Multidimensional perception of concert hall acoustics Studies with the loudspeaker orchestra

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Antti Kuusinen Name of the doctoral dissertation Multidimensional perception of concert hall acoustics: Studies with the loudspeaker orchestra Publisher School of Science Unit Department of Computer Science Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 133/2016 Field of research Acoustics Manuscript submitted 5 April 2016 Date of the defence 2 September 2016 Permission to publish granted (date) 7 June 2016 Language English Monograph Article dissertation Essay dissertation Abstract Concert halls and the perception of acoustics have fascinated scientists for over a hundred years. The overall perception is known to consist of such factors as strength, reverberance, definition and envelopment, but the underlying structure of the perceptual space is not well understood. Moreover, an essential aspect of hearing, auditory distance perception, has not been studied closely in concert halls. This dissertation studies the multidimensional perception, preferences and auditory distance perception in concert halls with the loudspeaker orchestra and virtual acoustics.Concert halls and the perception of acoustics have fascinated scientists for over a hundred years. The overall perception is known to consist of such factors as strength, reverberance, definition and envelopment, but the underlying structure of the perceptual space is not well understood. Moreover, an essential aspect of hearing, auditory distance perception, has not been studied closely in concert halls. This dissertation studies the multidimensional perception, preferences and auditory distance perception in concert halls with the loudspeaker orchestra and virtual acoustics. Auralization, i.e., producing the aural impression of a real or a simulated space, makes it possible to compare the acoustics of different spaces instantaneously, thus avoiding many of the issues present in in situ evaluations. Previous research in Aalto University has developed auralization techniques dedicated for the perceptual studies of concert hall acoustics with symphonic music. The research presented in this dissertation applies these auralizations to study concert hall acoustics with subjective evaluation methods adapted from sensory science and experimental psychology. In addition, a structured way to generate additional anechoic materials for perceptual studies in room acoustics is presented. The main findings on the multidimensional perception of concert hall acoustics are based on two individual vocabulary profiling (IVP) experiments. While the results show that loudness, reverberance, definition, envelopment, the size of space, balance, bassiness and proximity may all be important aspects of the listening experience, it is suggested that the perceptual differences between concert halls can be explained by only three underlying factors: strength, spatial reverberance, and timbre. Regarding preferences, the results imply that listeners tend to prefer proximate sound image. Auditory distance perception was studied with two magnitude estimation experiments. The results indicate that there are significant differences between concert halls in how auditory distances vary when moving closer to or further away from the orchestra.