had to be respected. In the scope of the strict requirements for the reconstruction, modern safety standards - particularly those concerning fire protection as well as the improvement of the air conditioning and the extension of the room programme had to be taken into account. According to the competition, the technical rooms, which are necessary for this purpose and further room requirements had to be integrated in the building. At the same time, the demands for an enlargement of the volume of the orchestra pit, an equipment of the stage with the latest technique and an increase of the number of audience seats without impairing the room acoustical conditions were established.

ROOM ACOUSTICAL PLANNING


A complete reconstruction according to the historical model of the audience room, the stage including the orchestra pit with the aim of achieving the originally good room acoustical quality leads to the question in how far a "room acoustical planning" is necessary at all. If it was necessary to follow this goal exclusively based on all construction details and construction elements, one could come to the conclusion that this task can be fulfilled by an architect only. Special safety requirements and particularly those concerning fire protection make it, however, necessary to replace the original combustible materials at some places by fire-resistant ones. In this connection, the acoustical adequateness must be achieved by applying properly chosen materials. Sometimes this must also be proven by acoustical measurements. The acoustically relevant boundary surfaces such as the ceiling of the hall as well as the ceilings of the boxes will be reconstructed with the original special plaster which is characterized by a constantly varying material thickness and bending stiffness. In connection with the sprinkler system of the ceiling cavity above, a system meeting today's requirements for fire protection can be chosen. The same is valid of the gallery balustrades, which can be produced with completely reflecting wooden surfaces, which comply with modern safety standards. The relatively short reverberation times which are typical for Italian theatres with galleries should be increased as far as possible. This is achieved by reproducing the fabric curtains which have an exclusively decorating effect out of gypsum and sticking fabric on them.

SESSIONS

The required enlargement of the orchestra pit can be realized only below the stage by maintaining the front edge of the orchestra pit and the lateral boundary surfaces. A movable rear wall of the pit allows a rear boundary as in the historical model. In case of large orchestras, a simple, variable adjustment will be possible. Minor modifications at the balustrade of the orchestra pit as well as the realization of portal reflectors below the lighting bridge lead to an improvement of the contact between musicians in the pitch and singers on stage and vice versa. For concerts, in the stage room a concert shell will be installed. Thus, an optimal acoustical contact between the musicians and an acoustical coupling as well as an effective enlargement of the room acoustically effective volume will be achieved. It will be possible to increase the reverberation times for concerts compared with the reverberation times for opera performances.

Due to the limited space the ventilation control had to be situated above the audience area. Because of fire protection and acoustical reasons, a reinforced concrete ceiling was necessary in contrast with the historical concept. As between the ceiling of the hall and the new ceiling to the technical control room there is an air cavity of approx. 2 m, no influence on the room acoustical quality of the audience room has to be expected. For the Sale Apollinee a certain number of different types of wooden beam ceilings have to be reconstructed. The different room separations partly require very expensive ceiling constructions. To make matters even more complicated, all room areas have to be supplied with air conditioning in contrast to the historical concept. The necessary cable feedthroughs were mainly done in invisible slits in the area of the outside walls and in the ceiling cavity. The close neighbourhood which is typical for Venice requires an utmost caution for the planning of air inlet and outlet openings and for the mounting of technical devices inside the building. As a Venetian distinctive feature, the ship traffic on the adjacent channels and on the bridges in the neighbourhood must be taken into account. Big transportation cranes and the relatively short distance from the faades lead to relatively high acoustical requirements for the exterior construction elements.

BUILDING ACOUSTICAL PLANNING


The wings adjoining the audience area in the north and in the south, can be separated effectively by an acoustical joint. A very high noise protection standard can be achieved also for the new rehearsal halls which will be situated below the audience area. A less effective acoustical separation is, however, possible between the corridor zones and the audience hall which is surrounded by them. The reconstruction requires a construction with wooden beams made out of terrazzo which is typical of Venice. Terrazzo results in a relatively low noise protection which is typical of historical opera houses. The single doors to the boxes will confirm the originally existing low noise protection.

SESSIONS

Difference Limen for Level of Music


W. J. Davies
University of Salford, School of Acoustics and Electronic Engineering, Salford M5 4WT, UK. w.davies@salford.ac.uk
A psychoacoustic experiment has been conducted to determine the difference limen (DL) of the level of music reproduced in a listening room. The effects of three factors on the DL were measured using up to twelve trained subjects. The factors were music motif (Mozart, Elgar, Smashing Pumpkins), listening level (50, 60, 65, 70, 80 dB, A-weighted Leq) and dynamic range. It was hypothesised that the DL would reduce with reduced dynamic range or increased listening level. However, both hypotheses are rejected: listening level was the only significant factor, with a mid-range level of 65 dB giving the lowest mean DL of 1.5 dB. This rises to a mean DL of 2.1 dB at listening levels of 70 and 80 dB. These figures are larger than has previously been assumed and are about the same size as the spatial standard deviation in strength across classical concert halls. The results should be of use to designers of concert halls, recording studios and other spaces for critical listening to music.

INTRODUCTION
When a sound source operates in a room, the sound pressure level will vary across the room. If the room is intended for critical listening (an auditorium or a listening room, for example) then the room designer will usually seek to minimise or at least control this variation. What should be the target for controlling the spatial variation of level? What would be perceived as a large change in level? One way of answering these questions is to look for the smallest change in level which can be perceived: the difference limen (DL). This has been measured many times using simple signals like sine waves, but not, so far, with music as the source signal. The data for singlefrequency measurements show quite a large variance across different experiments. Luce and Green [1] plotted results from six different studies showing difference limen (DL) against sensation level (SL) for a 1 kHz tone. Generally, DL decreased as SL increased, but the change was not monotonic in all experiments. The mean DL was 0.9 dB at 50 dB SL, and 0.6 dB at 70 dB SL. Generally, smaller DLs are produced for continuous signals than for transients. Music is a much more complicated signal than a sine wave, so we should expect changes in its level to be harder to judge. In the architectural acoustics literature, various values for the DL with music have been assumed, though 1 dB seems to be typical [2]. The work reported here seeks to provide for the first time a difference limen measured with music in a realistic room acoustic. The results will be of interest to room acoustic designers who would like to know how audible a measured or predicted change in sound level

might befrom one place in a room to another, or from one room to another, or from one design to another, for example.

