Short sample of reverberation effect

Clean signal, followed by different

versions of reverberation (with longer
and longer decay times).
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Reverberation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reverberation, in terms of acoustics, is the
interpretation of the persistence of sound after a sound is
produced.
[1]
A reverberation, or reverb, is created when
a sound or signal is reflected causing a large number of
reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is
absorbed by the surfaces of objects in the space which
could include furniture and people, and air.
[2]
This is
most noticeable when the sound source stops but the
reflections continue, decreasing in amplitude, until they reach zero amplitude. Reverberation is frequency
dependent. The length of the decay, or reverberation time, receives special consideration in the architectural
design of spaces which need to have specific reverberation times to achieve optimum performance for their
intended activity.
[3]
In comparison to a distinct echo that is a minimum of 50 to 100 ms after the initial
sound, reverberation is reflections that arrive in less than approximately 50ms. As time passes, the amplitude
of the reflections is reduced until it is reduced to zero. Reverberation is not limited to indoor spaces as it
exists in forests and other outdoor environments where reflection exists.
Contents
1 Reverberation time
1.1 Sabine equation
1.2 Absorption
1.3 Measurement of reverberation time
2 Creating reverberation effects
2.1 Chamber reverberators
2.2 Plate reverberators
2.3 Spring reverberators
2.4 Digital reverberators
2.4.1 Convolution reverb
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Reverberation time
The time it takes for a signal to drop by 60dB is the reverberation time.
RT
60
is the time required for reflections of a direct sound to decay 60 dB. Reverberation time is frequently
stated as a single value, if measured as a wide band signal (20 Hz to 20kHz), however, being frequency
dependent, it can be more precisely described in terms of frequency bands (one octave, 1/3 octave, 1/6
octave, etc.). Being frequency dependent, the reverb time measured in narrow bands will differ depending
on the frequency band being measured. For precision, it is important to know what ranges of frequencies are
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Sound level in a reverberant cavity
excited by a pulse, as a function of
time (very simplified diagram).
being described by a reverberation time measurement.
In the late 19th century, Wallace Clement Sabine started experiments
at Harvard University to investigate the impact of absorption on the
reverberation time. Using a portable wind chest and organ pipes as a
sound source, a stopwatch and his ears, he measured the time from
interruption of the source to inaudibility (a difference of roughly
60 dB). He found that the reverberation time is proportional to room
dimensions and inversely proportional to the amount of absorption
present.
The optimum reverberation time for a space in which music is played
depends on the type of music that is to be played in the space. Rooms
used for speech typically need a shorter reverberation time so that speech can be understood more clearly. If
the reflected sound from one syllable is still heard when the next syllable is spoken, it may be difficult to
understand what was said.
[4]
"Cat", "Cab", and "Cap" may all sound very similar. If on the other hand the
reverberation time is too short, tonal balance and loudness may suffer. Reverberation effects are often used
in studios to add depth to sounds. Reverberation changes the perceived spectral structure of a sound, but
does not alter the pitch.
Basic factors that affect a room's reverberation time include the size and shape of the enclosure as well as
the materials used in the construction of the room. Every object placed within the enclosure can also affect
this reverberation time, including people and their belongings.
Sabine equation
Sabine's reverberation equation was developed in the late 1890s in an empirical fashion. He established a
relationship between the RT
60
of a room, its volume, and its total absorption (in sabins). This is given by the
equation:
.
where is the speed of sound in the room (for 20 degrees Celsius), is the volume of the room in m,
total surface area of room in m, is the average absorption coefficient of room surfaces, and the product
is the total absorption in sabins.
The total absorption in sabins (and hence reverberation time) generally changes depending on frequency
(which is defined by the acoustic properties of the space). The equation does not take into account room
shape or losses from the sound travelling through the air (important in larger spaces). Most rooms absorb
less sound energy in the lower frequency ranges resulting in longer reverb times at lower frequencies.
Sabine concluded that the reverberation time depends upon the reflectivity of sound from various surfaces
available inside the hall. If the reflection is coherent, the reverberation time of the hall will be longer; the
sound will take more time to die out.
