Audible resonance decay thresholds rise sharply as frequency decreases

Evidence

Fazenda et al. (2015) continued the investigation of the audibility of the time decay component of resonances. They examined resonances in isolation and in simulated room contexts, finding that with music stimuli the thresholds were 0.51 s at 63 Hz, 0.3 s at 125 Hz and 0.12 s at 250 Hz. In practical terms this means that in the subwoofer frequency range (typically below 80 Hz) these decay times can very likely be achieved with conventional parametric equalization of problem room modes, and almost certainly with any of the multiple subwoofer active control schemes that bring the additional and important advantage of providing several listeners with similarly good bass sound. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1653

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s psychoacoustics interest in how perception thresholds differ by frequency — complements decay-time masking thresholds discussed in earlier chapters on sound quality metrics.