What is Echo and Reverberation?
An echo is, by definition, a reflection of sound. If so many reflections are observed that you can’t distinguish between them, the proper term is reverberation, which is what we experience in most enclosed spaces, or rooms. The most current understanding of acoustic science tells us reverberation in a room is caused by sound waves bouncing back and forth between parallel wall surfaces. Our research, however, has shown us that this over-simplification is highly improbable. Sound travels very fast, at 340 meters per second. Based on the rate at which sound waves physically decay, even in an idealized environment, audible sound would decay by 60 decibels in mere tenths of a second. However, in most rooms, a measured decay time of one second or more is common. No amount of passive reinforcement would be able to provide enough sustained increase in the sound pressure level to lengthen the decay time by an order of magnitude. Some form of acoustic amplification is therefore necessary to add
