Early lateral reflections are not necessarily audible problems in stereo listening

Evidence

The notion that early lateral reflections in the listening room would be audible problems was not reinforced. The reflections in the arrangement in Figure 4.6 arrived at 4.1 ms and 10.1 ms, within the range thought to be problematic; however, as shown in Figure 4.7, due to loudspeaker directivity, the reflections were attenuated by roughly 10 dB when they reached the listener. These were flat, plaster-on-block side walls—perfect specular reflectors. Yet what they contributed to the listening experience could be interpreted as being more positive than negative. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 444

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the standing-debate in acoustic design about lateral reflections vs. the auditory precedence effect; connects to Toole’s broader thesis that measured specular reflection is not perceptual defect.