But to put some numbers to Alan's comment, a typically sized and furnished home room has an R60 reverberation time of around a half-second. R60 is the usual standard applied and represents the time in seconds(thousands for Mark's room)for the sound level to diminish 60dB after it's stopped playing. 60dB is used because it's about the difference between the loudest orchestral peaks around 100dB and room background noise levels around 40db. 60dB is therefore also about the widest practical dynamic range for a recording intended to be listened to at home.
In contrast to the half-second or so R60 at home, the finest concert halls have R60 times on the order of two seconds. Hence the difference that Alan notes.
I read that, and then had a seizure.
