Remy Wenmaekers

Eindhoven University of Technology | TUE · Department of Built Environment

Purpose To study effects of different sources of noise in office environments on perceived productivity, how different types of employees cope with different noise sources, and the perceived effect of different coping strategies on individual productivity. Design/methodology/approach Data on coping behavior and noise perception was collected throu...

Symphony orchestra musicians are exposed to noise levels that put them at risk of developing hearing damage. This study evaluates the potential effectivity of common control measures used in orchestras on open stages with a typical symphonic setup. A validated acoustic prediction model is used that calculates binaural sound exposure levels at the e...

Part of the Ancient Acoustics research project was to measure a dense grid of impulse responses in three ancient amphitheatres in accordance with the ISO 3382 standard. In this conference paper, the measurements performed in the theatre of Epidaurus at 264 receiver positions are used to study the “signal” to “noise” ratios (SNR) for typical low ene...

The acoustics on stage has been recognized as an important design consideration for concert halls and other performance or rehearsal spaces. Stage acoustic parameters such as STearly and STlate are used to judge the early and late reflected sound levels on the stage. However, correlation of these parameters to perceptual attributes have not always...

Measurements by many researchers have shown that musicians in symphony orchestras are regularly exposed to equivalent sound levels above 85 dB(A). Professional symphony orchestras are therefore obligated to take measures to reduce sound levels. Since most musicians are reluctant to wear hearing protection devices physical measures are used in an at...

Stage acoustic parameters aim to quantify the amount of sound energy reflected by the stage and hall boundaries and the energy decay over time. In this research, the effect of orchestra presence on parameter values is investigated. The orchestra is simulated by dressed mannequins, which have been compared with humans with respect to acoustic proper...

Selecting an appropriate method for measuring 'normal' indoor concert hall acoustics is always a trade-off between time, stimulus type, number of measurements and measurement quality. For ISO 3382 room acoustic parameters to be derived accurately from impulse responses, this trade-off aims at a certain minimum decay range. Previously, there have be...

In the last decades we have seen an increased interest in the acoustics of ancient Greek and Roman theatres and much research has been performed on many of them. Research has mainly focused on modelling the acoustics of theatres and has shown various acoustical effects. However, only a limited number of in situ measurements have been available to v...

The stages of ancient theatres can be characterized by their circular shape called the 'orchestra', in front of a rectangular elevated stage with a highly decorated back wall. During some performances , a group of musicians was located in the circular shape, while actors were positioned on the elevated stage. In modern concert halls or theatres, ac...

Acoustic models of ancient theatres found in literature are often based on assumptions, both for geometrical and material properties. The influences of these assumptions on modelling results have been assessed in this paper, which is part of the Ancient Acoustics project. Acoustical measurements were conducted in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the t...

Since the beginning of concert hall acoustics research it is quite difficult or almost impossible to find or arrange an opportunity to do extensive measurements with audience present, shortly before the beginning of a symphonic concert or during a break. It is always a trade-off between time, type of signal, number of measurements and measurement q...

Some room acoustic parameters require the sound power of the sound source. The Sound Strength G uses the free field sound pressure level at 10 meters distance as a reference value. Speech intelligibility parameters like the A-weighted Speech Level, Lp,A,S, 4 m, and the Speech Transmission Index, STI, can require an absolute source level defined at...

Musicians in a symphony orchestra rely on the direct and reflected sound on a concert hall stage to be able to hear each other. Besides ensemble conditions, members and directors of symphony orchestras are concerned about the noise levels musicians are exposed to. However, the actual contribution of the different parts of the sound field cannot be...

Room acoustical properties in music and voice recordings such as reverberation, definition, clarity and speech intelligibility are influenced by the acoustics (including electro-acoustics) of the listening room. Playing back recorded acoustics through loudspeakers in sound control rooms, lecture rooms, congress halls or cinemas affects the intended...

The noise exposure of symphony orchestra musicians has many different contributions. While playing in the orchestra, measurement devices cannot discriminate between different contributions of different sound sources. When playing at home, rehearsing individually, the own instrument's sound is amplified by the room differently. To investigate how mu...

In 2012, new room acoustic parameters for open plan offices were introduced in the ISO 3382-3 standard. While concepts like the spatial decay rate and speech privacy have been used already in judging open plan office designs, now the standard provides an internationally agreed measurement procedure. Four single number ratings are proposed: the deca...

To achieve a preferable sound field in traditionally shoebox-shaped sports halls, the sound absorbing material is often applied in the upper part of the hall. The applicability of predicting the acoustics of sports halls by three different acoustic calculation methods is investigated: a diffuse field method, a geometrical acoustics method and a ful...

A substantial amount of research has been devoted to producing a calculation model for air absorption for pure tones. However, most statistical and geometrical room acoustic prediction models calculate the reverberation time in full octave bands in accordance with ISO 3382-1 (International Organization for Standardization, 2009). So far, the availa...

