In domestic listening rooms the reverberant field dominates the direct sound.

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 hifi, and not the direct sound. Therefore the quality of the reverberant field is an important aspect of the performance of any system which reproduces recorded music in the home. There is also an effect on speech intelligibility in a reverberant space as the direct sound is the major component of the sound which provides this. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1834

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to reader’s silence/sound projects — the interior acoustic environment of a living room, not the recorded signal, shapes the listening experience. — connects to: In normal home listening the reverberant field dominates direct sound from speakers — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1792; In a normal living room, reverberant sound dominates the direct sound from loudspeakers. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1792; Domestic hi-fi listening is dominated by reverberant rather than direct sound (+3 more)
• QUESTION: What does this imply for how we should design home listening setups, and does it apply to open-plan living spaces with more absorption?

Broader Connections

• In normal home listening the reverberant field dominates direct sound from speakers #corroborates (1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1792
• In a normal living room, reverberant sound dominates the direct sound from loudspeakers. #corroborates (0.98) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1792
• Domestic hi-fi listening is dominated by reverberant rather than direct sound #corroborates (0.98)
• The direct, on-axis sound dominates perceived loudspeaker quality in rooms. #contradicts (0.88) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1930
• Reverberant field dominates home hi-fi listening from just 2 meters away #expands (0.85)
• A critical distance exists where reverberant sound begins to dominate the direct field #expands (0.82)