SOUND ACOUSTICS TERMINOLOGY

Acoustics
The science that studies the waves that are conducted through matter due to the motion of the matter.
Usually air is the material that most people think of when it comes to acoustic waves. But acoustic
waves exist in all matter. Architectural acoustics, is the study of acoustics when the air is contained in a
room. Church acoustics is a subdivision of architectural acoustics..
Sound (waves)

!ressure fluctuations in the air that are heard when an acoustic wave passes by. They are usually
caused by ob"ects in the air that #uickly change position or a stream of air that #uickly changes position.
$ound escapes away from the sound source as an expanding spherical wave that travels at the speed
of %%&' feet per second, traveling about % %()th of a foot each one thousandths of a second
*millisecond+..
Sound Level

The measure of the strength of sound. Units are decibels *dB+ and usually measured with a dB meter.
The threshold of #uiet sound is ,ero dB and the onset of painful sound is %'' dB. Conversations are at
-' dB, whispers at &' dB and shouting is .' dB. /hen the sound strength of something doubles, it
increases by & dB, or halved, it drops by & dB.
Loudness

The apparent strength of the sound to the listener. A change in % dB is "ust barely noticed as a change
in loudness. $omething twice as loud is actually %' dB stronger, *%' times stronger+. $omething half as
loud is %' dB weaker, *%(%'th as strong+.
Diect Sound (diect si!nal)

The part of a sound wave that travels directly along the line of sight path between the speaker or sound
source and the listener. The dry or actual sound.
Re"lections

$ound waves that strike a surface and bounce off are reflected sounds. They bounce off the wall,
changing directions but keeping the same angle off the wall as they had when they approached the
wall.
Eal# Re"lections

0eflections that are heard within %(1' of a second of the direct sound are called early reflections. 2arly
reflections cannot be distinguished from direct signals, they merge with the direct sound to form one
composite sound. This combining effect can cause the sound of the direct signal to change in tonal
characteristics and apparent direction.
Late e"lections (Ec$oes)

A distinct reflection that arrives at the listener later than %(1'th of a second after the direct sound is
heard. The listener can identify from where an echo comes. An echo does not change the tonal
characteristics of the direct sound.
%lutte Ec$o

This type of echo is most easily heard as one claps their hands out in front of them, while standing in a
hallway. The sound 3,ings3 and it4s tone depends on how many times a second the reflection passes by
the listener4s head. 5n a hall )4 wide, the clap will expand out, hit the wall and return %6& times a second
and the ,ing will sound like a %6& 7, bu,,y tone. 8ot a real sound, "ust a pseudotone.
Reve&eation

9or sound in a large room, reverberation begins at about %(- second following the direct sound. 5t is due
to the accumulation of many reflections, compounding one upon the other, so much that the sound no
longer seems composed of echoes but rather "ust a sound of noise, a din of chaos that has no discrete
direction and no discrete timing.
Di""usion

0eflections off of a non flat surface that causes the sound wave to become more #uickly disorgani,ed
than if off a flat surface is a diffusive surface. :iffusion decreases the time it takes for echoes to become
converted to reverberation. The beautiful gothic churches of the old world have very diffusive or sound
scattering surfaces. That is part of the sonic beauty of those spaces.
Deca#

The dying out of sound. Usually referring to the steady decline in the loudness of the reverberation.
Deca# Rate (RT'())

The time *in seconds+ it takes for reverberation to change from very loud to imperceptibly #uiet, a total
sound level difference of ;' dB. 9or a living room the 0T;' might be % second but in a gym, it might be
6 seconds.
A&so*tion

The loss of sound energy that occurs when the sound wave strikes a fibrous surface. The fibers provide
acoustic friction for the sound wave. The wave does not slow down due to the friction, it keeps it4s same
speed but it does lose energy and get #uieter.
NRC Ratin!

*8oise 0eduction Coefficient+ A rating for absorption. 5t gives the < efficiency for a surface to absorb
sound. 5f a surface is &'< absorptive, then only .'< of the incident sound is reflected back into the
room.
Noise (+ac,!ound Noise)

The unwanted, undesirable and usually interfering sounds present in a listening space, typically due to
an air conditioner or other conversations.
Noise %loo

The strength of the background noise, measured in dB. 5t is difficult to understand what is being said in
a room with a high noise floor.