IEC 60268-16 describes how to measure the Speech Intelligibility Index STI and its simplified derivatives such as STITEL and STIPA, using two measurement techniques. The first and oldest technique is based on a set of modulated noise signals used as a stimulus. The second method uses impulse responses obtained from maximum length sequence (MLS) or...

The Early and Late Support parameters (STearly and ST late) are used to describe acoustic conditions on stage. Recently, extended Support parameters have been introduced which can be measured at various distances: STearly, d and STlate, d. This way, the amount of reflected sound energy can be studied for sound paths with distances between source an...

From experience and earlier investigations it is clear that room acoustical details in recorded music or speech can only be heard in a room having a reverberation time shorter than the one in the room in which the recording was made. The acoustical properties of listening rooms influence the perceived acoustics of the recording. In earlier investig...

The amount of sound exposure of musicians within a symphonic orchestra is dependent on a large number of aspects. Among these aspects are the many different musical instruments and the impact of room acoustics by the reflected sound. However, it is impossible to obtain separately the contribution of each different aspect from the individually measu...

Standards for measuring room acoustic parameters, such as ISO 3382, in many cases do not, or only partially, specify the requirements that a measured impulse response should meet to allow calculation of a certain parameter. Among other things, it is often left to the user of the standard to find a practical interpretation of the time infinity that...

The most widely recognized objective stage acoustic parameters are the Early Support (STearly) and Late Support (STlate). In these parameters the early and late reflected sound energy is measured within a certain time interval. Different time interval limits have been proposed for the stage acoustic parameters but there is no agreement on the prefe...

An omnidirectional sound source is commonly used in room acoustical measurements. The omnidirectional directivity is usually approached by placing 12 loudspeakers in a regular 12-face polyhedron, called a dodecahedron. In the ISO 3382-1 standard on the measurement of room acoustical parameters, limits are imposed on the maximum allowable deviation...

Members and directors of symphonic orchestras are concerned about the noise levels musicians are exposed to and their ease of playing ensemble. The results of many research has shown that the noise levels within an orchestra can be high. Also, research has shown that the sound level will vary between different musicians playing different instrument...

The available stage acoustic parameters measure the energy ratio between certain time intervals derived from an impulse response. The parameter time intervals may be based on typical sound paths on a stage. A study of typical sound paths and their time intervals indicates that a transition time point may exist between early reflected sound and late...

Live recordings of music and speech in concert halls have acoustical properties, such as reverberation, definition, clarity and spaciousness. Sound engineers play back these recordings through loudspeakers in sound control rooms for audio CD or film. The acoustical properties of these rooms influence the perceived acoustics of the live recording. T...

The sound strength G is a room acoustical parameter used to investigate the sound distribution in a hall or to compare the loudness between different halls. ISO 3382-1 describes several methods to measure G. The accuracy of a G measurement depends on the accuracy with which the power level of the sound source can be determined or with which the mea...

The use of acoustic 3D modelling software has become increasingly popular among acousticians. Some software developers offer introduction courses for starting users. However, there is a need for more advanced courses for experienced modellers. Such a course should not only consist of lectures with the scientific background of the model, but should...

The reverberation time and the background noise level are often used as the most important design parameters in European open plan offices to achieve a comfortable acoustic climate and to control speech intelligibility. Good speech intelligibility is desired for people working together, but bad speech intelligibility is desired between independent...

The sound effects and voices that are heard in motion pictures are often replacements or additions of sounds recorded in a Foley Studio. In this type of studio, named after Jack Foley the pioneer in sound effects recording, many objects like wooden floors and doors are present to record sounds from. These recordings need to sound as they are heard...

One of the parameters for an objective measurement of the acoustical spaciousness in a room is the IACC. According to ISO 3382-1 this parameter must be measured using a head and torso simulator (HATS). According to the same standard, all other room acoustical parameters (related to loudness, reverberation, clarity and speech intelligibility) must b...

Recordings of music, speech or other sounds have acoustical properties, such as reverberation, definition and clarity. For educational, engineering or entertainment purposes these recordings are often played back through loudspeakers in listening rooms, such as classrooms, recording studios or cinemas. The acoustical properties of a listening room...

Most statistical and ray-tracing computer models take into account the absorption of sound by air when calculating the reverberation time. Extensive research by many scientist lead to the standardized calculation model for pure tone air absorption. The phenomenon was discovered from a room acoustical point of view by Sabine, while the further devel...

A room acoustic impulse response can be used to derive the reverberation time and other parameters. For this a certain minimum energy decay range or effective signal-to-noise ratio is required, which relates to the difference between the initial signal level and the noise level. An impulse response parameter called INR is presented as an estimator...