Examination of the variability between artificial head recordings made in different cars of the same brand and model

Artificial heads are commonly used for the recording of samples intended for sound quality evaluations. When results from listening tests and psychoacoustic analyses shall be compared it is important to be aware of the variability between measurements made under similar conditions. To study this kind of variability, the interior sounds of five passenger cars of the same brand, model and production year were recorded binaurally. The recordings were made using two different artificial heads (Head Acoustics HMS I and HMS III) and a binaural microphone headset (Head Acoustics BHM). The recordings were made at constant speed on a test track with controlled surface roughness. Based on the recordings loudness, sharpness, roughness and annoyance were judged in a listening test. The results show how the sound quality can be expected to vary between specimen of cars of the same brand and model. This observed variability was compared to the accuracy of the three different binaural microphones used.Godkänd; 2009; Bibliografisk uppgift: CD-ROM; 20091020 (ysko)CASTT - Centre for Automotive Systems Technologies and Testin