Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Many schools, churches, synagogues, and similar institutions are limited in funds for both consultation and remedial work, yet wish to use the opportunity of an auditorium or sanctuary remodeling to improve the acoustical environment for speech and music. We have learned that relatively simple instrumentation, limited to a sound level meter with octave-band analyzer, precision microphone, and calibrator, a multispeed battery-operated tape recorder with charger, and a set of blank and prerecorded test tapes, can permit field measurement, or recording for later analysis, of reverberation time, echoes, sound system coverage and frequency response, the uniformity of sound distribution for a variety of sources, and background noise, with reverberation time analysis requiring playback of recorded tape into a graphic level recorder upon return to the office. Tape recordings of balloon bursts also can permit analysis of early-to-reverberant ratios, if appropriate analysis equipment is available. In addition to balloon bursts, playback of 1/3-octave-band test tapes over house equipment and organ tone clusters are often valuable for reverberation time recordings; while, with care, recordings of actual performances can sometimes yield accurate full-house reverberation time data. Specific projects and unusual conditions are discussed.</jats:p>