The following passage is adapted from an essay on the history of architectural acoustics and auditorium design.
In 1895, Harvard University requested that physics assistant professor Wallace Clement Sabine address the dismal acoustic performance of the main lecture hall inside the newly constructed Fogg Art Museum. Sabine approached the issue empirically by measuring reverberation time—the time required for sound intensity to decay by sixty decibels from its initial level. Utilizing a set of organ pipes and a precise stopwatch, Sabine discovered that the hall’s long reverberation time was primarily caused by its hard, non-porous plaster walls and cushionless wooden seating, which absorbed less than three percent of incident sound energy. To quantify sound absorption, Sabine established a standard unit of acoustic absorption equivalent to one square meter of open window, later named the 'sabin.' He systematically brought varying lengths of cushions from the nearby Sanders Theatre into the Fogg lecture hall, discovering a linear relationship between total cushion length and the reduction of reverberation time.
When major architectural firm McKim, Mead & White was commissioned to design Boston Symphony Hall in 1899, they consulted Sabine to ensure superior acoustic properties before construction commenced. Rather than mimicking the traditional horseshoe shape of European opera houses, Sabine recommended a rectangular 'shoebox' layout modeled after the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. To further control sound reflection, Sabine specified that the side balconies be kept shallow to prevent acoustic shadows beneath the overhangs and directed that the walls be lined with heavy plaster rather than hollow wood paneling. Crucially, Sabine insisted on installing statues within niche recesses along the upper walls, asserting that these irregular surfaces would scatter high-frequency sound waves evenly throughout the hall without producing harsh echoes. When Boston Symphony Hall opened on October 15, 1900, acoustic testing confirmed a reverberation time of 1.9 seconds when fully occupied, matching Sabine's initial theoretical calculation within two-tenths of a second.
Based on the passage, evaluate the truth of the following statement:
Sabine recommended shallow side balconies for Boston Symphony Hall specifically to scatter high-frequency sound waves evenly throughout the hall without producing harsh echoes.
Answer: Answer