Reverberation

Rooms with hard walls and floors have a long reverberation time.

‍

The reverberation time is the time it takes for the sound pressure level in a room to fall by 60 dB from the maximum (initial) value. An example is a clap in the hands in a church or hall. Then you hear the reverberation. The amount of reverb is expressed in reverberation time (in seconds).

The harder the surface, the more sound is reflected. Closed spaces with hard walls and floors (concrete, glass, laminate, etc.) absorb poorly and therefore have a long reverberation time.

Measuring reverberation time:

Normally, the longer the reverberation time, the worse the acoustics are. To measure this, a sound meter and a “bang” with a special gun are often used. The desired reverberation time depends in particular on the use of the space. In a restaurant, for example, a different reverberation time is desired than in an office.

These are, for example, the desired reverb times for various applications.

• Office: 0.5 — 0.8

• Restaurant: 0.5 — 0.7

• Office garden: 0.4 — 0.5

‍

Why improve acoustics?

A long reverberation time and poor acoustics cause poor sound quality and speech intelligibility. Poor acoustics can lead to fatigue, headaches and, in the long term, stress. For example, it reduces productivity in the office. In schools, a similar problem occurs when there is poor acoustics. For example, too high a reverb, or annoying sound reflections in classrooms, can cause concentration problems and faster fatigue for teachers and students. Improving acoustics can therefore have a positive influence on various factors.

‍

Spread the absorption well over the room:

The reverberation time in a room is improved by adding sufficient sound absorption to a room. This absorption should be well distributed over the room and preferably placed as close to the sources as possible. In this way, specific reflections can be prevented.

‍