Similarity evaluation of room acoustic impulse responses: Visual and auditory impressions

Most of the recent numerical simulations in room acoustics focus on estimating impulse responses. However, the accuracy of the calculated impulse response may be called into question. This problem can be regarded as the difficulty in judging the similarities of sound fields based on impulse responses. The aim of the present study is to examine the possibility of a calculable parameter that assesses the similarities of sound fields. Fundamental to the discussion are the relationships among the following four items: 1) similarities of appearance of the impulse response waveforms, 2) various calculable parameters that may support the visual impressions, 3) various physical parameters, such as C and EDT, and 4) similarities of sounds generated by the convolution of impulse responses with a dry source.