Room Acoustics - Reverberation of The Room

Reverberation of The Room

After determining the best dimensions of the room, using the modal density criteria, the next step is to find the correct reverberation time. The reverberation time depends on the use of the room. Times about 1.5 to 2 seconds are needed for opera theaters and concert halls. For broadcasting and recording studios and conference rooms, values under one second are frequently used. The recommended reverberation time is always a function of the volume of the room. Several authors give their recommendations A good approximation for Broadcasting Studios and Conference Rooms is: TR = – 0,38 TR in seconds and V=volume of the room in m3 The ideal RT60 must have the same value at all frequencies from 30 to 12,000 Hz. Or, at least, it is acceptable to have a linear rising from 100% at 500 Hz to 150% down to 62 Hz

To get the desired RT60, several acoustics materials can be used as described in several books. A valuable simplification of the task was proposed by Oscar Bonello in 1979 It consists of using standard acoustic panels of 1 m2 hung from the walls of the room (only if the panels are parallel). These panels use a combination of three Helmholtz resonators and a wooden resonant panel. This system gives a large acoustic absorption at low frequencies (under 500 Hz) and reduces at high frequencies to compensate for the typical absorption by people, lateral surfaces, ceilings, etc.