Spatial Effects

Sound reproduction in rooms induce reflections which cause different sounds at each of the listener’s ears. This reduces the interaural cross-correlation. Absorbing the first reflections has a dominant effect on the diffusivity and the IACC which finally results in a change of the perceived spaciousness. The change of diffusivity dependent on the introduced absorbing material in a room can be shown through Mayer E.

Figure 2.7 illustrates how diffusivity changes just by rearranging the absorbing material as shown in (b) and (c). Figure 2.7 (a) shows an empty room with a maximum achieved diffusivity of 69 %. In (b) the absorbing material covers the whole floor and by allocating the absorptive material in (c), the first reflections where addressed which results in a reduction of diffusivity of about 43 % compared to the arrangement in (b).

Figure 1: Change of diffusivity (100 % means perfect diffusivity in which sound arrives at the listening location equally from all directions) dependent on the introduced absorbing material.

Spatial sound effects

Kishinaga et al. found that reflective side walls, resulting in a more reflective sound field and hence causing a wider sound image of a stereo source, are preferred if listeners are listening to music or ambient sounds. This preference correlates with a reduced IACC compared to absorbing side walls which are preferred for monitoring purposes in a recording process. Moreover, improvements in listening experiences can be achieved by applying absorptive material behind loudspeakers and hence improves image localization as well as sound coloration.

listeners and musicians!

A difference between musicians and ordinary listeners was also found by Ando et al. He found that musicians judge reflections differently. The difference was about seven times greater compared to ordinary listeners. A satisfied amount of spaciousness from reflections was reached much earlier with lower sound levels.

Humans are able to “listen through” a room which means that despite room reflections we have the ability to ignore them, thus, paying more attention on the sound source. It is tempting to speculate that this is roughly valid in general for people dealing with music or audio professionals. The differences between listeners monitoring music while focusing on the detailed sound and the ordinary listener who just wants to enjoy the reproduced sound is existent but difficult to generalize.

What has been said so far and what we will discuss in the future, will pave the way for creating a home theater of the highest quality. The audio products offered in Saba Smart systems, which include Dali speakers, Yamaha amplifiers and inakustik cables with their great variety and high quality, make it possible to implement any type of equipment according to the relevant needs.

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