A multidimensional description of subjective judgement of concert-hall acoustics

In room acoustics research it is attempted to establish a definite connection between the subjective description of various room-acoustical situations and the assembled data of characteristic physical quantities. For this purpose, an orchestra played passages from works by three different composers in six concert halls, which were recorded by head-related stereophony on four specifically chosen places in each of the halls. To obtain a subjective criterion for determining independent subjective aspects a questionnaire was drawn up and tested. For quality judgement two groups of persons of different tastes were found. A factor analysis of all opinions lead to three relevant aspects that in various ways contribute to quality judgement: perception of strength and extension of the sound source, perception of the clarity of the total sound, judgement of the total sound in relation to tone colour.