Si!nal'to'Noise Ratio (S-N atio)

The difference in sound level *dB+ between the desired sound and the noise floor.
Aticulation

The clarity of a sound, particularly a message conveyed by sound, such that it can be easily and
completely understood. A slurred sound may be well heard but the message it carries may still not be
well understood, it is inarticulate. Also, a clear and distinct sound may be drowned out by a nearby
louder noise, rendering the message not understandable, inarticulate. 2choes also cause articulation
problems. Articulation is most often measured in some form of a desired signal to unwanted noise ratio.

Intelli!i&ilit#

A measure of the clarity of sound based on the comprehension of the message being conveyed by
sound. A 3cat, bat, tat, rat... type of recognition test. The conversational version of Articulation.
+i!$t-Livel#

The condition of sound in which there is an abundance of treble range reflections giving the feeling of
3brightness3 or 3liveliness3 to the sound. $ound in a tile bathroom or kitchen is bright. Too much can
seem harsh and irritating.
Da,-Dead

The condition of sound in a room when there is a lack of reflections and a lack of reverberance. Too
much can seem lackluster and uneasy feeling.
+oo.#

The condition of sound in a room when the lower fre#uencies, particularly the male voice range is
excessively reverberant.
/s#c$oacoustics

The study and science of how the human comprehends and makes sense out of the sounds they hear.
The difference between an early reflection and a late *echo+ reflection, is an example of
psychoacoustics. The blending of the early reflections with the direct sound is another.
Audiolo!#

The science and practice of amplifying or otherwise improving how well a person hears sound.
%e0uenc# (1et23 123 c*s)

A single sound pulse as from a fire cracker has sound energy but no tone. Tones are sounds that come
from voices or instruments which have a repetitive pressure pulse characteristic. The number of repeat
times per second that a sound has is called it4s fre#uency. 5t4s unit of measurement is cycles per second
*cps+ also called 7, *7ert,+. $imilar to pitch in musical terms.
Sound S*ectu.

The sound level measured at different fre#uencies. =ost tones are composed of more than one
fre#uency, a combination of fre#uencies, as in a musical chord. The sound spectrum would measure
the strength of each fre#uency and display that graph as a plot of $ound >evel vs. 9re#uency, also
known as a sound spectrum. The 3color3 of sound is used as emphasis in the spectrum.
Sonic Colo

The shift in emphasis of a complex sound within it4s spectral range. A neutral color is the preferred
natural sound but sometimes sound can have a warm color, an emphasis on lower fre#uencies or a cold
color, an emphasis on higher fre#uencies or a nasal color, an emphasis on midrange fre#uencies.
Ultasonics

$ound whose fre#uency range is above that of human hearing, above 1',''' 7,.
In"asonics

$ound whose fre#uency range is below that of human hearing, below 1' 7,.
Octave

$ound that exists within a limited fre#uency range, between a lower set fre#uency and a set upper
fre#uency. The difference between the lower and upper fre#uency is specified to be e#ual to the lower
fre#uency. The octave se#uence for the note 3C3 starts at &% 7, and continues thru ;& 7,, %1- 7,, 1-'
7,, -'' 7,, %k 7,, 1k 7,, 6k 7,, )k 7, and ends at %;k 7,. *k ? thousand+.
4oicin!

The process of defining the desirable condition of sound in an acoustic space. 5t integrates the direct,
early and late reflections with the reverberation, including a sense of timing and direction for each into
an appropriate and desirable acoustic condition for the listener. 5t combines both the art and science of
sound. 5t re#uires an understanding of the purpose to be served by each acoustic space. As an art form,
it recogni,es the aesthetic side of sound, the impression that most people prefer to have of each
particular type of sound that exists in some particular place. As a science, it is based on
psychoacoustics.
Acoustician

An acoustical engineer who is trained and experienced in voicing rooms.
Acoustical En!inee

@ne formally educated, experienced in the science and practice of acoustics.
Sound En!inee
$omeone trained in setting up microphones and speakers.
Acoustic Contacto

$omeone trained and experienced in installing acoustic tiles and wall panels.
Acoustic Consultant

$omeone, not formally trained, experienced in providing acoustical services.
Acoustic Desi!ne

