Seat views and sound guide

Start with a section, then choose a seat

On your first visit to a venue page, A shows the default recommendation and B a seat chosen for a full view. For orchestras, A uses the ensemble listening sound estimate; an existing saved comparison keeps its criteria. Select a colored section to see its individual seats. The map preserves aisle spacing so you can distinguish aisle seats from central ones.

Search a section name or use “My seat” to go straight to your selected section. You can also move between seats with arrow keys and select with Enter. Choosing a seat changes the 3D view to that position. Drag the scene to look around; “Whole venue” lets you orbit the venue from outside.

Concert stage layouts vary by show. Choose a thrust, end or center stage similar to your event. Floor seating is an example layout.

Switch between two seats in the same scene

A 24-second scene animates performers and play on the field. During playback, A and B switch seats while the scene continues. “Swap A/B” exchanges the two seats; “Reset” returns to the venue's default seats.

Name a comparison and save it in this browser, or copy a link. Links include both seats, recommendation criteria, view settings and playback position. Each venue retains your last selection when you visit other venues.

Scores reflect your chosen preferences

View scores calculate how well a seat matches your selected criteria using three factors, rather than reviews or measured viewing quality: distance to the reference point (stage, home plate or field center), overall view based on deviation from the venue type's ideal distance, and central alignment based on the angle away from straight ahead.

For front-facing views, seats behind the stage and choir seats lose 35 points. This deduction does not apply to sound estimates, which also compare rear seats. Actual obstructions and prices are not yet included in scores.

Orchestra sound estimates and views are separate

Switching between “Estimated sound” and “View” updates map colors, recommendations and the scores above A/B. The comparison cards below show the two scores side by side. Scores from different criteria are not added together.

“Ensemble listening” does not automatically favor closer sound. A statistical model estimates the energy of direct sound, early reflections and the reverberation that follows, then evaluates three factors. It uses five representative instruments of equal strength and a standard listening height of 1.18 m.

All three factors must perform well for a high score. A weighted harmonic mean prevents a weak factor from being hidden by strong ones. For example, scores of 100, 100 and 20 produce a total of about 56. Weights express importance, not points to add. If one factor is zero, the total is zero; this does not mean the sound is inaudible.

Music clarity C80 is the ratio of energy within 80 ms after the direct sound arrives to energy afterward. Ensemble listening uses −2 to +2 dB as its balanced range and deducts 12 points per dB outside it. For the maximum–minimum spread ΔdB in instruments' early energy, it applies 100 × exp(−(ΔdB/6)²). Strength indicator G receives 100 points at +3 dB or more, losing 10 points per dB below that. Each factor is clamped to 0–100. These ranges and weights are service assumptions, not optimal values for every hall, piece or listener.

Direct and reflected energy follow the Barron–Lee statistical model. Energy is calculated for each instrument, averaged, then converted to dB. This does not calculate actual wall reflection paths, balcony shielding, instrument directivity or frequency-dependent behavior. Differences from reality may be large beside or behind the stage and under balconies. Barron–Lee original paper ↗

Without measured reverberation times for Seoul Arts Center and Sejong, the model assumes 2.0 seconds and volume equal to the 3D envelope's width × depth × height. For Lotte, it references the designer's 2016 report: 32,600 m³ and a calculated fully occupied reverberation time of 2.7 seconds at 500 Hz. These are not measurements of current performances or individual seats. Lotte designer's report ↗

The A/B “estimated range” is the minimum and maximum of nine calculations using baseline reverberation time and ±0.4 seconds, and baseline volume and ±20%. It is not a confidence interval for actual sound quality, and a few points do not establish a clear winner. Hall assumptions differ, so do not rank venues' sound quality by these scores.

“Direct sound” retains the distance-based criteria: instrument distance balance 15% and direct sound strength 85%. It does not evaluate reflections or reverberation. View scores remain separate. Saved seats and preferences are preserved, with scores recalculated using the current formula.

Sound lets you compare direction, distance and reverberation

With sound on, instruments, speakers and spectators are point sources rendered with HRTF spatial audio at the selected seat's eye position. Headphones are recommended for comparing directions. Turning your head by dragging the scene also changes the perceived sound direction.

Orchestra samples are original melodies made from CC0 instrument recordings. Band and game sounds are synthesized; crowd audio is a CC0 recording from another stadium. The orchestra uses the same energy model as the ensemble score to synthesize direct sound, early reflections within 80 ms, and later reverberation. Direct sound has spatial direction; reflections spread in stereo. Switching A/B keeps the performance position and smoothly changes the sound balance. Volume is not normalized to be identical at every seat.

This is statistical-model synthesis, not reverberation recorded in the hall. It does not reproduce actual wall reflection directions, balcony obstructions, frequency-dependent absorption or instrument directivity. Distance-dependent first-arrival delay is also omitted to keep the music and scene on a shared timeline. Sample instrument levels and output protection mean playback energy ratios do not exactly match score values. Concerts and sports retain their direction-and-distance experience.

Verified sources and estimates are distinguished

Seat coordinates for KSPO DOME, Olympic Hall, Jangchung Arena, Jamsil Indoor Stadium, Goyang Sono Arena, INSPIRE Arena, Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Sejong Center Grand Theater, Lotte Concert Hall, Jamsil Olympic Stadium, Suwon World Cup Stadium, Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Daegu iM Bank PARK, Suwon KT Wiz Park come from official 3D models or section outlines on official guides. Individual ticket numbers were not obtained, so row and position numbers are for exploration, not booking. Level heights, seat spacing, stage layouts and building forms are estimated per venue.

Views are calculated using a 1.75 m person and eye height above the seat. Apart from “Show people in front,” actual obstructions from people, rails and equipment are not included. Each venue's “How was this experience made?” section separates sourced facts from estimates.