Comparative analysis of reverberation time methodology in residential applications
Jacob Watrous, Sean Harkin, Bonnie Schnitta · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2017
Impulsive sounds, such as balloon pops or the slapping of wood boards, are utilized by acoustical consultants in order to measure the reverberation time (T60) for residential applications with room volumes typically less than 150 cubic meters. However, these methods are not approved for measurement of the T60 for utilization in ASTM E336 ASTC and E1007 AIIC testing commonly practiced. Instead, the ASTM measurement of T60 requires a large loudspeaker and gated noise in order to gain performance in the low frequencies. Utilizing gated noise requires additional equipment to be carried in the field for AIIC and general T60 testing, making it a less attractive option for acoustical consultants. This paper compares T60 data collected utilizing various signal sources such as gated noise, balloon pops, and wood slaps at various source and receiving locations in rooms of varying volumes in order to compare the performance of various T60 measurement methods for use in ASTC and AIIC testing.