METHOD
The music was reproduced to subjects through stereo loudspeakers in a listening room. An efficient adaptive psychometric method was used to conduct the test [3]. The stimulus is played to the subject at two different listening levels and their task is to say whether they perceive a difference in level. The test was controlled by a computer program that varied the difference between the two levels in each presentation according to the subject's last response. This allows it to approach the subjects DL to within a predetermined level of accuracy (0.5 dB) in the minimum number of presentations. Three parameters were varied, one at a time: music motif, listening (sensation) level and dynamic range. It was hypothesised that the DL may vary with music motif (perhaps across genres), that it would decrease as listening level increases, and that music with a smaller dynamic range would produce a smaller DL. Three different musical motifs were used: Mozart (Horn Concerto: Rondeau: Allegro vivace), Elgar (Enigma Variations: Nimrod) and Smashing Pumpkins (Mellon Collie: Thru the eyes of Ruby). When the motif was varied, the listening level was fixed at 70 dB (A-weighted Leq) at the listening position and the music was uncompressed. Five different listening levels were used: 50, 60, 65, 70 and 80 dB (Aweighted Leq at the listening position). When the level was varied the motif was fixed at Mozart and the

SESSIONS

music was uncompressed. The effect of dynamic range was measured by electronically compressing the music and characterised by the difference L1-L99, measured at the listening position. The values used were 16 (uncompressed), 13.5, 12, 9.5 and 8 dB (all Mozart at 65 dB listening level). All the subjects were acousticians or acoustics students, all had normal hearing at standard audiometric frequencies and all were experienced participants in psychoacoustic tests. Each subject completed a training programme, consisting of four consecutive measurements of their DL for a fixed combination of the parameters. Twelve subjects began the training programme; between four and seven subjects completed all tests for each parameter.

5 4 DL (dB) 3 2 1 0 50 60 70 Listening level (dB) 80

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Three separate two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Each ANOVA examined the variance due to one parameter compared with the variance between subjects. The results are summarised in Table 1. It is clear that the only factor significant at the 10% level was listening level. There was some evidence of interaction between subjects and each of the factors. An interaction between music motif and subject, for example, implies that some subjects found it easier to hear changes in level in one motif, while other subjects found another motif easier. There is also tentative evidence that more complex music produces a larger DL. The rock music track gave 1.4 dB, as against 2.5 dB for Elgar and 2.6 dB for Mozart. However, these effects are not significant at the 10% level. Perhaps surprisingly, the hypothesis that dynamic compression would reduce the DL is also rejected. This implies that it is not simply the range between the minimum and maximum levels in music that controls its amplitude perception. Finer detail, like the rate of amplitude change, as well as the rhythmic and tonal complexity, is likely to be more important. Because level is the only significant factor here, we proceed to average across the other factors to produce the graph of DL against level in Fig. 1. The mean DL is seen to be considerably larger than both
Table 1. ANOVA results. Factor Music motif Subject (music tests) Dynamic range Subject (range tests) Listening level Subject (level tests)

FIGURE 1. DL against level for music (upper line, one standard deviation); and for 1 kHz sine wave (lower lines: minimum, mean and maximum, after [1]).

the commonly assumed DL for music of 1 dB, and the mean DL for a sine wave. For all listening levels except 65 dB, the DL is also greater than or equal to the spatial standard deviation of strength G measured in three halls by Bradley [4]. This suggests that, for Bradleys halls at least, judgements of sound quality between seats would be made primarily on criteria other than sound level.

CONCLUSIONS
The difference limen for the sound pressure level of music has been measured. It was found to vary significantly with listening level, but the musical motif and its dynamic range were not significant. The size of the limen is significantly larger than that previously assumed. Future work might reveal whether it varies with other factors, such as reverberation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is grateful to Mr David Ward for conducting the tests and to Dr Trevor Cox for writing the test program.

n 3 7 5 4 5 5

P-value 0.21 0.74 0.19 0.31 0.06 0.12

REFERENCES
1. Luce, R.D. and Green, D.W., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 56, 1554-1564 (1974). 2. Barron, M., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 98, 2580-2589 (1995 ). 3. Taylor, M.M. et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 74, 1367-1374 (1983 ). 4. Bradley, J.S., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 89, 1176-1192 (1991).

SESSIONS

Using Room Acoustic Model Tools to Determine Surface Diffusion Effectiveness


R.H. Campbell
ECE Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA rhcamp@ece.wpi.edu
Room acoustic computer modeling continues to improve with respect to both frequency-sensitive surface diffusion simulation and also the ability to more accurately auralize the space. In the former case, a new Audio Engineering Society Information Document [1] represents the first step in the standardization process to establish a surface diffusion measurement standard with useful coefficients. In the latter case, the auralization component allows placement of directional sources and receivers in the space. Several computational tools are used together in a room acoustic model to determine the spatial effectiveness of modeling surface diffusion. This paper discusses a simple rectangular room, h=8m, w=10m, l=24m, which is modeled with a range from specular to 100% diffuse surfaces.

INTRODUCTION
Room acoustic computer models that incorporate surface diffusion parameters offer an opportunity to examine the acoustic behavior in a model room where these parameters are varied over a wide range. In addition, receiver data output tools are available to interpret the results, such as auralization and graphical images of receiver energy arrival in 3-D space. For the present state of computer modeling capability, an understanding of the influence of model surface diffusion values, with respect to prediction results, indicates the level of accuracy required in valuing the surface diffusion parameters. This in turn leads to the level of accuracy required to measure and report the parameters on real physical surface treatments.

behavior surrounding a particular receiver. The issue here is to focus on the minimal combination of output variables that relate strongly to room model surface diffusion. Programs such as CATT can generate a great deal of detailed output data in the process of predicting room acoustic parameters. The echogram is one example, where five types of data are superimposed in the image in various colors. If one is interested only in diffuse reflections, it is easy to see them in red, but to print them here requires color separating the image. In Fig. 1, top is the echogram with no diffusion, bottom has 100% surface diffusion. There is, clearly, a high density of diffuse reflections in the bottom trace up to the pre-determined truncation time.