$omeone, not formally trained, who prepares blueprints for acoustic pro"ects.
Sound Desi!ne

@ne who envisions and directs the way sound plays out of a stage..
Auditoiu. Acoustics 5)56
T$e 7uiete3 t$e +ette
>et4s start with the basics. The architect designs a great looking and comfortable auditorium. The sound
contractor installs a great looking sound system. The people attend the grand opening and are impressed
with what they see, but they have gathered for more than a da,,ling display of architecture, lighting,
electronics, carpets, glass, surface textures and paint. They have come to be in an auditorium, a place to
hear and, moreover, a place to listen to and learn from the lecture or, as the case
may be, the sermon. The outer beauty of an auditorium is recogni,ed by how it
looks, but the inner more lasting beauty of the auditorium is truly known by how it
sounds. And with this we mark the beginning of our "ourney into auditorium
acoustics.
Lots o" sound3 &ut little is $ead
A sound wave starts at the loud speaker, which is suspended high overhead in the
front of the hall. $eated way below, are the many people who came to hear that
sound. The greater the si,e of the audience, the farther from the speaker they
have to sit. An audience of %,''' people would occupy about ),''' s#uare feet of
floor space. A member of that audience typically might be seated some -' feet
away from the loudspeaker. The sound wave emitted by the loudspeaker spreads
out in the shape of an expanding #uarter sphere. By the time this wave reaches
the audience, it has expanded out to a radius of about -' feet. 5t has spread out
over a #uarter sphere surface area of .,)-' s#uare feet or about %.%& million
s#uare inches.
2ach ear of a person collects about one s#uare inch of sound, funneling it down into the eardrum. A person
in the audience of an auditorium collects about two s#uare inches of the sound wave, that4s "ust about
'.'''%. percent of the total sound emitted by the central cluster loud speaker. This tiny fraction of sound is
called the 3direct sound3 because it goes directly from the loud speaker to the listeners4 ears. *9igure%+.
5f %,''' people are in the audience, their combined ears collect only '.%. percent of the direct sound emitted
by the loud speaker. The rest of the sound, the other AA.)& percent of the sound, is called 3indirect sound3.
/hat happens to all this indirect sound is what auditorium acoustics is all about. 5f the indirect sound is
neglected or mishandled, the auditorium will sound bad, and if it is well handled, the auditorium will sound
good.
To recap, auditorium design or renovation can be understood to involve three consecutive areas of
expertise. The architect designs a building that is attractive, comfortable and allows people to see what is
going on. The sound contractor supplies a sound system to the auditorium that makes a direct sound loud
enough so people can hear what is going on. 7owever, nearly all of the sound generated by the sound
e#uipment misses its intended target, the ears of the people. !icking up and handling the stray sound is the
responsibility of the acoustical engineer. 7ow it is collected and processed makes all the difference between
a good and a badsounding auditorium.
Noise &loc,s ou a&ilit# to $ea
The auditorium is meant for understanding speech. 5t should be kept #uiet so the people can hear and
understand what is being said. $peech heard in the auditorium should be comfortably loud and crystal clear.
8oise destroys sonic clarity. /e have all seen photos taken in a fog. The general clatter in a hall from air
conditioning to feet shuffling through the aisles can create a continuous din, a noise floor that seems to white
out, ha,e over and block out the detain in an otherwise perfectly fine
presentation. /e have also seen photos taken on a clear day but blurred
by a moving camera. $imilarly, noise such as echo and reverberation can
act as a blurring agent that makes it difficult to even make out what sound
is actually there. These are the two kinds of noise. The fairly continuous
din of extraneous noise is called 3background3 noise. The echo and
reverberation of sound emitted from the loudspeaker is called 3acoustic3
noise. *9igure1+.
The ability to hear and understand depends on the 3signal to noise3 ratio.
/e want as much direct signal as is comfortable to receive and as little
noise as possible. 5t would seem that if the noise is a little too loud then simply turning up the volume of the
direct signal, the loudspeaker, should solve the problem. This doesn4t work very well. >oud sound is
uncomfortable. >oud sound does improve the fairly constant background noise to signal ratio. >oud sound
does not improve the acoustic noise to signal ratio because the loudness of the acoustic noise depends
directly on the loudness of the loudspeaker.
Also there is a context factor. !eople expect to hear a conversational style lecture at conversational sound
