Objective analysis of the dynamic responsiveness of concert halls

Abstract

One of the central acoustical features of a concert hall is its ability to make sound sufficiently loud. Acoustics researchers often measure the objective parameter strength to investigate sound-amplifying properties of a hall. However, the strength is a linear variable, it does not reveal anything about the true dynamic responsiveness of a hall. The hall should render the music expressive with large dynamics and in this part the dynamic responsiveness plays an inseparable role. As an example, we analyze measurements from two concert halls combining the binaural sound levels with additional information on music and dynamics. These factors represent the spectral changes in the source signals as well as binaural hearing sensitivity according to the sound level. With such factors combined to the information obtained from the conventional impulse response, the dynamic responsiveness as well as the actual dynamic range experienced by the listener could be objectively measured. The presented analysis method shows the overall magnitude of differences in dynamic responsiveness that could be observed between concert halls.