Room acoustic analysis: Complementing 2D measurements by 3D simulations

This paper demonstrates the analysis of complex acoustic environments using high-resolution circular measurements and complementary 3D simulations. The possibilities and limitations of room acoustic analysis using either measurements or simulations are discussed. An exemplary study is presented on the sound propagation in a complex shaped room: The analysis based on multichannel room impulse responses measured on a large circular aperture is introduced as a starting point of the room acoustic investigation. It is shown how the extrapolation of the measured data provides some insight into the sound propagation but fails to explain sound field characteristics caused by the complex 3D shape of the acoustic environment. In particular the individual 3D acoustic paths of higher order reflections cannot be derived from measurements alone. This paper demonstrates how they can be identified by complementary 3D simulations. It is elaborated that in the proposed joint application of 2D measurements and 3D simulations both techniques complement each other such that their limitations can be removed.