levels *;' dBA+, a #uiet voice at #uiet voice levels *6' dBA+ and a raised voice at a raised voice level *.'
dBA+. Cranking up the sound throws the presentation off, whereby the loudness is out of context with the
lecturer4s action it4s simply not natural.
9or good intelligibility, there will be at least 1' dB between the #uietest parts of the desirable signal and the
background noise since the more #uiet parts of speech are easily in the 6' dBA range and less.
Background noise levels in a good auditorium will be as low as 1' dBA. Also, there should be at least %' dB
between the signal and the acoustic background noise.
+ac,!ound noise
Background noise is all the sounds one hears when the lecturer is not saying something. There are three
types of background noise. Bust sit and listen in most any meeting space and you can distinguish
operational system noise, intruding outside noise and selfgenerated audience noise. 5n order to achieve a
strong signal to background noise, the background noise has to be reduced to as #uiet as possible.
The operating system includes all things that operate in order to accommodate
the occupancy of the auditorium. 7ere we have the noise from systems that
handle electricity, water and air in the building. They include the hum of lighting
ballasts, the hiss and hum of the sound system, overhead circulation fan motor
hum, video pro"ector fans, airconditioning noise and water pipes, both fresh water
and wastewater. *9igure&+. @ther systems sounds include the more intermittent
operation of a dishwasher, garbage disposal, refrigerators, space heaters, toilet,
faucet shutoff, watering, water hammer and thermal expansion and utility devices
such as the copy machine, coke machine and cold water drinking fountain. The
airconditioning system is usually a strong contributor of noise, piping turbulent air
and fan noise into the room through every air supply and return opening.
5ntruding outside noise is conducted into the auditorium through the windows,
doors, room and walls of the building. Traffic noise penetrates inside, in from the
street and down from overhead planes. !arkinglot noise driving, starting, door
slamming and sidewalk conversations contribute to intruding noise. 0ain and
wind can cause noise by hammering and scraping on the building. @utdoor stationary e#uipment such as
heat exchangers and sprinklers cause noise. 2ven 7CAC units mounted on the rooftop generate noise that
can come in through the roof and upper windows, let alone shake the structural beams of the building.
Activities in other parts of the building get into the auditorium by passing directly through the walls but also
by simply traveling in the air, down corridors, under doors and through airconditioning ductwork, room to
room.
$elfgenerated audience noise also raises the noise within the auditorium. 7ere we have the rustle of paper,
books, coats and clothes, shoe scuffing, candy wrappers, kids talking and parents hushing, coughing and
snee,ing, baby shouts, whining and eventually crying. 8oise is generated even when people breathe and
when they make little noises of agreement and appreciation and whisper to each other. To illustrate, a
person trying to stand absolutely still, breathing as shallowly as possible still generates enough noise to
register 1' dBA at a distance of %' feet.
There is a symbiotic effect of background noise. $ome noise begets more noise. The #uiet of a library
provides testimony to this effect. 5t starts #uiet and stays #uiet all day. /hen the background noise is at a
raised level, people feel that they too can make a little noise and no one will notice. But multiple this by
%,''' people and we have a significant increase in peoplegenerated noise. This then results in a further
raised noise floor and, once again, it seems easy for people to make "ust a little more noise. This spiraling
effect can create a very noisy auditorium, full of disruption and inattention. An auditorium whose background
noise level starts in the low 1' dBA range stays #uiet when the audience arrives.
Acoustic noise3 ec$oes and eve&eation
$ound expands away from the loud speaker. =ost of what is created is not directly heard but goes past the
audience and begins reflecting around the hall. 5f a reflection is strong and we know where it comes from, it
is called an echo. 5f we hear many reflections at one time from seemingly no special direction, it is called
reverberation.
Denerally, any echo is bad. 5n addition, and to put it simply, loud reverberation is bad. But #uiet
reverberation can be interesting, if it is in limited doses. Both reverberation and echoes degrade the
perception of timing in the material being presented. $trong echoes are disorienting to the timing aspect of
speech or music, like trying to be coordinated in a disco strobe dance floor. 5t is not unusual for echoes to
bother the performer more than anyone else in the auditorium. 2choes usually bounce off the back wall of
