Convention Paper
Development of a Sound Field Diffusion Coefficient
AES Convention 137 · Paper 9155 · October 2014
Abstract
This research addresses the development of an absolute descriptor and its associated calculation software algorithm with user interface, which quantifies the degree of diffusion, in a third octave band basis and globally, of a sound field from a monaural impulse response. The degree of sound field diffuseness is related with the probability of getting accumulated energy in discrete reflections compared to the total energy contained in all the reflections of an impulse response, after extracting its decay and normalizing it in respect to its reverberation time. The coefficient range varies between 0 and 1, zero being “no diffuseness” and one being a maximum absolute reference obtained from analyzing different types of rooms. The challenge has been not only to develop this coefficient theoretically but converting its theory in a mathematical numerical calculation through a dedicated software. This coefficient may be used both to study the effects of sound diffusers coatings as well as coated surfaces and the degree of perception of different values which may appear within sound fields.
