Classroom sound quality—a comparison of recordings to virtual auralization

Sound quality in classrooms is an important consequence of the architectural and mechanical systems design. And it is the primary factor in determining the potential for speech intelligibility, which of course is also dependent on individual listening characteristic and capabilities. So the question is ‘‘how do we assess the potential for good sound quality within the design phase of school construction?’’ An obvious solution is to use architectural modeling and auralization ... but the question here is ‘‘how good are these virtual techniques?’’ as with the use of EASE software. We will present 1st a sample of the modeling and auralization process showing the capabilities via the generated sound files. Next we will listen to recordings made in an occupied classroom both before and after architectural interventions. Then we will listen to a series of auralized classroom settings. And finally, we will compare recordings to auralizations for the same classroom. One important aspect of ‘‘real room’’ sound quality is occupant generated noise (non-speech), which is not an easy aspect to include in virtual models.