A flat steady-state in-room response boosts high-frequency direct sound

Evidence

In the Engel paper, the loudspeaker was equalized to have a flat, steady-state in-room response, which would boost the direct sound above 2 to 3 kHz and make it sound bright. The Harman target would add additional gain in this frequency region, and this could explain why it was less preferred to a flat target for spatial audio content. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1864

Categorization

• DEFINE: Illustrates the steady-state vs direct-sound distinction: flattening in-room steady state skews the direct field bright above 2-3 kHz.