Reyes, Arvin Christian P.

August 15, 2018

ECE149 – A25 Engr. Melchizedek Alipio

Critique Paper for

Acoustics in Studios
Michael Rettinger
Proceedings of the I.R.E. ∞ July 1940
Dimensions of a studio room are often a debate between an architect and an acoustic engineer.
They are both involved in planning and designing an acoustic room. However, the architect
focuses more on the spatial functionality and aesthetics the studio room. On the other hand, the
acoustic engineer is concerned with the reverberation time of sound traveling around the room,
and the absorption of sound of the material to be used in constructing the room.
While the engineer is also involved in the design process, the architect initiates the ideas on the
design of the room. The architect will establish the design of the room composed of its shape,
color, and spaces. The acoustic engineer will then find a way for the construction to be possible
while maintaining the quality of sound suitable for the room. The engineer can suggest
adjustments on improving the quality of sound in making the vision of the architect a reality.

Fig. 1: Perspective of an architect (left picture), and an acoustic engineer (right picture) in designing a
studio room.

On a study of Meissner entitled, “Acoustics of small rectangular rooms: Analytical and numerical
determination of reverberation parameters”, he tackled on his paper about the acoustics of small
rectangular rooms. He opened up that the most serious drawback from this type of room is its
long reverberation time. Increasing sound absorption on the ceiling is a common technique in
improving room acoustics. He found out in his study that an initial increase in sound absorption
on the ceiling causes a decrease in the modal reverberation time.
Acoustics of small rooms are usually categorized by irregular sound diffusion at low frequencies.
Attempts have been made on classifying the low frequency sound on a rectangular room with
respect to its dimensions. Nonrectangular rooms can be used to avoid flutter echoes and other
unwanted artifacts. Another acoustic issue in small rooms is concerned with the amplification or
attenuation of sound at certain frequencies since it may cause a boomy sound and unwanted
sound coloration which might affect the correct perception of sound in rooms. (Meissner, 2017)
The relationship between reverberation time and absorption properties of the walls play a
fundamental role in the development of a studio room. Reverberation time is well accepted as the
criteria of hearing for speech and music. The relationship between reverberation time and the
random-incident absorption coefficient of the room walls is best described in Sabine’s formula
given by:
0.161𝑉𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 0.049𝑉𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡
𝑅𝑇60 = =
𝑆𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 • ā 𝑆𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 • ā
Eqn. 1: Sabine’s Formula.

Where RT60 is the reverberation time for the sound to drop by 60 dB, V for volume which can be
given in cubic meter or cubic feet, S for the surface area of the room in square meter or square
feet, and ā for the average absorption coefficient of room surfaces.
Sabine’s theory of reverberant rooms is based on the sound field diffusion hypothesis that the
acoustic energy is uniform in the field and sound waves travel with equal probability in all
directions. An example of a room which can be considered as diffuse is a small rectangular room.
Acoustic treatment can be done by improving the absorption of the walls. But due to impractical
reasons, the absorption is implemented on the ceiling. Reverberation time does not only depend
on the absorption of the wall, but also the shape of the room also plays an important role. (Barron,
2010)
Similar to small rooms, large rooms also consider reverberation time and absorption coefficient
of the material critical when it comes to designing a studio room. McSquared System Design
Group, Inc. is an independent consulting firm providing sound system design, audio/video
presentation system design and acoustical design services. They provide acoustical designs for
large buildings such as arenas, pools, and fieldhouses. For them, the control of reverberation time
is important to maintain speech intelligibility and background noise control. The reverberant decay
spectrum must be well controlled in accommodating different audiences, whether it is for a 20,000
seat venue or for a heavy metal band. Buildings with large rooms where reflections happen should
be controlled to avoid late echoes from turning speech into a jumble. (McSquared Design System,
2018)

