Resonant peaks bother more listeners than nulls because they occupy most of the room

Evidence

It is first worth examining the plot of sound pressure vs. distance at the bottom of (a). This is derived from the peak sound levels of mode 0,1,0 as a function of distance from the wall as shown in (b). The notable feature is the flatness of the pressure peaks compared to the narrower interference dip. The lesson is that resonant peaks are bothersome because they are resonances, with accentuated amplitude and ringing, and also because the peaks occupy most of the floor area of the room. More listeners are annoyed by peaks than dips for this reason and also because the presence of excessive sound is more annoying than an absence—see discussion of peak and dip audibility in Sections 9.6.1 and 9.6.2. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1636

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the audibility asymmetry between peaks and dips discussed at chapter 9’s sections 9.6.1/9.6.2 — a recurring tradeoff in low-frequency perception.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how exactly does psychoacoustic masking make excess sound worse than deficit in modal contexts? The section reference suggests a known asymmetry.