Reverberation enhancement systems (RES) are electro-acoustic devices installed in auditoria to adapt the listening conditions according to the performances. In order to design these systems before their installation, this work deals with the development, the implementation and the testing of prediction tools of the effect of these systems on the acoustic characteristics of a room, by focusing on diagonal regenerative RES. The first proposed tool is based on a systemic approach and numerical simulations. This tool, whose principle is already described in the literature, is here enhanced by the use of an algorithm that automatically fine-tunes the system parameters. As numerical simulations require detailed 3D models of rooms and high computation times, this tool is not compatible with the responsiveness needed for a preliminary design stage. With this in mind, two other models based on the diffuse field assumptions are also developed to predict the action of a RES. One of them is also based on a systemic approach but it uses the stochastic geometric theory of room acoustics instead of numerical simulations. The other model is based on a simple energetic approach. The confrontation of the results given by these two models with the results given by the model based on numerical simulations has been carried out in five rooms considering the effect of a RES on six common room acoustic criteria. It appeared that these two models lead to prediction errors similar to those obtained with the Sabine or Eyring’s formula, or the Barron and Lee’s revised theory applied in a room without RES. In the same time, the study of the effect of a RES used to enhance the coupling between two poor coupled room is presented. It is shown that this particular use of a RES actually increases the coupling effect, and that this effect can be correctly described and predicted by an energetic model developed here. It is also shown by numerical simulations that this system can balance the listening conditions between two coupled rooms.
