A Factor Analysis Approach to Determining a Small Number of Parameters for Characterising Halls

Abstract

Abstract. Specialist bibliographies reveal that there are many parameters for fully describing the acoustics of a hall. Are all of these parameters absolutely necessary? Although hall acoustics is a complex discipline, we can nevertheless see that many parameters measure aspects that are very similar to musical perception. Our aim in this paper is to use factor analysis to find a small number of statistically independent parameters that will enable musical performance halls to be characterised using just a few parameters. At the same time, we aim to identify other parameters that will be useful to researchers as part of a lineal combination. To achieve this, we have measured impulse responses in 17 halls and determined the most common 18 parameters. By using factor analysis, we have identified the three key factors that satisfy the required characteristics. This result confirms those obtained in an earlier study [1] of nine halls. The factors obtained strongly correlate with other classic parameters. Factor 1 correlates with reverberation time; Factor 2 correlates with the objective parameters for the impression of space; and Factor 3 correlates with parameters of strength. This last factor also correlates strongly with objective parameters for listener envelopment (LEV) [2].

Optimal Volume for Concert Halls Based on Ando’s Subjective Preference and Barron Revised Theories

“…In this model, it is considered that the energy can be calculated as direct, early and late sound, and thus, the value of the late acoustic strength (G late ) will be given by the Equation (1). From the quality Equation (6), we can get an interval of variation for G late that we consider as optimum [G late;min , G late;max ] [13,14]. This interval can be combined with the Barron's equation for the late energy to obtain an estimation of the volume.…”

“…Ando-Beranek's model, a linear combination of T, LFC and LEV correlating with Ando functions of preferred values, was obtained after an extensive study of objective measures in room acoustics. First, an orthogonal group of parameters was statistical determined [13,14]. At the same time, a study of the subjective evaluation of a large number of rooms was conducted by surveying experts and concert-goers [18,19].…”

“…We have introduced [17] weights constants as additional degrees of freedom. These degrees of freedom enable a linear combination S AB of the orthogonal factors obtained in previous works [13,14] that correlates with a linear weighted combination S a of S t functions (S AB was named Ando-Beranek's model).…”

“…In previous studies [13,14] we reduced statistically, by factor analysis, the number of acoustic parameters to an orthogonal set of three factors. One factor was interpreted as RT, another as a spatiality factor correlated with lateral energy fraction (LFC); and the third was an envelopment factor correlated with listener envelopment (LEV according to [15,16]).…”

Calidad de salas para música clásica

“…En trabajos anteriores (16) (17), estudiamos un amplio conjunto de salas de diferentes tipologías y tamaños. Nuestra hipótesis de trabajo es que todas las salas se pueden estudiar simplemente como un recinto tridimensional cerrado (de ahí la selección tan variada de salas y la realización de gran número de medidas en todas ellas).…”