THE MODELING PROGRAM


The computer program used in this study is CATTAcoustic [2], which has the ability to utilize stated surface diffusion parameters in the range from 0% to 100%. This program uses a "randomized tail-corrected cone-tracing" technique as a general algorithm for room acoustic prediction. A surface tagged as "diffuse" acquires a multiplicity of patches that, when excited, act as elementary sources radiating according to Lambert's law [3].

Available Tools
One can view the acoustic activity in the room model in many ways. Aside from the common measures, such as LEF, RT, EDT, IACC, STI, C80, etc., there are sound roses that depict 3-D directional energy arrival and also post-processing impulse response and auralization files that can reveal much about the time-domain
FIGURE 1. Upper echogram with 0% surface diffusion, lower with 100% surface diffusion, 2KHz octave band filtered. The two line traces are Schroeder integral (upper), and 2ms energy moving average (lower). The total length of each trace is 250 ms.

SESSIONS

Sound roses depict, in the X-Y-Z directions, the echogram arrivals displayed over user-determined time periods. One can program the time periods as accumulative ( 0 to X) or as discreet (X to Y). In Fig. 2, the top image is for no surface diffusion on all wall surfaces, the bottom is for 100% diffusion, filtered in the 500Hz octave band for approximately the first mean free path. The proliferation of diffuse reflections in the bottom figure can be assessed with respect to direction of arrival.

FIGURE 3. Typical B-format WXYZ receiver impulse responses in the model room with 15% uniform absorption and 100% uniform diffusion. The omnidirectional trace is W, X is transverse, Y is longitudinal and Z is vertical.

Finally, the source can be setup as a highly directional sound emitter and "shone" about the room as a torch, while auralizing to a fixed omnidirectional receiver. If air absorption is turned off, then each octave band reacts the same way to the ray tracer in a room with uniform absorption. This feature can be used to reduce the computation time by setting each octave band, for example, to a different diffusion coefficient.

SUMMARY
A multiplicity of analysis tools are available in some room acoustic modeling programs, that allow detailed studies of the effectiveness of altering the surface diffusion coefficients. However, there remains a gap between the proposed definition of this parameter for a measured physical surface, and its implementation in a modeling program algorithm. It appears that for the program shown here, adequate tools are available to point the way toward closing this gap. Auralization is also a suitable method for observing these differences. Auralized comparisons will be played and unique aural comparative data will be presented. Audio files will be available by contacting the author at the email address given.

FIGURE 2. Sound rose depictions for 0% surface diffusion (top) and 100% diffusion (bottom) with uniform 15% absorption coefficient on all surfaces. The time window is approximately the first mean free path after direct arrival.

There are program facilities to alter the source and receiver type, location, directivity, and pointing direction. For example, using B-format [4] WXYZ configuration for the receiver, it is possible to observe impulse responses (IR) as one omnidirectional, plus three mutually perpendicular figure-of-eight microphones, as seen in Fig. 3. Receivers can be set to binaural, pointed in a particular direction, and the resulting impulse responses can be auralized and presented on headphones to the best acoustic analyzer known, the human listener. In addition, the location of the receiver can be moved about the room. A series of locations forming a path can provide a "walk-through" aural experience.

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4. AES Standards Committee, Information Document: AES4-ID, www.aes.org Internet: www.catt.se Dalenback, B-I, A new model for Room Acoustic Prediction and Auralization, PhD Thesis, F95-05, Chalmers University, Sweden Gerzon, M.A., JAES 33(1), 859-71(1985)

SESSIONS

Comparisons between Computer Simulations of Room Acoustical Parameters and those Measured in Concert Halls Part 2 : Gteborgs Konserthus and Barbican Concert Hall
M. Yugea, H. Shiokawaa, J. H. Rindel b, C. L. Christensen b, A. C. Gade b, M. Itamotoa
Department of Architectural Engineering,College of Industrial Technology, Nihon University, 1-2-1 Izumi-cho Narashino-shi 275-8575 Chiba, Japan b Acoustical Technology, Oersted-DTU, Technical University of Denmark, Build. 352, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
A number of European concert halls were surveyed in 1989[1]. In this paper comparisons are newly made between measured room acoustical parameters and those obtained from computer simulations using the ODEON program version 4.2 on other two concert halls. One is Konserthus in Gteborg and the other is Barbican concert hall in London. These concert halls are not rectangular box shapes.
a

GEOMETRICAL DATA FROM COMPUTER SIMULATIONS


Two model of each concert hall are used for computer simulation. One is made with high geometrical fidelity (C.H.) and the other is made with simplifications to geometry, mainly in the platform and reflectors (C.S.). The geometric details of each hall are shown in Table 1. C.H. model of Konserthus in Gteborg and Barbican concert hall in London are shown in Fig.1 and 2. Source and receiver positions in simulation models are defined according to survey in 1989. S1 () is the source position, which is one meter above the floor. R1~5 () are receiver positions in audience area, which are 1.2 meters above the floor.

Acoustical Parameters
Reverberation time (RT): Comparisons of measured (M) and calculated RT on receiver position R2 in Gteborgs Konserthus when the source position is S1 (typical soloist position) are shown in Fig.3. Those of RT on receiver position R1 in Barbican concert hall
Table 1 Geometrical data for each hall Gteborg C.H. C.S. Actual Volume [m3] 11,900 Estimate Volume [m3] 12,323 12,500 Number of seats 1,286 229 91 Number of surfaces
C.H.: Computed, High degree of detail C.S. : Computed, Simplified geometry

FIGURE 1. C.H. model of Gteborgs Konserthus

Barbican C.H. C.S. 17,750 20,975 19,800 2,026 320 130 FIGURE 2. C.H. model of Barbican Concert Hall

SESSIONS

3.2 2.8

S1-R2

3.2
M C.H. C.S.

2.8

S1-R1

RT [s]

2.0 1.6 1.2 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k

RT [s]

2.4

2.4 2.0 1.6 1.2 125 250 500 1k 2k

M C.H. C.S.

