Towards an Objective Estimate of the Subjective Reaction to Diesel Engine Noise

A microcomputer-based analyser is being developed to estimate subjective reaction to noise from diesel-powered road vehicles. An interactive technique is envolving to match certain combinations of objective measurements to the subjective preferences of individuals, using a control signal from the microcomputer. For a pilot experiment on diesel engine noise at cold idle conditions, the sound stimuli were obtained from engine surface vibration signals. The pilot experiment results suggest that the impulsive characteristic of the sound could be more important than the overall level.