Chapter 2.0 Essential measurements
Summary of chapter 2.0
WHAT YOU JUST READ
Key Lessons
- Understand the purpose of the space before taking measurements.
- Tools for measurement range from simple calculators to more advanced software used by professional acousticians.
- Valuable clues about acoustic issues can be gathered by asking the people currently using the space.
- Four of the most common interior acoustic measurements are reverberation time, speech intelligibility, sound level, and sound absorption.
- All objects, materials and people have acoustic properties which should be accounted for when assessing an acoustic environment.
Terms & Concepts
- Acoustic treatment
- Reverberation time
- Sabine’s formula
- Sound pressure (dB)
- Frequency level (Hz)
- Speech
- Intelligibility
- Noise rating (NR)
- Sound absorption
- Absorption coefficient
Major insight:
Before you can select a suitable treatment, you need to identify the acoustic properties of the space as well as any acoustic issues detracting from its function.
