Contribution
Effect of Stage Architecture on Perceived Quality for Chamber Music Ensembles: An Experimental Study Using Virtualized Stimuli
* Presenting author
Abstract:
The perceived quality of a stage in performance spaces is known to be related to the shape and size of the stage enclosure. Previous field studies have shown that the main effects of stage height and height-to-width ratio are significant in predicting perceived quality, but no effect of other architectural variables has been isolated. In order to overcome the limitations of field studies, where the number of architectural variations is limited and the effect of confounding variables is difficult to control, an in-lab investigation was conducted using dynamic binaural synthesis for chamber music ensembles as participant groups. The results show that the perceived quality results from a complex interaction of architectural and acoustic features. A number of established and newly proposed stage acoustic parameters were evaluated as predictors of these effects.