Late early reflections can ruin performers’ ability to hear each other and maintain ensemble

Evidence

In one prestigious hall, the reason musicians used to complain that they couldn’t hear each other and so hated playing there was traced to the problem of late early reflections. As a postscript, it is interesting to note that the orchestra enclosure in shoebox halls often did the right things. However, in modern multipurpose facilities, it is often a challenge to provide the necessary acoustic foldback while allowing space for scenery and machinery and the like. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1942

Categorization

• CANDY: A famous hall’s hated acoustics traced to late early reflections is a great conversation fact about why musicians gripe about venues.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1942
• XREF: connects to: Early reflections from nearby surfaces give performers essential auditory feedback; Stage design must balance sending sound to audience and reflecting it back to performers; Musicians need acoustic reflections within 20 ms for comfortable ensemble playing — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1939 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Ensemble playing depends on performers receiving reflections within roughly 20 milliseconds #corroborates (0.85)
• Early reflections boost perceived loudness while loud late reverberation degrades intelligibility #qualifies (0.82) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 273
• Fan-shaped halls discourage early side reflections and tend to fail acoustically #corroborates (0.80)
• Room reverberation barely affects early reflection audibility but strongly elevates late-reflection thresholds #qualifies (0.78) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 630
• Early reflection control often concealed flawed off-axis loudspeaker performance. #complicates (0.75)
• Large reverberant venues may compromise listeners’ ability to discern timbral qualities #expands (0.75)