Taking account of loudness constancy for the loudness criterion for concert halls

One of the surprises from analysis of results of an objective and subjective study of British concert halls (1988 Acustica 66, 1–14) was that the subjective judgement of loudness in concert halls is influenced not only by sound level but also by the source–receiver distance. This response implies that the same sound level is judged louder at positions further from the orchestra platform. Whereas level decreases with distance in actual halls, loudness is judged more-or-less independent of position in average halls (except at positions close to the platform and seats overhung by balconies). As an observation it ties in with evidence from experimental psychologists for loudness constancy throughout a space. The sound strength G is the sound level in an auditorium normalised to the sound power level of the source; the traditional criterion of acceptability for level is that G ⩾ 0 dB. The paper proposes that, on the basis of subjective evidence and objective behaviour in auditoria, the criterion for G should not be a unique value of G but rather a function of source–receiver distance.