The influence of signal type on auditory perception of room size
Authors
Baldassano, John, Jr.
ORCID
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Other Contributors
Braasch, Jonas
Xiang, Ning
Lokko, Mae-Ling
Xiang, Ning
Lokko, Mae-Ling
Issue Date
2018-08
Keywords
Architecture
Degree
MS
Terms of Use
This electronic version is a licensed copy owned by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. Copyright of original work retained by author.
Full Citation
Abstract
Late reverberation has traditionally been the primary focus of many studies within the field of Acoustics. Our perception of reverberation, however, is currently not well understood and perception of early reflections even less so. Acoustic design, at its core, necessitates a fundamental understanding of perception because spaces are designed to accommodate the needs of human beings. Without this understand- ing, acousticians are effectively designing while deaf. This study will research the auditory systems ability to distinguish between room sizes by investigating the relationship between early reflections and perceived reverberance in terms of initial time delay and reflection level. Several rooms of varying sizes, but same scale, will be auralized and presented to a listener who be tasked with matching the room size of two signals. Analysis shows that listeners experience a strong degree of uncertainty when matching room sizes of varying initial time delay when the first reflection is simply delayed. However, listeners found greater success and greater accuracy when matching room sizes of varying early reflection level and varying initial time delay when the size of the room actually increased. Greater accuracy was also observed when signals were identical and less when signals were different. Signal type influenced perception of room size so much so that different signals with the same perceived room size were shown to have different measured values.
Description
August 2018
School of Architecture
School of Architecture
Department
School of Architecture
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Relationships
Rensselaer Theses and Dissertations Online Collection
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