What is meant by ‘good acoustics’? What makes some spaces carry sound so well, that a person doesn’t need to speak or sing very loudly to be heard way back?
In: 45
Acoustics are a combination of how a room absorbs, reflects, diffuses, resonates, and otherwise interacts with various sound sources, like musical instruments, voices, speakers, or other sources. Those traits alter how you perceive the total sound. In the case of sound recording, they alter the total sound picked up by the microphones used in that recording.
“Good acoustics” are when a room alters the sound in ways that are regarded as pleasing to the listener.
Good acoustics are subjective in nature, and can change depending on the desires of the performer and the listener. For example: a renowned classical concert hall sounds great when listening to a solo piano, orchestral music of various subgenres or even opera, but may sound boomy and muddy with a large sound system and a rock band. Another example from recording: drums recorded in a bedroom may sound boxy and cramped, but sound epic in a nice live room, or clean and groovy in a highly deadened room. Performers, recording engineers, concert venue designers and even audience members seek out different traits depending on their end goals.
That being said, there are commonalities between different acoustic spaces that make them objectively good or bad, from the standpoint of an acoustician.
Some traits that oftentimes create rooms with bad acoustics: Symmetrical rooms with mostly hard surfaces are highly resonant (or like to ring) at certain frequencies. Rooms that reflect many frequencies in ways that create what are known as “standing waves” or “modes” that will emphasize or cancel out certain frequencies, often result in bag listening experiences at different locations.
Traits that are typically regarded as good: Rooms that reflect sounds in many different ways (diffuse), rooms that reduce standing waves (absorbs low frequencies), rooms that allow listeners to clearly hear sound sources (absorbs mid and high frequencies).
Hope this helps and that the knowledge enhances your listening experience!
Latest Answers