Room acoustic enhancement in a small hall with very low natural reverberation time

In small multipurpose halls to be equipped with electronic reverberation enhancement systems, selecting a very low natural reverberation time is advantageous for several reasons. It will 1) reduce the risk of feedback, 2) increase the possible range of room acoustic variation and 3) allow for more natural combinations of room acoustic properties.

Consequently, the natural reverberation time in a newly opened 350 seat multipurpose hall in Denmark was designed as low as 0.7 sec. Two different reverberation enhancement systems were considered and tested in the hall. The objective and subjective testing results are reported and compared with previous results obtained in another small hall supplied with a similar enhancement system.

The results concerning 'realism' are also compared with acoustic properties found in 'natural' halls of different sizes and reverberation times.