Abstract
Sound quality has become an increasingly demanding request in product design. A study was conducted to identify customer requests of power window sound quality and the primary factors that contribute to customer perception and preference of power window sound. Sound samples were recorded from current production vehicles using a binaural recording system in an acoustic chamber. The sounds were then played back to the evaluation panel in a quiet room to rate perceived sound quality using a semantic differential scale. 48 subjects participated in this study. Factor Analysis results of the ratings found three factors: intensity, pitch variation and sharpness. Variables in the intensity factor correlated well to overall preference of the sound, while pitch variation and sharpness were secondary in contributing to the overall perception of power window sound quality.
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