Octave band center frequency [Hz]

Octave band center frequency [Hz]

4k

FIGURE 3. RT in Gteborgs Konserthus (S1-R2)


8.0

FIGURE 4. RT in Barbican Concert Hall (S1-R1)


8.0
C.H. C.S.

500[Hz]

500[Hz]

Relative error

6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 RT EDT L C Ts

Relative error

6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 RT EDT L C Ts

C.H. C.S.

FIGURE 5. Relative errors at 500Hz in units of subjective limen in Gteborgs Konserthus


8.0

Acoustical parameters

LEF

FIGURE 6. Relative errors at 500Hz in units of subjective limen in Barbican Concert Hall
8.0
C.H. C.S.

Acoustical parameters

LEF

Relative error

2k[Hz]

2k[Hz]

4.0 2.0 0.0 RT EDT L C Ts

Relative error

6.0

6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 RT EDT L C

C.H. C.S.

Acoustical parameters FIGURE 7. Relative errors at 2kHz in units of subjective limen in Gteborgs Konserthus

Acoustical parameters FIGURE 8. Relative errors at 2kHz in units of subjective limen in Barbican Concert Hall

Ts

are shown in Fig.4. Three series of RT are displayed in Fig.3 and 4; measured RT in 1989 [1] and calculated RT by computer simulations using models of C.H. and C.S.. All three series of RT are similar except RT at 250Hz of Fig.4. Accuracy rating of acoustical parameters: The average of all resulting relative errors for each acoustical parameter between M and C.H., C.S. at 500Hz are shown in Fig.5 (Gteborgs) and Fig.6 (Barbican). Those of 2kHz are shown Fig.7 and 8 (Subjective limen: 5% for RT and EDT, 1dB for L and C, 10ms for Ts, 0.05 for LF [2]). Relative Errors of EDT at 500Hz are large (3-5 sub. limen) in both concert halls. According to Fig.5, any other Relative Errors are small (1-2 sub. limen) except RT and Ts of C.S.. According to Fig.6, Relative Errors of Ts are large (2-4 sub. limen). Relative Errors at 2kHz are small (1-2 sub. limen) except EDT in Gteborgs Konserthus and Ts of C.S. in Barbican concert hall.

Conclusion
Measured and calculated reverberation time in single positions are in good agreement. Simplified or detailed platform geometry is not important for results in the auditorium.

In both concert halls, the average relative errors of 2kHz are smaller than those of 500Hz.
Models with simplifications to the geometry are more useful than those with high geometrical fidelity in the Barbican concert hall.

REFERENCES
1. A.C.Gade: Acoustical Survey of Eleven European Concert Hall, DTU Report No.44, 1989 2. Michael Vorlander: International Robin on Room Acoustical Computer Simulation, 15th International Congress of Acoustics, 1995 3. Jens.H.Rindel, Hiroyoshi Shiokawa, Claus.L. Christensen and A.C.Gade: Comparisons between computer simulations of room

acoustical parameters and those measured in concert halls, PROCEEDINGS Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and European Acoustical Association, 1999

SESSIONS

Adequacy of the Degree of Cross-correlation between Two Points in Evaluation of Auditory Source Width
K. Nakagawaa,b, M. Morimotoa, M. Jinyaa and K. Ohtsua
aEnvironmental Acoustiocs Laboratry, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University, Nada, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan bEnvironmental Engineering Group, Nikken Sekkei Co.Ltd., 541-8528 Osaka, Japan

Auditory source width (ASW) is an important factor for subjective judgement of concert halls. The degree of interaural cross-correlation (ICC) has been proposed as a physical measure for ASW. However a dummy head, which is necessary for measurements of ICC, is expensive and requires troublesome transpotation. In this study, the adequacy of the degree of cross-correlation between two points without a dummy head was investigated. Degrees of cross-correlations measured with two microphones (TMCC) and those with a ball, on which two microphones were installed (SMCC), were compared with ICC using 1/3 octave band noises. The results demonstated a possibility to approximately obtain IACCE3, which is a physical measure for evaluating ASW of music motif, without a dummy head.

INTRODUCTION
Auditory source width (ASW) is an important factor for subjective judgement of concert halls. It is well-known that interaural cross-correlation (ICC) is a physical measure for evaluating ASW.[1,2] However, ICC is not used in practice very often, because a dummy head, which is costly and gives a lot of troubles with transportation, is necessary for measurements of ICC. In this study, possibilities of predicting ICC by the two physical measures were investigated. They are the degrees of cross-correlations measured with two microphones (TMCC) and those with a ball on which two microphones were installed (SMCC).

the head of KEMAR.

Experimental Results and Discussions


Figure 1 shows the measured SMCC15, ICC, and the difference between them. For 500 and 1000Hz, SMCC15 agreed with ICC. The differences between them were less than 0.1. For 2000Hz, the correlation coefficient was lower than 500 and 1000Hz, but the differences between them did not exceed 0.1 for the frontal and lateral reflections. Although the differences between SMCC15 and ICC were about 0.2 for reflections from behind the listener, they may be negligible. Because early reflections dominantly contribute to ASW comparing with late reflections and most of them come from frontal directions. For 4000 and 8000Hz, SMCC15 differed from ICC very much. SMCC18 agreed with ICC only for 500Hz, but for other frequencies, the differences between them were larger than 0.2 for some directions of reflections, and the correlation coefficients between them were less than 0.6. Accordingly, SMCC15 is predictable of ICC for 500, 1000, and 2000Hz. For 4000 and 8000Hz, it is difficult to obtain the same value of SMCC as ICC because of two reasons; one is the difference between directivities of a sphere and a dummy head, and the other is the difference between the equivalent interaural distance of a dummy head and the distance between two microphones.

