Binaural simulation of concert halls: A new approach for the binaural reverberation process

A geometrical cone-tracing method associated with the signal processing technique is used to calculate the binaural impulse response of a concert hall. Some inaccuracy and the computation time of the geometrical algorithm tend to limit the method for the high-reflection orders which are necessary to provide a good listening effect. In order to extend the response, a new approach is presented based on different statistical processes that depend on both the acoustical and geometrical characteristics of the hall. After a theoretical presentation (new statistical results are proposed to describe the sound field behavior in a concert hall), some simulations are given in order to illustrate the different statistical processes. This simulation technique seems to be a very convenient tool both for the design of a new concert hall and for the study of the important parameters in auditory spaciousness.