Effects of spatial elements and sound sources on sound field in Main Hall of Chinese Buddhist temple

In Chinese Han Buddhist temples, the Main Hall is the paramount indoor religious location, for which acoustic quality is very important for several Buddhist rites held within; however, the sound field in the Main Hall has not yet been analyzed scientifically. By combining sound field measurement with acoustic simulation, this study investigated the effects of spatial elements and sound source characteristics in a Main Hall, revealing that both fabric sound absorbers and Buddha statues mounted within had a pronounced effect on the sound field. Using an acoustic model of the Main Hall of the Xiantong Temple as an example, when various fabric sound absorbers were removed, the mid-frequency reverberation time (T30m) and mid-frequency early decay time (EDTm) increased by 32.3% and 46.8%, respectively. When fabric sound absorbers and Buddha statues were removed, the sound pressure level was not significantly affected. The form of the roof did not significantly impact the indoor sound field. The directivity of the sound sources did not significantly affect the T30m but did affect the EDTm and the speech transmission index (STI). When monks chanted sutras face-to-face, the STI was maximized. Additionally, changing the positions of sound sources moderately affected the EDT and STI.