METHODS
The test sound field consisted of a direct sound and two lateral reflections in an anechoic chamber. The direct sound was radiated from the front of the receiving point, and the reflections were radiated symmetrically relative to the receiving point. On the receiving point, KEMAR dummy head or two omni-directional microphones were arranged. The distance between the center of the dummy head or the microphones and the loudspeakers was 1.5m. As source sighals, 1/3 octave band noises of fc=500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000Hz were used. The direct sound and the reflections were incoherent each other. The relative sound pressure level of each reflection to a direct sound was fixed of -8dB for 500 and 1000Hz, and -6dB for 2000, 4000, and 8000Hz.

CROSS-CORRELATION MEASURED WITH TWO MICROPHONES(TMCC) Experimental Conditions and Results 1


The degree of cross-correlation measured with two omnidirectional microphones separated by 26, 30, and 33cm (TMCC26, -30, and -33, respectively) were compared with ICC. 26cm is the average of equivalent interaural distance of KEMAR for the low frequency region in a free field. 33cm is the average of equivalent interaural distance over all frequencies in a diffuse sound field. 30cm was adopted as a medium value between 26cm and 33cm. Figure 2 shows that TMCC30 agreed with ICC for 500Hz. However, for other frequencies, any TMCC was not in agreement with ICC.

CROSS-CORRELATION MEASURED WITH A BALL AND TWO MICROPHONES (SMCC) Experimental Conditions
The degrees of cross-correlation measured with a ball of 15cm and 18cm diameter, on which two microphones were installed (SMCC15 and SMCC18), were compared with the degrees of ICC. 15cm in length is much the same as head breadth of KEMAR [3], and 18cm is almost same as the distance round

SESSIONS

Experimental Conditions and Results 2


From the relation of the equivalent interaural distance and the wave length, it was expected that the value of TMCC nears to the value of ICC by shortening the distance between two microphones for 1000 and 2000Hz. As a result, 23 and 21cm were adopted for 1000 and 2000Hz, respectively, by comparing the equivalent interaural distances for each direction with the distance between two microphones. Figure 3 shows the degrees of crosscorrelation measured with two omni-directional microphones separated by 21 and 23cm (TMCC21 and -23) and ICC for 1000 and 2000Hz. For 1000Hz, the difference between TMCC21 and ICC was less than about 0.1 for every reflection, and the difference was smaller than TMCC23 and ICC in lateral. TMCC21 had a higher correlation with ICC than TMCC23.

For 2000Hz, the difference between TMCC21 and ICC was not very small compared with TMCC23 and ICC. However TMCC21 had a higher correlation with ICC than TMCC23.

CONCLUSIONS
SMCC measured with the ball of 15cm diameter agreed with ICC for 500, 1000, and 2000Hz, and TMCC measured with two microphones separated by 30cm and 21cm agreed with ICC for 500Hz and for 1000 and 2000Hz, respectively. These results indicate a possibility to obtain IACCE3 [2] approximately without a dummy head, that is, the average value of three bands of 500, 1000, and 2000Hz by TMCC and SMCC.

REFERENCES
1. M.Morimoto, H.Setoyama and K.Iida, "Consistent physical measures of auditory source width for various frequency components of reflections", in Proceedings of the Acoust. Soc. Am. and Acoust. Soc. Jpn. Third Joint Meeting, 83 (1996) 2. T.Hidaka, L.L.Beranek and T.Okano, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 98 (2), 988 (1995) 3. M.D.Burkhard and M.Sachs, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 58, 214 (1975) Degree of cross correlation
1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4

Degree of cross correlation

1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 0 36

500Hz

1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4

1000Hz

2000Hz

TMCC30

0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 0 36 72 108 144 180

r=1.000

0. 2 0

r=0.979

0. 2 0

r=0.625

r=0.993

72 108 144 180

Azimuth angle of reflections (degree)

36

72 108 144 180

36

72

108 144 180

Azimuth angle of reflections (degree)

FIGURE 1. ICC (closed circle), SMCC15 (open circle), and the difference between ICC and SMCC15 (open triangle) as a function of azimuth angle of reflections for 500, 1000, and 2000Hz.

FIGURE 2. ICC (closed circle), TMCC30 (open circle) and the difference between ICC and TMCC30 (open triangle) for 500Hz.
1 0. 8 0. 6

Degree of cross correlation

1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 0

(a) TMCC21,1000Hz

1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4

(b) TMCC23,1000Hz

1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0

(c) TMCC21,2000Hz

(d)

TMCC23, 2000Hz

r=0.990

r=0.900

r=0.672

0. 4 0. 2 0

r=0.563

0. 2 0

36

72 108 144 180

36

72

Azimuth angle of reflections (degree)

108 144 180

36

72

108 144 180

36

72 108 144 180

FIGURE 3. ICC (closed circle), TMCC (open circle), and the difference between ICC and TMCC (open triangle) as a function of azimuth angle of reflections. (a) TMCC21, 1000Hz (b) TMCC23, 1000Hz (c) TMCC21, 2000Hz (d) TMCC23, 2000Hz

SESSIONS

A Method for the Evaluation of the Acoustics of Auditoriums


G. P. Guimaresa, C. G. Herreraa, H. Camille Yehiaa , E. Bauzer Medeirosb
Departamento de Engenharia Eletrnica, bDepartamento de Engenharia Mecnica Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antnio Carlos 6627, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, BRAZIL Tel: + 55 31 34995247, Fax: + 55 31 34433783, email: hani@cpdee.ufmg.br, flugzbau@dedalus.lcc.ufmg.br
The present work addresses the problem of auditorium evaluation by means of a sequence of objective measurements. The excitation employed in the experiments has been generated by digital signal processing techniques with the objective of trying to obtain more adequate excitation Maintaining both a moderate cost and a reasonable flexibility for the whole procedure has also been one of chief guidelines of this project, as the authors hope that standardized testing procedures should become more common in the future for small auditoriums. TSP pulse techniques have been employed to evaluate a typical auditoriums response, using to a larger extent the auditoriums facilities. Prior to testing, the sound source has also been characterised in quasi non reverberant field conditions. The main results for a typical auditorium are presented together with a discussion of the testing procedure.
a

