Go’s and No-Go’s Towards More Correct Reverberation Room Measurements of Absorption

Measurements of random-incidence absorption coefficients have been hotly contested since the ASA was founded in 1929. Yes, you read correctly, since 1929! Theories, explanations, myths, and strange interpretations appear, disappear, and reappear over the decades. What is wrong with this method of measurement? This paper discusses some of the methodological difficulties and reasons for discrepancies when comparing results between different reverberation chambers. It also presents possibilities arising from recent developments, such as the isotropy and angle dependence of the sound field incident on the absorber, the multi-exponential model for calculating decay times, and reference absorbers.