Effect of temporal decay of heavy-weight floor impact sound on annoyance

摘要

This study investigated the effect of temporal decay of heavy-weight floor impact sound on annoyance using auditory experiments. Just Noticeable Difference (JND) of temporal decay and paired comparison (PCT) tests were conducted. Floor impact sounds created by an impact ball (rubber ball), which have three typical spectra, were utilized as the stimuli of experiments. The temporal decay of heavy-weight floor impact sound was quantified by decay rate (DR), which was defined as sound pressure level (SPL) decrease per 1 second (dB/s). The results indicated the JND of temporal decay of heavy-weight floor impact sound was found to be about 10 dB/s. It was also found that temporal decay of heavy-weight floor impact sound had significant influence on annoyance. SPL metrics indicating the effect of the decay and correction methods are discussed.