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Me frustró que el recinto tuviera mala acústica.

Me frustró que el recinto tuviera mala acústica.
It frustrated me that the venue had bad acoustics.
From Lesson 336:Past emotional reactions (imperfect subjunctive)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Me frustró que el recinto tuviera mala acústica.

Why is the second verb tuviera (imperfect subjunctive) instead of tenía (imperfect indicative)?
The first verb (Me frustró) shows an emotional reaction in the past. When you express an emotion about a different subject (the venue), the second verb must be in the subjunctive. Because the triggering emotion is in the past tense, the subjunctive verb also shifts to the past (imperfect) subjunctive.
Why is the sentence structured as Me frustró que... rather than me being the subject?
Verbs of emotion like frustrar usually work like gustar. The entire clause that follows (que el recinto tuviera mala acústica) is the grammatical subject causing the emotion. You (me) are the object receiving the frustration. It literally means "That the venue had bad acoustics frustrated me."
Is recinto a common word for "venue", or could I just say lugar?
Lugar just means "place," whereas recinto specifically means an enclosed area, facility, or venue. It is the perfect word to use when talking about concert halls, stadiums, or exhibition centers where acoustics would matter.
Why does the adjective mala come before the noun acústica?
Putting adjectives of quality like bueno or malo before the noun is very common when giving a subjective evaluation. Here, placing mala first emphasizes the speaker's personal judgment about how bad the sound was.

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