A Study of the Acoustics and Speech Intelligibility Quality of Mosques in Malaysia

Abstract

This study presents the assessment of the quality of speech intelligibility of two Malaysian mosques and the results are used to develop a set of general acoustical guidelines to be used in the design of a mosque. Two mosques were selected for the research: Masjid UPM and the Masjid Jamek. The objective of the research is to enable the comparison of the acoustics and speech intelligibility between the mosques as function of the size, volume, occupancy and other parameters of the main prayer hall on the acoustic and speech intelligibility of the respective mosques. The reverberation time (RT60), speech level (SL), background noise (BN), signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) were determined and are used to develop the speech transmission index (STI) and rapid transmission index (RASTI) prediction models for both mosques. It was observed from the results that the RT60, STI and RASTI values shows better performance over number of occupancy for both mosques. Furthermore, the BN and SL results were visualized using the spatial distribution patterns (SDP) of the main hall. The results of the analysis show that the overall acoustic and speech quality of Masjid Jamek is better when compared to the overall acoustic and speech quality of Masjid UPM. These results are then used to develop a set of design recommendations to ensure adequate speech intelligibility quality a mosque.

Soundscape in religious historical buildings: a review

“…This technique has become an important basis for archaeological acoustics [41]. Additionally, comparisons of acoustics and speech intelligibility between mosques as a function of the size, volume, occupancy and other parameters of the main prayer hall have been used to develop a set of general acoustical guidelines for mosque design [42]. One study analysed the results of the room acoustic measurementsesults of a mosque to evaluate speech intelligibility and explain the sense of sacredness generated by sound within this sacred structure [43].…”

“…Christianity worships God as the creator of heaven and earth without deliberately highlighting the status of humanity, so the focus of sound research is often bells and Christian music [27,30,31]. The main religious activities in Islam are reading and teaching the Quran, so the study of sound tends to focus on speech intelligibility in the religious venues [42,43]. Buddhist doctrine emphasizes self-cultivation, with monks seeking their "true self" through daily chanting of the Buddhist scriptures.…”

“…The primary aim is to identify the characteristics and influencing factors of sound fields in both the indoor and outdoor spaces of religious historical buildings. The simulated spaces include various structural forms, such as towering churches [19,24,60,70,91,92], domed mosques [40][41][42]93], and traditional Chinese Buddhist temples [18,50]. The most commonly used parameters in sound field simulation are reverberation time (RT) and early decay time (EDT), followed by the sound pressure level (SPL), sound clarity, and loudness.…”

An Assessment of Acoustic Quality in Mosque Case Study: Masjid At-Tarbiyah UIN Malang

“…[7]- [8] Research about acoustic in the mosque is few. Some researcher who studies about mosque acoustic in general are (1) Setiyowati [9] in his research The Effect of Mosque Architecture in Tropical Areas on the Acoustic Quality of Space made observations in several mosques with a focus on aspects of plans, ceilings and openings, (2) Adel A. Abdou [10] on 'Comparison of The Acoustical Performance of Mosque Geometry Using Computer Model Studies,' (3) Icha, et al [11] with the title' Study on the Effect of Ceiling Shape to the Acoustics Condition of Mosque using Computer Simulation,' and (4) Abdullah et al [12] on 'A Study of the Acoustics and Speech Intelligibility Quality of Mosques in Malaysia.' These studies examine the aspects that affect mosques' acoustic quality by comparing and simulations of various models and materials in mosques.…”