Experience in rooms with wood -paneling and sound-diffusing surfaces indicates that the manner in which the reverberant and other aftersounds in a room are distributed has possibly as much to do with the acoustical excellence of a room as the actual time of decay in the room, and from time to time we have heard discussions on the diffusion of sound in rooms not only in regard to fulfilling the assumptions in the Sabine reverberation formula, but in regard to its subjective effect.
Before presenting data on the convexed wood panels or diffusers described in this paper, let us briefly discuss some general observations in the action of sound in rooms and halls known for their acoustic excellence, a fuller discussion of which may be found in the literature. […]
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An application of polycylindrical design to an orchestra shell which was used last winter for a recording by Leopold Stokowski on the Walt Disney Live Action Stage and which is here reproduced through their courtesy, is shown in Fig. 11. The multiplicity of dispersing surfaces and resonant panels not only minimized the microphone placement problem, but gave a more pleasing reinforcement of sound to the conductor and musicians. The platforms were for elevating and reinforcing the bass instruments in the orchestra.
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