This work presents the results of a perceptual study investigating the influence on musicians of a virtual acoustics system installed in the live room of a professional recording studio. The study focused on analyzing relationships between a selection of objective acoustic parameters (T30, STLate, LJ); subjective perceptions of 19 solo musicians performing under 11 different acoustic conditions. The experiment was conducted using the VAT (Virtual Acoustic Technology) system; the VAT Suite software developed at the Immersive Media Laboratory (IMLab) in the Sound Recording Department at McGill University. Correlations between quantitative; qualitative analyses show that musicians’ preferences converge on conditions with T30 ≈ 1 s,; that late; lateral energy increases the perception of spatiality, providing a positive balance between clarity; acoustic support. However, longer reverberation reduces comfort; executive control.
