Effect of an Active Acoustic Reinforcement System on Musical Performance in a Recording Studio

Grazioli G, King R, Woszczyk W. Effect of an Active Acoustic Reinforcement System on Musical Performance in a Recording Studio. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 10280. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23186

@inproceedings{Grazioli2026_23186,
  author = {Grazioli, Gianluca and King, Richard and Woszczyk, Wieslaw},
  title = {{Effect of an Active Acoustic Reinforcement System on Musical Performance in a Recording Studio}},
  note = {Paper 10280},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23186}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Effect of an Active Acoustic Reinforcement System on Musical Performance in a Recording Studio
AU  - Grazioli, Gianluca
AU  - King, Richard
AU  - Woszczyk, Wieslaw
M1  - Paper 10280
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/28
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23186
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This work presents the results of a perceptual study investigating the influence on musicians of a virtual acoustics system installed in the live room of a professional recording studio. The study focused on analyzing relationships between a selection of objective acoustic parameters (T30, STLate, LJ) and subjective perceptions of 19 solo musicians performing under 11 different acoustic conditions. The experiment was conducted using the VAT (Virtual Acoustic Technology) system and the VAT Suite software developed at the Immersive Media Laboratory (IMLab) in the Sound Recording Department at McGill University. Correlations between quantitative and qualitative analyses show that musicians preferences converge on conditions with T30 1 s, and that late and lateral energy increases the perception of spatiality, providing a positive balance between clarity and acoustic support. However, longer reverberation reduces comfort and executive control.
ER  -