The preference is driven by intimacy—which is furthermore provided by lateral reflections

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2012-04, Vol.131 (4_Supplement), p.3491-3491
• Main Authors: Lokki, Tapio, Kuusinen, Antti, Pätynen, Jukka, Tervo, Sakari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/1.4709191

Nine concert halls were measured with a calibrated loudspeaker orchestra which eliminates all variables except the acoustics of the halls. The loudspeaker orchestra was located on the stage and the microphone array at 12 m distance from it in the audience area. Subjective data including preference ratings of 17 assessors and subjective sensory profiles were collected with the individual vocabulary profiling process. The objective room acoustic parameters were also calculated. All data were analyzed in a common factorial space with the hierarchical multiple factor analysis and preference mapping. The results show that the preference of assessors is divided into two groups and the factors influencing the preference can be explained with sensory profiles. However, the most interesting result is that the overall preference is driven by the intimacy, i.e., how close to the listener the sound is perceived by the listener. None of the current objective parameters could explain the perceived intimacy. The presentation will explain that the perceived distance, thus intimacy, is mainly affected by the seat-dip effect and the number of early lateral reflections, in addition to overall loudness particularly at low frequencies.