Diffused artificial reverberation matters more than reverberation time for musical satisfaction

Evidence

Although stereophonic reproduction can give a sufficiently accurate imitation of an orchestra [the soundstage], it is necessary to imitate also the wall reflections of the concert hall, in order that the reproduction may be musically satisfactory. This can be done by means of several loudspeakers, distributed over the listening room, to which the signal is fed with different time-lags. The diffused character of the artificial reverberation thus obtained [creating envelopment] seems to be even more important than the reverberation time. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1638

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Optimal reverberation and strength targets differ sharply by music type; Preferred piano reverberation exceeds what furnished rooms naturally produce; The 60 dB reverberation metric is impractical in real listening conditions