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  3. Reverberation Chamber

Reverberation Chamber

The reverberation chamber is used to measure absorption coefficients of materials used in buildings throughout the world.

When designing a room, such as a concert hall, it is important that the reverberation time of the space is correct so that speech is intelligible, and music sounds good. You are probably familiar with spaces such as railway stations which are too reverberant – they have too little absorption which makes it difficult to communicate. Knowing the absorption of architectural materials is vital when designing a room with good acoustics.

Example application

Acoustic diffusers are used to treat room acoustic defects, but there has long been concerns about the amount of sound absorption that Schroeder diffusers provide. Measurements in the reverberation chamber were used to quantify and ultimately explain the cause of the absorption, and hence enable diffusers with low absorption to be made.

UKAS accredited tests and standards

Measurement of absorption coefficients to BS EN ISO 354:2003
Measurement of road traffic and rail track noise reducing devices to BS EN 1793-1 and 1793-2 and BS EN 16272-1 and 16272-2 respectively.
Impact improvement testing to BS EN ISO 10140-3:2021 using our heavyweight testing floor.

Vital Statistics

Surface area of 224m2
Volume of 220m3
Reverberation Time approximately 10s (50Hz) – 2s (5kHz)

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