Subjective evaluations of sound radiated by impacted plates, using the design of experiments method

This study combines physical and subjective approaches to evaluate the sound quality of impacted plates. A numerical model, based on the Hertz law of contact, has been used to determine the sound pressure level at any point in space resulting from an impact. Sounds synthesized using this model and those from experiments can then be exploited in a physical analysis and/or a subjective analysis of the effects associated with variations in parameters. Here the influence of certain physical parameters on the sound perception of impacted plates is evaluated through a design of experiments method and a subjective test of preference. The subjective test is based on an estimate of preference between two pairs of synthetic sounds by varying several structural parameters at the same time. This differs from other studies that vary only one parameter at a time and fix the other parameters.