Bolt’s room-ratio studies targeted reverberation chambers, not listening rooms

Evidence

It was assumed that if the room was optimized, then for any given source/receiver positions the result would be optimized in a general sense. These early efforts were concerned with optimizing reverberation chambers used for measuring power output of noisy mechanical devices. In audio, a comparable example is a recording studio, where the vocalists and instruments are at unpredictable locations and a well-blended sound is desired for microphone pickup. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1542

Categorization

• SHARE: For someone in acoustics/audio engineering: the modern ‘optimal room ratio’ gospel descends from industrial noise-measurement chambers, not listening rooms.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1542
• XREF: connects to: Statistical acoustics and classical critical distance do not apply in small rooms — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1312; The ideal room ratio dogma originated from industrial reverberation chambers, not listening rooms — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 900; Room-ratio research assumed unknown source locations unlike reproduction’s fixed positions (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The ideal room ratio dogma originated from industrial reverberation chambers, not listening rooms #corroborates (0.95) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 900