Subjective Evaluation of Simulated Engine Induction Noise

The object of this investigation Is to produce audible sound signals from specific magnitude and phase spectra and to examine the subjective preference of the resulting sounds. The source spectra are produced by an acoustic model of an automotive induction system. The results of the study indicate that: (1) the model produces time domain signals with spectral content that accurately reflects the trends in the source spectra, and (2) individual subjective preference shows both definite trends and significant variations. It is expected that with further development of the techniques described in this paper, audible signals will become a central feature of any acoustic model, particularly when it is important to meet the requirements of individual subjective preference.