Meters for Predicting the Subjective Response to Noise

Abstract

Two portable, battery-powered, transistorized meters have been designed to produce direct measurements for the prediction of subjective response to noise. One of these meters reads loudness (octave-band sones and total sones) and loudness level (phons) based on Steven's method. The other meter reads Speech Interference Level in decibels (re 0.0002 microbar) based on the average sound pressure level of the three octave-bands from 600 to 4800 cps. These direct reading meters are utilized to replace the sound level meter-octave band analyzer combinations customarily used for these applications. The construction and the applications of the meters are discussed.