Prediction of reverberation time using the residual minimization method

In many practical situations the assumption of sound field dispersion needed for the application of the Sabine’s theory is not fulfilled. In general, sound field is sufficiently dispersed if there are no large differences in the dimensions of the room, limiting partitions are not parallel, or the sound absorbing material is uniformly distributed. In practice, very few of these requirements are satisfied. As a result, a number of other formulas describing reverberation time have been created, for example Fitzroy’s or Neubauer’s formulas. However, these methods in many cases differ significantly from the actual measurements. The paper presents a method used to estimate reverberation time as well as its applicability potential involving laboratory models and auditorium rooms. The proposed method can be classified into a group of learning methods and involves the use of statistical methods which allow for approximation with the use of the least squares method.