Absorber performance at specific incidence angles matters more than standardized diffuse-field ratings.

Evidence

The real interest should be in how the material performs when addressing early reflections arriving from specific incident angles. The second loudest sounds to arrive at a listener in typical listening rooms are the early reflections; 374. the first-bounce sounds. We measure the off-axis performance of loudspeakers believing in their importance, but we are missing important information about the performance of absorbers at the relevant angles. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1367

Categorization

• CANDY: A punchy observation: home audio obsesses over loudspeaker off-axis measurements while ignoring the equivalent angle-dependence of the absorbers in the same rooms.