A Compact Direct-Reading Reverberation Meter

Conditions surrounding widespread measurement of reverberation time in theaters by a theater service organization require that the measuring equipment stress economy in size, in cost, and in time for a set of measurements, and the readings provided must be in such form that an acoustical specialist is not required for their interpretation. These requirements must be satisfied even to the sacrifice of information on secondary properties of the decay characteristic. — Several types of direct-reading reverberation-time meter circuits were devised and one of these types, in trial quantity, is now giving service in the field. These instruments integrate the decaying signal over approximately a 5-db interval beginning after approximately 18 db of decay, and the result is translated into reverberation time by meter scales. Thus the first 22 db (approx.) of the decay characteristic is encompassed by the reading and it is shown that the contained energy includes essentially all the reverberant energy important to quality. — Reverberation measurements are made with these instruments at the time that acoustical response measurements are being made, and under these conditions 150 time readings may be made throughout the auditorium and over the audio spectrum in a total added time of forty minutes. Practically no further treatment of the data is required.

Print ISSN

0097-5834

Published

1941-12

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J09945