Fig. 2: McSquared System Design Group, Inc. company logo (left picture), and one of their finished
projects, the UBC Thunderbird Arena located in Vancouver, Canada (right picture).
As mentioned earlier, the shape and size of a room plays a crucial part in designing a studio room.
The rectangular parallelepiped is considered as the most common shape for a studio room.
However, Rettinger discussed in his paper entitled “Acoustics in Studios”, that considering a
rectangular room would not be the best selection. Rectangular rooms have several modes which
are related harmonically. Harmonics contribute to the distortion of the sound wave, resulting a
change in timbre. These distortions make the sound gritty and typically unpleasant to hear.
Unusual studio shapes have these harmonic relations distributed evenly, thus preventing any
irregularity of sound.
The cross-sectional layout for a rectangular room illustrates how the angle of incidence of the
reflected sound remains the same as it propagates through the room assuming the walls have
smooth surfaces. Another attribute of rectangular rooms is that these usually have parallel walls
which halts the echoing effect of sound, thus reducing the dynamism in the studio.

Fig. 3: Reflection of sound in a rectangular room.

The construction of a scoring stage in Hollywood was also discussed in the paper. The structure
comprises a shell developed by the converging of the ceiling and side walls towards the rear of
the room. Considering this, the rear of the studio appears livelier which makes it exceptional. The
wall type used for the construction of the studio was the double-stud type. This wall is usually
thicker for sound isolation and enhancement of acoustic treatment.

Fig. 4: Floor Plan and Side View Perspective of the Scoring Stage.

Two problems were considered in determining the appropriate dimensions for the scoring stage.
The first one pertains to the area where a given number of musicians including the instruments to
be used can be accommodated. The band-shell design of the studio should be wide enough to
prevent crowding and not too deep to avoid time lags between string and percussion instruments.
The second problem is concerned with the proportions of the dead part of the stage. Changes in
the vertical cross-sectional dimension are crucial considering the acoustic impedance at the
interface of the studio. Making it too narrow or too wide can make the boundary line between the
dead part and live part appear unnoticeable. The length and height of the room can be varied with
respect to the preferred distances between microphones. It can be said that the problems
concerning appropriate dimensions are different for each studio, depending on the number of
instruments to be used and the consent of optimal recording for such band size.
Rettinger also expounded that a region in the studio is required to be adequately live in supporting
the harmony and tonal articulation when recording music. Since music is ongoing rapidly,
reverberation must be restrained to a level where the individual character and beauty of each note
or chord is superior. This will enable the musician to adjust the true pitch of the instrument and
achieve a natural balance between bass and treble. This can also reduce the number of
microphones to be used in obtaining harmonious tone fusion between instruments.
He also suggested that recording music should not be conducted in the live part of the studio
room. Reflective surfaces can boost all the frequency components of music with respect to the
closeness of the instruments. The vital reverberatory character of the recording music can also
be sustained with the reflective surfaces. Music of higher frequencies tend to be absorbed greater
by air and the room itself. Attenuation is also greater in these frequencies, making them travel in
shorter distances, which prevents them to reverberate. Excessive liveliness in the rear part of the
room was reduced by installations of an absorptive material at reversed angles to the geometric
arc chords of the convex splays. In effect, the mean free path of the stage was also shorten. The
decrease in length causes an increase on the scattering of sound on the studio.
The convex reflective splays were made of wood since it has superior tonal response. Flame
proofed muslin fabrics are stretched over the entire side wall to absorb low frequencies more
efficiently, and avoid tone biasing created on undamped and equally dimensioned panels. Hard
and soft panels adjacent to each other is also recommended since sound will tend to diffuse from
reflective regions to absorbent regions. For the ceiling, unequally dimensioned fiberboard panels
were placed narrow throughout the room to avoid echoes. The rear wall and the side walls should
have the same absorptivity to appear less live when the room is occupied by a number of
musicians. The reverberation characteristic of the scoring stage indicates a smooth curve which
suggests the absence of excessive amount of bass in recording music. (Rettinger, 1940)
References
Barron, M. (2010). Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design. Sounds and rooms, 10-35.
McSquared Design System. (2018). Sports and Recreation Facilities. Retrieved 15 August,
2018, from http://www.mcsquared.com/arenas.htm
Meissner, M. (2017). Acoustics of small rectangular rooms: Analytical and numerical
determination of reverberation parameters. Applied Acoustics, 120, 111-119.
Rettinger, M. (1940). Acoustics in Studios. Proceedings of the IRE, 28(7), 296-299.