INTRODUCTION
The quantification of acoustic properties in auditoriums is possibly one of the most difficult tasks which can be requested from an acoustician. Not only are the actual physical processes involved but also associating objective parameters to the subjective evaluation of a qualified listener, e.g. a musician, can be a challenging exercise. In ancient times some of the attributes were already known [1], but it was only after the pioneering work of Sabine, many centuries later, that the basis for the correlation between objective parameters and subjective evaluation was laid down. Reverberation time represented the predominant thinking in all the early work, with loudness and clarity also appearing sometimes. Recent research such as [1,2], has provided a wealth of detail and objective rating information which should hopefully become the rule for future analysis. Objective rating demands adequate measurement techniques. Modern digital signal processing, and adequate instrumentation can provide an efficient tool for objective parameter rating.

F I G U R E 1 : Th e t e s t e d a u d i t o r i u m

EXPERIMENT OVERVIEW
The auditorium of the UFMG School of Music was chosen, for a variety of reasons, as the test object of the present analysis. Testing consisted essentially of applying a controlled TSP signal [3,4], for a variety of conditions, and recording the response. The advantage of this procedure is to provide relatively quickly an overall evaluation of an auditoriums response. Figure 1 shows a simplified diagram of the chosen auditorium for a typical test condition, also indicating the source and the microphone relative position.

Each pulse was initially computer generated and recorded in a CD, providing a consistent excitation signal for every test condition. The response was recorded in DAT media, providing the means for later computer signal processing and analysis. Prior to TSP testing, the auditoriums reverberation time was verified and found to be 1.4 seconds (average).

TESTING PROCEDURE
Actual testing consisted of the following steps: Testing signal generation and CD recording; Sound Source (loudspeaker) characterising; Auditorium testing; Signal processing and analysis. Prior to any auditorium testing the sound source, one of the auditoriums loudspeakers had to be characterised. The sound source and all the testing equipment was taken to a large grass field inside the ! ! ! !

SESSIONS

university campus, and measurements were carried out in the early hours of the morning, in order to obtain a low level of background noise and reverberation. The measurement distances were the same used inside the auditorium. The background noise level was measured and subtracted from the final result. As in the auditoriums case, calibration was based on a value of 85.5 dB SPL, corresponding to 3 dB on the DAT recording system. For the auditorium a similar procedure has been employed. Measurements were carried out for several test signals and geometric configurations. Figure 1 indicates the reference conditions, with the loudspeaker at the same height as the microphone (1,80 m), the horizontal distance between them being 5 metres.

causes related to FFT evaluation, and is presently under the object of a current research by the authors.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS


Figures 2, 3 and 4 show, respectively, the speaker open field response, the combined speaker and auditorium response, and the corrected auditoriums 1/3 octave frequency response, the standard deviation, the vertical lines, being also shown for every case.
F I G U R E 3 : Au d i t o r i u m p l u s S p e a k e r R e s p o n s e

F I G U R E 4 : Au d i t o r i u m C o r r e c t e d R e s p o n s e

F I G U R E 2 : Lo u d s p e a k e r R e s p o n s e

Finally, it should be mentioned that the present research is being now extended, in order to associate standard evaluation parameters with the present results and with the subjective (listening) evaluation of the Escola de Msica musicians.

The results correspond to a TSP of 0.34 seconds, ranging from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The recorded files have been cut off at 0.85 seconds (open field) and 1.0 seconds ( auditorium ), to reduce the influence of the background noise level on the experiment. The signals have been recorded in .WAV extension, subsequently, FFT treated. The combined response of the auditorium may be found by comparison of the speaker (open field ) response, with the response measured at the auditorium. The results here shown correspond to an average evaluated for five consecutive recordings, of the same TSP, observing the attenuation time for each pulse. It is interesting to observe that the standard deviation has a larger value at the lower frequencies of the spectrum. This is likely to be associated with

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Escola de Msica da UFMG for the kindly offered support. They would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided by FAPEMIG which has enabled the acquisition of part of the equipment employed in the present research.

REFERENCES
L. L. Beranek, Concert and Opera Halls: How they sound, ASA, (1996). 2. T. Hidaka and L. L. Beranek, Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 107, 368-383, (2000). 3. Y Suzuki et al., Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 97, 1119-1123, (1995). 4. N. Aoshima, Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 69, 1484-1488, (1981). 1.

SESSIONS

A Study on the Acoustic Mechanisms for Supplying Reflection from Behind without the Use of Back Wall Effects
K.Sekiguchia, T. Hanyua and Y.Murohashic
a

College of Science and Technology,Nihon University,1-8 Kanda Surugadai Chiyoda_ku Tokyo,1018308,Japan b Wakabayashi onkyo limt.,3-69-1Hatagaya Shibuya_ku Tokyo, 151-0072 Japan

Listener Envelopment (LEV) becomes larger when a reflection arrives and envelops the listeners [1]. In order to do this, we have to focus on and to figure out how we can supply a reflection from behind, which should be in good proportion to the initial reflection that frequently arrives from the front. In fact, when going through the results of the analysis of the reflection arrival direction in a shoe box with high evaluation results, we can see a lot of reflection arriving from the quarter back area of side walls during the period of time when a back wall effect is not involved. Therefore, side wall designs are the focal point of this study, and we report the results after examining the acoustic mechanisms, which supply reflection from behind (which is a relatively important factor for LEV[2]) to the sound receiving point without using the back wall. After having examined the designs of the side walls in a concert hall, the results clarify that a column type diffuser can create a specific mechanism which supplies and envelop listeners even when no back wall effects are involved.

