Critical Distance, a popular measure with many users, is the distance in space at which the direct and reverberant sound levels are equal.

The EASE Critical Distance map shown above is based on 1 representing the distance at which the two levels are equal. Figures greater than 1 indicate the reverberant level is higher than the direct sound coming from the loudspeakers. Figures lower than one show that the direct sound level is greater than the reverberant level.

Notice that in this model, the reverberant sound is higher than the direct sound level throughout the listening areas. This is not unusual.