What characterizes late reverberation?

Late reverberation is characterized by the way sound behaves in an environment as it reflects off surfaces. Specifically, it refers to the sound that reaches the listener after multiple reflections have occurred within a space. This repeated bouncing around of sound can lead to a blending of the reflected sounds, which may result in a sound that is less distinct and can resemble noise rather than clear speech. The quality of late reverberation tends to cloud the clarity of sounds because it arrives at a listener's ears not only after some delay but also after being diffused by all the intervening reflections.

In contrast, the other characteristics mentioned highlight attributes of sound that are not typically associated with late reverberation. For instance, clear and direct sounds are usually related to early reflections that enhance comprehension rather than confuse it. Additionally, while late reverberation might not always have the same volume as early reflections, it often doesn’t inherently have a lower volume; it simply has a different quality that makes it sound more diffused and less intelligible. Therefore, the defining trait of late reverberation is its ability to make sound less clear due to the complexity of reflections that the listener hears, leading to the perception of a more noise-like quality.