A Sound Quality System for Engineers

In the eighties, the main concern in the automotive industry from a designer's standpoint was a level issue. In the nineties, the market has put more stringent requirements on the automotive industry with respect to noise in general and psychoacoustics. The governments have imposed lower limits with respect to pass-by noise standards. Customers are spending more time in their car than in the past and are demanding acoustical comfort. All of this is leading to an environment where a sound quality system is becoming a daily tool in the design and trouble-shooting world. This paper describes what should be looked for in a sound, how to quantify these properties and what tools are needed. These steps are then applied in a case study.