Longer Reverberation for LowsIt is a common experience for more distant listeners to music to conclude that it is deficient in bass. This bass problem is a characteristic of the ear since the ear shows progressively greater discrimination against low frequencies as the sound gets softer. This problem can be partially overcome by designing the auditorium so that its reverberation time for low frequencies is greater than that for high frequencies. This gives a natural-sounding bass boost to sound in the rear of an auditorium. Actually, the longer reverberation time for lows usually happens naturally, particularly if a lot of wood is used in the construction since wood absorbs high frequencies more than lows. However, some construction types selectively absorb low frequencies and are to be avoided in music-making areas. Typical thin wood paneling on studs selectively absorbs low frequencies and thus should be avoided in auditoriums.
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Index Auditorium acoustics | ||
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Longer Reverberation Time for LowsThe graph shows a progression to higher reverberation times for low frequencies. It is typical for the reverberation time for low frequencies for a good auditorium to be some 30% higher than the overall average reverberation time. This characteristic helps to deal with the bass loss problem, one of the fundamental problems of auditorium acoustics. 
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Index Auditorium acoustics Reference Backus Ch 9 | ||
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Auditorium ExamplesThe auditoriums cited below are some of the most outstanding in the world, and they show the consistent pattern of having significantly longer reverberation times for low frequencies. The first column is a measurement of the delay time between direct sound and the first reflected sound, which has been associated with a feeling of "presence" or "intimacy" as perceived by the listener.
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Index Auditorium acoustics References Rossing Science of Sound Ch 23 Beranek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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