Reverberant sound level stays constant with listener position because reflections arrive from all directions

Evidence

The direct sound and early reflections follow the inverse square law, with the addition of absorption effects in the case of early reflections, and so their amplitude varies with position. However, the reverberant part of the sound largely remains constant with the position of the listener in the room. This is not due to the sound waves behaving differently from normal waves; instead it is due to the fact that the reverberant sound waves arrive at the listener from all directions. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1786 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

If a steady tone, such as an organ note, is played in the space then after a period of time the reverberant sound will reach a constant level because at that point the sound power input balances the power lost by absorption in the space. This means that the steady-state level will be higher in rooms that have a small amount of absorption, compared with rooms that have a lot of absorption. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1781 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Reverberant sound level stays constant with listener position while direct sound fades with distance — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1786; Moving away from a source makes reverberant sound progressively dominate while it stays constant; Room absorption determines the steady-state level of reverberant sound — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1781

Broader Connections

• Reverberant sound level stays constant with listener position while direct sound fades with distance #corroborates (0.95) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1786
• Moving away from a source makes reverberant sound progressively dominate while it stays constant #expands (0.88)
• Room absorption determines the steady-state level of reverberant sound #complicates (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1781