A critical distance exists where reverberant sound begins to dominate the direct field

Evidence

Equation 6.1 shows that the intensity of the direct sound reduces as the square of the distance from the source, in the same way as a sound in free space. This has important consequences for listening to sound in real spaces. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1691 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Reflected sound fields dominate at low frequencies for almost all sources — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1213; Moving away from a source makes reverberant sound progressively dominate while it stays constant; Increasing speaker directivity reduces the reverberant field like a tone control does (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Moving away from a source makes reverberant sound progressively dominate while it stays constant #expands (0.85)
• Direct sound intensity falls with the square of distance from the source #expands (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1691
• Increasing speaker directivity reduces the reverberant field like a tone control does #qualifies (0.72)
• Large path-length variation causes poor direct-to-reverberant ratio and feedback #complicates (0.70)