The reverberation time RT
60
and the volume V of the room have great influence on the critical distance d
c
(conditional equation):
where critical distance is measured in meters, volume is measured in m, and reverberation time
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is measured in seconds.
Absorption
The absorption coefficient of a material is a number between 0 and 1 which indicates the proportion of
sound which is absorbed by the surface compared to the proportion which is reflected back into the room. A
large, fully open window would offer no reflection as any sound reaching it would pass straight out and no
sound would be reflected. This would have an absorption coefficient of 1. Conversely, a thick, smooth
painted concrete ceiling would be the acoustic equivalent of a mirror, and would have an absorption
coefficient very close to 0.
Sound absorption coefficients of common materials used in buildings are presented in this Table
(http://logacustica.com/en/coeficientes-de-absorcao-sonora-sound-absorption-coefficients/).
Measurement of reverberation time
Historically reverberation time could only be measured using a level recorder (a plotting device which
graphs the noise level against time on a ribbon of moving paper). A loud noise is produced, and as the sound
dies away the trace on the level recorder will show a distinct slope. Analysis of this slope reveals the
measured reverberation time. Some modern digital sound level meters can carry out this analysis
automatically.
Currently several methods exist for measuring reverb time. An impulse can be measured by creating a
sufficiently loud noise (which must have a defined cut off point). Impulse noise sources such as a blank
pistol shot or balloon burst may be used to measure the impulse response of a room.
Alternatively, a random noise signal such as pink noise or white noise may be generated through a
loudspeaker, and then turned off. This is known as the interrupted method, and the measured result is known
as the interrupted response.
A two port measurement system can also be used to measure noise introduced into a space and compare it to
what is subsequently measured in the space. Consider sound reproduced by a loudspeaker into a room. A
recording of the sound in the room can be made and compared to what was sent to the loudspeaker. The two
signals can be compared mathematically. This two port measurement system utilizes a Fourier transform to
mathematically derive the impulse response of the room. From the impulse response, the reverberation time
can be calculated. Using a two port system allows reverberation time to be measured with signals other than
loud impulses. Music or recordings of other sound can be used. This allows measurements to be taken in a
room after the audience is present.
Reverberation time is usually stated as a decay time and is measured in seconds. There may or may not be
any statement of the frequency band used in the measurement. Decay time is the time it takes the signal to
diminish 60 dB below the original sound.
The concept of Reverberation Time implicitly supposes that the decay rate of the sound is exponential, so
that the sound level diminishes regularly, at a rate of so many dB per second. It is not often the case in real
rooms, depending on the disposition of reflective, dispersive and absorbing surfaces. Moreover, successive
measurement of the sound level often yields very different results, as differences in phase in the exciting
sound build up in notably different sound waves. In 1964, Manfred R. Schroeder published "A new method
of Measuring Reverberation Time" in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He proposed to
measure, not the power of the sound, but the energy, by integrating it. This made it possible to show the
variation in the rate of decay, and to free acousticians from the necessity of averaging many measurements.
Creating reverberation effects
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Folded line reverberation device.
The folded coil spring is visible
underside of the reverberation device.
It is often desirable to create a reverberation effect for recorded or live music. A number of systems have
been developed to facilitate or simulate reverberation.
Chamber reverberators
The first reverb effects created for recordings used a real physical space as a natural echo chamber. A
loudspeaker would play the sound, and then a microphone would pick it up again, including the effects of
reverb. Although this is still a common technique, it requires a dedicated soundproofed room, and varying
the reverb time is difficult.
Plate reverberators
A plate reverb system uses an electromechanical transducer, similar to the driver in a loudspeaker, to create
vibration in a large plate of sheet metal. A pickup captures the vibrations as they bounce across the plate,
and the result is output as an audio signal. In the late 1950s, Elektro-Mess-Technik (EMT) introduced the
EMT 140;
[5]
a 600-pound (270 kg) model popular in recording studios, contributing to many hit records
such as Beatles and Pink Floyd albums recorded at Abbey Road Studios in the 1960s, and others recorded
by Bill Porter in Nashville's RCA Studio B. Early units had one pickup for mono output, later models
featured two pickups for stereo use. The reverb time can be adjusted by a damping pad, made from framed
acoustic tiles. The closer the damping pad, the shorter the reverb time. However, the pad never touches the
plate. Some units also featured a remote control.