INTRODUCTION
Side wall designs are the focal point of this study, and we report the results after examining the acoustic mechanisms, which supply reflection from behind to the 72cm sound receiving point without using the back wall.

20cm Y S 35cm 24cm X 3cm

Z 72cm

S
Y

R 10cm

Cross Sectional View S: Sound Resources R: Sound Receiving Point

EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
1/50 scale models were used for this experiment. In order to examine the first reflection from the side wall, we created models that have only side walls, using a shoe box type of structure at the size of 20m 36m 17.5m, as shown in Figure 1. Three different measurement patterns (Patterns , and ) were set in order to understand the effects of the reflections from behind. As shown in Figure 2, Pattern is set to diffuse on the entire side wall, Pattern is set to diffuse on the front half of the side wall and to absorb sound on the other half, and Pattern is to absorb sound on the front half and diffuse on the other half. Regarding the side wall types, we used three different types, which are shown in Figure 3. One is a column type side wall, where columns (the actual size is set to be 50 cm in diameter) were placed at intervals of 2.5cm, which attach to the side wall, (each attaching place is numbered from one to thirteen). Another types are a waved boards, which were waved at the same intervals as that of the column type. Styrene board (5mm in thickness), which is considered to have almost perfect reflection, was used as the material for the 1/50 scale models, and plastic was also used for the columns of 1 cm diameter, which is 50 cm of the actual size. A discharge
Side wall model

FIGURE1. The arrangement plan of the 1/50 scale model for this experiment

Plan

0.5m 0.5m

Front Diffusion

Sound Absorption

2.5m
The Whole Diffusion Sound Absorption Back Diffusion

0.5m 2.5m
Column Waved Board Rimpled Board

FIGURE2. Measuring Patterns FIGURE3. Side Wall Types

pulse, which can be applicable up to 160kHz, is used for the sound resources and a 1/8 inch microphone was used for receiving the sounds.

SESSIONS

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND FURTHER CONSIDERATION


Figure 4 shows the impulse responses in all three different types of side walls in accordance with the three different measurement patterns. Figure 4 notes the periods of arrival time regarding how long it takes for the reflections to arrive from each diffuser (all the diffusers have been numbered, as seen in Figure 2). When considering these factors and comparing the waves in Figure 4, it is understood from Pattern that the responses in both the rimpled and waved types are seen during the initial stage of response, while the responses of the column type is distributed over a wide range of time. When looking at the waves of Pattern , the reflections in all the wall types are seen focused upon during the initial stage. Pattern shows the same result as Pattern , showing that the responses of both the rimpled and the waved types of side walls are mainly seen as focused during the first stage of responses, while the reflection in the column type is seen as distributed over a wide range of time, which makes it clear to understand that the reflection arrives from the columns located in the back. These factors are assumed to have great effects on the function of enlarging the amount of Ts, which the authors have been using for determining the amount of LEV. The part which the first reflected sound from diffusing wall surface ( the rimpled board type and the waved board

type ) contributes to a certain sound receiving point is limited, when the above result is examined from the viewpoint of the spatial distribution. On the other hand, the column type supplies reflections not only from the columns on the front side of the wall but also from the columns placed on the quarter back area where sound reflection goes behind the listeners as time passes. As a result, this enables reflections to arrive and envelop the listeners.

CONCLUSION
After having examined the designs of the side walls in a concert hall, each column produces the cylindrical wave on the side wall of which the column has been placed in the lined pillar state. Regarding the side wall where columns were placed in a line, each column can produce spherical waves and cylindrical waves. As a result, it can be assumed to create an acoustical mechanism which can supply sound reflections from various different directions to listeners in wider areas during the initial stage.

REFERENCES
[1] T. Hanyu and S. Kimura., Applied Acoustics 62(2), 155-184(2001). [2] M.Morimoto and K.Iida, J.Acoust.Soc.Am.98, 2282 (1993)

Column I

Rimpled Board I

Waved Board I

5,6

3 2 1 47 8 9

5,6 10 11 12 13

3 2 1 47 8 9

5,6 10 11 12 13

3 2 1 47 8 9

10

11

12

13

Column II

Rimpled Board II

Waved Board II

4 5,6 73 2 1 5,6

4 73 2 1 5,6

4 73 2

Column III

Rimpled Board III

Waved Board III

10

11

12

13

10

11

12

13

10

11

12

13

FIGURE4. Impulse responses of all the three side wall types (120ms)

SESSIONS

Contrast of Spatial Impression due to the Variation of Musical Notes in a Concert Hall
T. Hanyua, K. Sekiguchib and Y. Satakec
a

Department of Construction, Nihon University Junior College, 7-24-1 Narashinodai, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan b Department of Architecture, College of Sci. & Tech., Nihon University, 1-8 Surugadai, Kanda, Tokyo, Japan c Nittobo Acoustic Engineering Co.,Ltd., 1-19-9 Midori, Sumidaku, Tokyo, Japan

While we are actually listening to music in a concert hall, we sometimes experience changes of spatial impressions such as Listener Envelopment (LEV), as music is playing. In this study, we conducted psychological experiments in order to investigate the phenomenon of the changes of LEV due to the variation of musical notes. As a result, we clarified that LEV is occasionally changed due to the compositions of sound from a variety of instruments, tunes and tempos even in the same sound field. Furthermore it was clarified that each hall has characteristics of change of LEV. If change of LEV is large, a listener felt the contrast of LEV. It was also understood that contrast of LEV was occurred in the shoebox type hall that generally has a good acoustic condition. In the fan shape hall its LEV was always small regardless of the variation of notes. On the other hand, the LEV was always large in the diffuse sound field (such as in church). Therefore, in these sound fields no contrast of LEV occurred by the variation of notes.