the auditorium and because the person on stage is farthest from the back wall, the echo for the performer is
the most delayed. And it is most important that the performer does not suffer disorientation due to echoes.
/e cannot forget !avarotti walking off the stage of a large hall filled with people because the echo was so
strong that he couldn4t sing but certainly, as we understand acoustics, we can understand and forgive.
0everberation is the ongoing part of sound in a large hall that gradually decays away, a totally chaotic
lingering presence of a previous direct sound, a sonic afterglow, a remembrance. >oud reverberation upsets
the timing of se#uential sonic events by blurring everything together. 5t is especially detrimental to speech
and music in small hardsurfaced rooms. 7owever, it can also be great personal fun, as in singing in the
shower, but, in this case, the singer and the listener are one and there are no concerns for improving the
communication.
Euiet reverberation can contribute to the feeling that a largerthanlife experience is taking place. 5t adds a
dramatic flair of importance to speech. 5t is an essential accompanist to acoustic music sources as
orchestra, ensemble, choir and organ. 0everberation generally ruins the presentation of modern electronic
bands.
There are three aspects of reverberation to be understood. @nset time delay is the time between the direct
signal is heard and the reverberation begins to be heard. The second is how loud the reverberation
becomes. The third is how long the reverberation lasts or can be heardF the 3reverb time3 is officially the
number of seconds it takes for sound to die down a full ;' dB. 0everberation in an auditorium that is used
for speech, lectures and talks should have onethird second onset time delay, be at least %' dBA #uieter
than the direct signal and have a reverb time die out within %.1- seconds.
5f reverberation builds up too #uickly it competes with the clear perception of the se#uence of sounds that
make up speech. A short reverberation onset time will fill the essential #uiet moment that exists between and
delineates se#uential sonic events. The introduction of each new sound is blurred by the upwelling presence
of the old sound. $peaking more slowly can help this situation, but forced slow speaking is a stopgap
measure at best. Acoustically slurred speech is very difficult to understand. The time delay for the onset of
reverberation should be about onethird of a second. Background noise is best if kept at least 1'dB below
the sound levels of speech. !eople speak at a rate of about three separate sounds per second. $ome
languages speak more slowly and others more #uicklyF auditorium acoustics have to be designed for the
kind of speech that takes place in them.
The loudness of the reverberation is important, at least %' dBA
below the level of direct speech will create reasonably clear
speech. *9igure6+. A reverb level of %' dBA below the direct
signal is very desirable. The loudness of the reverb changes the
feeling of the auditorium. A warm, co,y, personal chatau#ua style
auditorium will have a large difference between direct and reverb
levels, as much as %) dBA. A cold, impersonal, more political rally
sounding auditorium will have a lower difference, possible as little
as - dBA.
9inally the length of time the reverberation remains audible is to be
ad"usted. Denerally large rooms for speech are allowed reverb
times of %.- seconds. $maller auditoriums and more intimate
sounding rooms should have reverb times as low as '.A seconds. The personal, conversational chatau#ua
style auditorium, growing popular in the world of broadcast TC church worship, will have reverb times as low
as '.. seconds.
These three reverb factors are generally the same for auditoriums used for speech, plays and modern
music. =ore traditional music tends to sound better with longer reverb onset delay times, louder reverb
levels and longer reverb decay times. $ome auditoriums are built to support a varied venue, from speech
and plays to operas and symphonies. They have ad"ustable acousticsG reflecting and absorbing panels that
are moved, exposed or hidden to independently ad"ust the three factors of reverberation.
An old sa#in!6 Loo, &e"oe #ou lea*
The auditorium is a purposebuilt hall, built for audition, listening. Before it can be designed, the architect
has to understand what the large hall is to be used for. Before the sound contractor can specify the sound
system, the purpose of the hall must be understood. Before the acoustical engineer can bring a voice to the
auditorium, the feeling and style of presentations intended for the hall has to be understood. Coicing the
auditorium means deciding what to do with AA percent of the sound, generated by the loudspeakers but not
directly heard by the audience. A bright and beautiful looking auditorium will attract people. But the #uiet,
goodsounding auditorium will keep them coming back.