Spring reverberators
A spring reverb system uses a transducer at one end of a spring and a
pickup at the other, similar to those used in plate reverbs, to create
and capture vibrations within a metal spring. Laurens Hammond was
granted a patent on a spring-based mechanical reverberation system
in 1939.
[6]
Guitar amplifiers frequently incorporate spring reverbs
due to their compact construction and low cost. Spring reverberators
were once widely used in semi-professional recording due to their
modest cost and small size.
Many musicians have made use of spring reverb units by rocking
them back and forth, creating a thundering, crashing sound caused by
the springs colliding with each other. The Hammond Organ included
a built-in spring reverberator, making this a popular effect when used
in a rock band.
Digital reverberators
Digital reverberators use various signal processing algorithms in order to create the reverb effect. Since
reverberation is essentially caused by a very large number of echoes, simple reverberation algorithms use
multiple feedback delay circuits to create a large, decaying series of echoes. More advanced digital reverb
generators can simulate the time and frequency domain responses of real rooms (based upon room
dimensions, absorption and other properties). In real music halls, the direct sound always arrives at the
listener's ear first because it follows the shortest path. Shortly after the direct sound, the reverberant sound
arrives. The time between the two is called the "pre-delay."
Reverberation, or informally, "reverb," is a standard audio effect utilized universally in digital audio
workstations (DAWs) and VST plug-ins.
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Convolution reverb
Convolution reverb is a process used for digitally simulating the reverberation of a physical or virtual space.
It is based on the mathematical convolution operation, and uses a pre-recorded audio sample of the impulse
response of the space being modeled. To apply the reverberation effect, the impulse-response recording is
first stored in a digital signal-processing system. This is then convolved with the incoming audio signal to be
processed. The process of convolution multiplies each sample of the audio to be processed (reverberated)
with the samples in the impulse response file.
See also
Acoustic resonance
Audio mixing
Exponential decay
Reverberation room
References
^ Valente, Michael; Holly Hosford-Dunn, Ross J. Roeser (2008). Audiology. Thieme. pp. 425426.
ISBN 978-1-58890-520-8.
1.
^ Lloyd, Llewelyn Southworth (1970). Music and Sound. Ayer Publishing. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-8369-5188-2. 2.
^ Roth, Leland M. (2007). Understanding Architecture. Westview Press. pp. 104105. ISBN 978-0-8133-9045-1. 3.
^ "So why does reverberation affect speech intelligibility?" (http://www.mcsquared.com/y-reverb.htm). MC
Squared System Design Group, Inc. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
4.
^ Eargle, John M. (2005). Handbook of Recording Engineering (http://books.google.com
/books?id=00m1SlorUcIC&pg=PA233) (4 ed.). Birkhuser. p. 233. ISBN 0-387-28470-2.
5.
^ Laurens Hammond, Electrical Musical Instrument, U.S. Patent 2,230,836 (http://www.google.com
/patents?id=6ZZQAAAAEBAJ), granted Feb. 4, 1941.
6.
External links
Reverberation (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/acoustic/reverb.html#c1) - Hyperphysics
A database of measured room impulse responses to generate realistic reverberation effects
(http://www.ind.rwth-aachen.de/air/#)
Spring Reverb Tanks Explained and Compared (http://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech_corner
/spring_reverb_tanks_explained_and_compared#)
Care and Feeding of Spring Reverb Tanks (http://sound.westhost.com/articles/reverb.htm#)
Download possibility for a calculation software to Reverberation Time (http://www.energy-control-
system.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=57&func=fileinfo&id=16&lang=en#)
Calculation of the reverberation time after Sabine RT60 decay (http://www.sengpielaudio.com
/calculator-RT60.htm)
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Categories: Acoustics Audio effects
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