Subjective studies on impact sound in times of a pandemic -- a comparison between a laboratory study and an online listening test

Abstract

The National Research Council Canada is currently investigating the perceived annoyance due to impact sound in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). The first part of a subjective laboratory study on a number of different floor/ceiling assemblies was completed with 26 participants just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. To evaluate the feasibility of carrying out a similar study without in-person attendance, the same stimuli from the laboratory study were used to create an online listening test. The online listening test was created in JavaScript and HTML5 to run on any internet browser. This paper will present the results of the online listening test and compare them to the laboratory study, focusing on the obvious drawbacks of an uncontrolled remote study such as the uncertainty due to the participants' headphones and listening environment. With an expectation that in-person studies will remain difficult to realize in the near future, this contribution provides evidence whether remote subjective listening tests are a viable alternative to controlled laboratory studies for impact sound.

Impact sound around the world - An online listening survey about the perceived annoyance due to impact sounds

“…The test type was a MUSHRA (Multiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor) test, although no explicit reference was given for this study. The technical modifications to the interface have been described in [4].…”

“…The initial studies on the perceived annoyance due to impact sound were based in the laboratory and carried out in collaboration with partners in Korea and Germany, and the methodology and preliminary results have been reported previously [3]. During and after the lock-downs due to the Covid-19 pandemic and considering the associated restrictions for in-person studies the development of a web-based interface was started to explore the possibility of engaging with the general public and thus also expanding the reach of the study.…”

“…For a pilot test the first version of the online listening survey was published on the internal network of the NRC and the results of the pilot test, which were very promising, have been reported [4]. The final version of the online listening survey was published on an externallyfacing web-server hosted at the NRC, and was accessible to the public from November, 2022, to the end of March, 2023.…”