In a normal living room, reverberant sound dominates the direct sound from loudspeakers.

Evidence

As most people would be about 2 m away from their loudspeakers when they are listening to them, this means that in a normal domestic setting, the reverberant field is the most dominant source of sound energy from the hi-fi and not the direct sound. Therefore the quality of the reverberant field is an important aspect of the performance of any system that reproduces recorded music in the home. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1792

Categorization

• XREF: Ties directly to the reader’s interest in how spaces shape what one actually hears. — connects to: In domestic listening rooms the reverberant field dominates the direct sound. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1834
• ADDENDUM: Echoes the ‘Grafting & Growth’ theme of rooms/architecture as underused worldbuilding: the listening room’s acoustics, not the speakers, determine what you hear.
• SEED: Article angle: ‘The room is the instrument’ — why the acoustics of domestic space, not the hi-fi, decide what you hear.