Room Acoustics

Book excerpt: Well established as a classic reference and specialised textbook, since its first publication in 1973, Heinrich Kuttruff’s Room Acoustics combines detailed coverage with a state of art presentation of the theory and practice of sound behaviour in closed spaces. This sixth edition presents several additional new sections, for instance on the reflection of a spherical wave from a wall, on finite element methods for sound field calculation and on virtual reality, as well as giving an overhaul of the standard material. Particular emphasis is given to the properties and calculation of reverberation, the most obvious acoustical feature of a room. And further key topics include the various mechanisms of sound absorption and their practical application as well as scattering by wall irregularities including pseudo-stochastic structures. Extensive space is given to of psychoacoustic insights and the quality criteria derived from them, along with new procedures for the sensory assessment of concert hall acoustics. As in earlier editions, one full and updated chapter is devoted to the design and performance of electroacoustic systems which nowadays is not just a method for sound amplification but offers many possibilities for correcting acoustic deficiencies and modifying a hall’s natural acoustics.