A Subjective Assessment of Concert Hall Acoustics

An experimental method for studying subjective response to acoustics of halls, using a method of triadic comparisons is described. The main feature of the method is that it attempts to derive information directly from the subject's responses to the sounds without using the intermediate medium of descriptive words. The theory underlying the method is explained – a central feature being the use of Kruskal'S non-metric multidimensional scaling procedure. The techniques used to make recordings in concert halls, and to present these as stimuli to subjects are described. Tests on a group of eight halls produce meaningful results. Comparison of the results with objective measurements in the halls shows that the subjective measurements are picking out reverberation, amongst other variables, as a key factor. This fact supports the validity of the method. The method of dyadic comparisons is also described and tested, and it is shown that this method is capable of producing adequate results much faster than the method of triadic comparisons, although the latter is inherently somewhat more error-free.