INTRODUCTION
It is considered that the spatial impression in a concert hall is occasionally changed due to the compositions of sound from a variety of instruments, tunes and tempos. Therefore, these changes of spatial impressions can be used as a new measure if they can be confirmed to be different in each different hall. In this study, degrees of changes in LEV, which can be dynamically changed as music is playing, were examined in various sound fields.

Verdi, were chosen to be used as music for our tests since this piece is enriched with various changes in its composition such as the use of different instruments, varied tempos and duration of notes. The level of stimuli at the listening point was 75dBA. First, LEV in each sound field was obtained in Test A. The test was conducted according to Scheffes paired comparison method. Each pair of sound fields was randomly presented. Seven subjects rated the LEV of the second sound field of each pair on a seven-point scale in comparison with the first one. Next, two tests were conducted according to the SD method in order to examine LEV Contrast. Seven subjects rated the LEV Contrast of each sound field on a seven-point scale from no contrast to very contrasted. In addition, according to LEV Contrast, focusing on differences in musical instruments (Test B) and in ways of playing (Test C), the subjects were told to say there was a contrast whenever they felt major differences in each LEV. In Test B, in the parts (Measures 29 ~ 37) composed of the main melody of cellos and the high notes of violins, differences in LEV between these musical instruments were evaluated focusing on each instrument. In Test C, differences in LEV were evaluated focusing on portions where violins were played slowly for long durations (Measures 18 ~ 27) and also focusing on parts where violins were played fast for short durations (Measures 36 ~ 41). The subjects repeatedly listened to stimuli until they were satisfied with their evaluation.

TEST METHOD
A total of three tests were conducted using a simulated sound field in an anechoic chamber. We installed 16 loudspeakers at a distance of 1.5m from the listeners at equal intervals of 22.5 degrees in the horizontal plane. Six different types of sound fields were used in these tests. Figure 1 shows the plan and the virtual sound source distributions (VSSD) of six sound fields, as well as the responses synthesized from VSSD. The VSSD of each hall was measured in actual concert halls by using 4-point microphone system [1]. Artificial sound fields E and F are formed from randomly generated virtual sound sources so that reflected sound is diffused. The directional responses required for reproduction were synthesized from the VSSD. As a stimulus, we used a sound composed of the directional response waveform convolved with an anechoic music. Measures 17 ~ 41 of the Overture to the First Act of La Traviata, an opera composed by

SESSIONS

500ms 500ms front front

500ms 500ms front

500ms 500ms

left

right

left

right

left

right

rear 200
16 2

rear

rear

15 14 13 12 11

3 4 5 6 7

RT:3.2s Hall A
500ms 500ms front

15 14 13 12 11

16 2

3 4 5 6 7

RT:2.3s
15 14 13 12 11

16 2

3 4 5 6 7

RT:1.7s Hall C
500ms 500ms front

10 9 8

10 9 8

Hall B
500ms 500ms front

10 9 8

left

right

left

right

left

right

rear 200

rear 200

rear

characteristics and sound field characteristics. Since there are the differences concerning degrees of LEV Contrast in each different sound field, LEV Contrast can be confirmed as an element of evaluation of sound field. We conjecture that the sound field where LEV Contrast occurs might be more sensational. In fact, LEV Contrast was occurred in the shoebox type hall that generally has a good acoustic condition. On the other hand, in the fan shape hall its LEV was always small and in the diffuse sound fields a listener was always surrounded by sound. Therefore, in these sound fields no contrast of LEV occurred. We suspect that LEV Contrast is related to the acclimation of binaural hearing [3]. It seems that the sensitivity of the spatial impression becomes dull due to this acclimation. Hafter et al. suggested that a certain trigger is needed to cancel the acclimation [3]. It is thought that this acclimation might be canceled by the changes of spatial impression such as LEV Contrast.
Psychological Scale of LEV
3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

10 9 8

SBTs[ms]

15 14 13 12 11

16 2

3 4 5 6 7

Artificial sound field: (which is formed from randomly generated virtual sound sources when we assumed reflected sound is diffused)

RT:2.1s Hall D

RT:3.0s Sound Field E

RT:3.0s Sound Field F

Y(0.05)=0.41

120 100 80 60 40 20

FIGURE 1. Sound fields used in tests.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Figure 2 shows both the psychological scale of LEV in Test A and the spatially balanced center time (SBTs) (proposed by the authors as an evaluation index of LEV) [2] obtained in each sound field. Shoebox type hall A and diffused sound fields E and F especially show high LEV. The values of SBTs are seen to correspond to psychological scores of LEV, and the correlation coefficient between them was confirmed to be 0.98 (p<0.01). Psychological scales in Tests B and C are shown in Figure 3. The error bars in this figure show 95% of the confidence interval. LEV Contrasts shown in Figure 3 are not always seen to correspond to the LEV scores shown in Figure 2. Although the scores of LEV in sound fields E and F are high as shown in Figure 2, LEV Contrasts are low scores as shown in Figure 3. Therefore, it can be understood that sound fields E and F always have a high LEV without any influence from different kinds of musical instruments or ways of playing them. On the contrary, as hall A shows high scores in both LEV and LEV Contrast, it is assumed that this can be the sound field where LEV is changed due to the variety of musical instruments, tempos and duration of notes. As sound field is not changed, it is considered that this phenomenon can be caused by the relationship between sound

A B C D E F Sound Fields

A B C D E F Sound Fields

FIGURE 2. Psychological scale of LEV in Test A (left) and SBTs in each sound field (right).
76 65 54 43 32 21 10 76 65 54 43 32 21 10

Contrast of LEV

A B C D E F Sound Fields

Contrast of LEV

Test B

Test C

A B C D E F Sound Fields

FIGURE 3. Psychological scales of Tests B and C.

REFERENCES
1. K. Sekiguchi, S. Kimura, and T. Hanyu., Applied Acoustics 37, 305-323 (1992). 2. T. Hanyu and S. Kimura., Applied Acoustics 62(2), 155184(2001). 3. E. R. Hafter, R. H. Dye and E. M. Wenzel., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 73, 1708-1713(1983).

SESSIONS

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