An experiment to identify preference groups among concert hall listeners

Abstract

The task of specifying the acoustical behavior of a concert hall depends upon knowing the preferred subjective acoustical characteristics for the intended program material. Several studies have suggested that the listening population might be divided into groups with respect to their preferred acoustic, with different weightings applied to different subjective factors in each. Our project endeavors to identify and describe these groups, and to make their composition an integral part of hall design. This paper describes a subjective experiment designed to identify and measure individual listening preferences in a simulated concert hall setting, and presents the experiments first results. Following from these results, an attempt is made to place tested individuals into preference groups. The applicability of the experiment is considered in terms of the quality of hall simulation and of the impact of the simulator and experimental design on the listeners discrimination.