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Reverberation is an important factor of the acoustics in a room. It influences the
acoustic perception of the listener and the performer. Each concert venue has its
specific acoustic properties. Numerous studies regarding these properties have been
conducted, mostly in real world or fully synthesized environments. However, both
acoustic quality and perception in concert spaces are still not satisfactorily explained.
The present thesis contributes new findings in the field of reverberation (late energy)
for concert spaces. Previous concepts are further refined and novel approaches
suggested. Several experiments are conducted in semi-virtual acoustics, namely real
rooms whose existing acoustics is altered by means of an electronic reverberation
system with loudspeakers. Thus, the possibility of changing the acoustic situation at the push of a button is offered, while the listeners’ visual and tactile perception remains the one from the real world environment. A lecture hall and a medium-sized concert
hall equipped with enhancement systems are the test environments. Three aspects of
reverberation are studied using this technique among others: reverberation level, spatial distribution of reverberation and the connection between signal dynamics and acoustics.
The related perceptual attributes reverberance, listener envelopment and perception of dynamics are investigated by means of listening experiments.
Following a qualitative investigation on enhancement systems, it is observed that
reverberance depends highly on reverberation level. The method of only assessing
decay time is not suffcient. An energy parameter such as strength must be included to
predict reverberance. A loudness-based reverberation analysis is further explored and found to perform well in principle, however the three loudness models investigated
differ noticeably. The direction of late reverberation in concert halls and the influence on the feeling of envelopment is further specified. Several tests show that the current
measure neglects late reverberation from behind and above which contribute to listener envelopment. Lastly, the connection between signal envelope or dynamics and room
acoustics is investigated, specifically regarding reverberation. Studies are conducted using, for example, a constant virtual orchestra source or a large pool of audio recordings from concert halls and opera houses. It is observed that reverberation alters the signal dynamic considerably, which is vital both in the context of acoustics and performance practice.