Abstract
The purpose of the study is to investigate the loudness of impact sounds we often encounter in our daily life. About thirty samples were collected first, and then analyzed in prior to laboratory experiments. By taking the results of those analyses into consideration, an impact sound generator was designed. In the experiments, the effects of several factors on loudness of model impact sounds were studied by the use of the method of adjustment. The peak level of 80-100dB, the rise time of 1.0-15ms/60dB, and the decay time of 60-1000ms/60dB were adopted as the physical parameters in the experiment. As the results of experiments, it was found that loudness is influenced mainly by peak level of the impact sounds and, strictly speaking, it does not always follow the energy principle. The sound level measured through the circuit with about 5ms time constant was found to be an appropriate unit for the determination of the loudness of impact sounds.
