Reverberation Time

Reverberation time is defined as the time it takes for a white noise signal to be attenuated by 60 dB SPL after the signal is switched off. As mentioned in the article about loudspeaker stereo setups, domestic living rooms in europe have a reverberation time of 0.4 - 0.7 seconds according to IEC. That means that you should aim for this value in the listening environment in which you playback music. I have designed some wav files where different reverberation times are demonstrated using a white noise signal for reference.

The white noise signal exploits the full 16 bit dynamic range of PCM so be CAREFUL with the volume level when you play it !

I have generated 4 test signals:

  • rev_1s.wav : 2 seconds of white noise followed by a reverberation tail of 1 second.
  • rev_07s.wav : 2 seconds of white noise followed by a reverberation tail of 0.7 second.
  • rev_05s.wav : 2 seconds of white noise followed by a reverberation tail of 0.5 second.
  • rev_04s.wav : 2 seconds of white noise followed by a reverberation tail of 0.4 second.
The idea is that you play these test signals via headphone (where there is a minimal amount of reverberation) and compare with the test sound played back via your stereo setup. You can estimate the reverberation time of your room by finding the test sound that sound most similar to what your hear via your stereo setup. The test sound can be downloaded/heard here.